Oracle: Database Deathmatch?
Contrary to popular belief, Ellison is not an old Elvis Costello tune. The charismatic Larry Ellison has guided Oracle Corporation <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ORCL)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ORCL)") end if %> to become the multi-billion dollar information software specialist that it is today. We can probably all agree that database management is a booming business -- or can we?
This week we have a pair of Fools who don't quite see Oracle the same way. David Forrest (TMF Bogey) thinks the company will recover and resume its upward course. Jim Surowiecki (TMF Cinder) thinks the recent share weakness will stick.
A database deathmatch? Hardly. David and Jim are Dueling Fools -- ready to state their differences while maintaining mutual respect. Who will be the oracle of Oracle?
You Get to Vote!
After reading all of the arguments, cast your vote for the winner of the Duel. We'll tabulate results each week and revisit them from time to time to see whether you were right! As always, we invite you to join us in the Oracle Message board to continue the duel.
[Any suggestions, comments, praise, or flames, please send them along to the Dueling Fools Team.]
| The
Bull... What's not to love about Oracle at these prices? [Ed. note: This was written last week, with Oracle at around $25 per share.] The company reports one bad quarter and it gets slammed! For those not familiar with the events of the recent past, Oracle announced in early December that second quarter earnings fell short of expectations. The company reported earnings of $0.19 per share versus expectations of $0.23. Clearly not a great thing, but did the stock deserve to take a beating that would cut the darn thing almost in half? Of course not. Yet, that's what happened. Continue... |
The
Bear... What determines a company's real value to investors is its ability to deliver rapid and consistent earnings growth in the foreseeable future. While companies' stock prices often get ahead of themselves, in the long run the stock market will value a company based on its ability to generate profit, regardless of whether that profit is distributed in the form of dividends or channeled back into the company's coffers. Oracle has done an excellent job of generating profit throughout this decade. As the second-largest independent software maker in the world and the dominant player in the database software market, Larry Ellison's company has seen both its earnings and its stock price rise precipitously since the end of 1992. As a result, it has been rewarded with a valuation worthy of consumer giants like Coke <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: KO)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: KO)") end if %>and Gillette <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: G)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: G)") end if %>, trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of better than 35. Continue... |
Last Week's THQ Results:
| Answer | Percentage |
| I can't make up my mind | 7% |
| HAINESDA's Bull argument | 48% |
| TMF Bogey's Bear argument | 29% |
| They were both excellent | 13% |
| They were both lame | 3% |