Larry Ellison scraps $7.5 billion Oracle stock sale
Oracle announced on Saturday that its co-founder and executive chairman, Larry Ellison, has decided to cancel a plan to sell up to 50 million shares of the company, which would have been valued at approximately $7.5 billion based on Friday’s closing price. Oracle disclosed in a regulatory filing on Friday that Ellison adopted the trading plan on June 22, 2026, with a scheduled expiration on October 24, 2026. “No Oracle stock was sold under that plan, and he has no other plans to sell any of his Oracle stock,” Oracle said on Saturday.
Oracle’s stock has experienced significant declines this year due to increasing investor apprehensions regarding escalating capital expenditure, which has exerted pressure on its free cash flow. The shares have declined by nearly 23% year to date, and they were more than 18% lower than their closing level on June 18, the final trading day prior to Ellison’s adoption of the plan. Oracle did not provide an explanation for the cancellation of Ellison’s trading plan. Ellison, 82, held the position of CEO at Oracle until 2014 and remains the company’s largest shareholder, possessing more than 38% of the firm, as per LSEG data.
Earlier in the week, Oracle reported quarterly results that exceeded Wall Street estimates and demonstrated a smaller cash burn than anticipated, alleviating some concerns regarding its debt-fueled spending spree and resulting in a surge in shares on Friday. However, its stock later reversed course as analysts indicated that a recovery in cash flow was still some distance away. The firm also announced that restructuring costs, which are part of a plan that includes job cuts, will increase by approximately $700 million.
