Oracle has announced plans to build a gigawatt-scale data center powered by three small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), as revealed by founder Larry Ellison. This ambitious project marks a new milestone in the company’s expansion strategy, which already has 162 data centers in operation or under construction globally.
During an investor call to report quarterly results, Ellison highlighted that the under-construction data center will be one of the largest for the company, exceeding one gigawatt in capacity. Oracle has obtained construction permits for the three SMRs that will power this facility, although specific project details have not been disclosed yet.
Revenue Growth
In the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, Oracle reported revenues of 13.3 billion dollars, representing a 7% growth compared to the previous year and an 8% growth in constant currency. Of these revenues, 5.6 billion dollars come from cloud services, a 21% year-over-year increase in dollar terms. Cloud and on-site licensing revenues reached 870 million dollars, with a 7% increase in dollars.
The cloud infrastructure services business generated annualized revenues of 8.6 billion dollars, and OCI (Oracle Cloud Infrastructure) consumption grew by 56%.
Strategic Agreements and Expansion
Safra Catz, CEO of Oracle, pointed out that cloud services have become the company’s largest business, accelerating growth in both operating income and earnings per share. In the first quarter, non-GAAP operating income increased by 14% in constant currency, reaching 5.7 billion dollars, while non-GAAP earnings per share increased by 18% in constant currency, reaching 1.39 dollars.
A highlight of the call was the announcement of a MultiCloud agreement with AWS, which will include the latest Exadata hardware technology and version 23ai of its database software in AWS data centers. AWS customers will have access to the Oracle database starting in December of this year.
Additionally, Oracle signed 42 additional GPU cloud contracts totaling 3 billion dollars during the first quarter. Cloud expansion continues, with seven active Oracle Cloud regions on Microsoft and 24 more under construction, as well as four active regions on Google and 14 additional in development.
Innovations and Future
Ellison also commented on Oracle’s focus on automation, revealing that all Oracle data centers, regardless of their size, are identical in features and functions, with a suite of automation software that no one else owns. The company is migrating its Fusion and NetSuite services to an autonomous model to reduce costs and human errors, significantly improving its margins.
With a capital investment of 2.3 billion dollars in the quarter, Oracle expects capital spending for fiscal year 2025 to be double that of 2024. The company maintains an investment pace aligned with booking trends, with 85 cloud regions in operation and another 77 planned.
This focus on innovation and expansion highlights Oracle’s commitment to technological advancement and operational efficiency in a rapidly evolving market.
Source: DataCenterDynamics