Oracle Projects $30 Billion Free Cash Flow in Fiscal 2029

Oracle Corp. gave a long-term outlook for free cash flow that was better than analysts’ estimates, easing investor nerves about the potential payoff from its artificial intelligence spending.

Free cash flow will be $30 billion in the fiscal year ending in May 2029, Chief Financial Officer Hilary Maxson said Wednesday during the company’s annual conference in Las Vegas. Investors had expected free cash flow to remain negative in that year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Oracle, long known for its database software, has been working to refashion itself as a provider of computing power for AI work and is embarking on a major build-out of data centers for OpenAI and other customers. Wall Street is closely watching the scale of spending on these ambitious projects and how quickly Oracle can complete them.

The shares jumped as much as 9.6% on the company’s long-range forecast. The stock had dropped 33% this year through Tuesday’s close.