In the AI competition crowded with tech giants, although Oracle is not the most &#34;wealthy&#34; participant, its flexible strategy and unique advantages have secured it a place in this cash-burning battle.In the recently discussed &#34;Stargate&#34; project, Oracle is not only an equity investor but has also been designated as a &#34;key initial technology partner.&#34; Oracle's founder and chairman Larry Ellison stated at a press conference held at the White House that the project's first data center has begun construction in Texas.However, compared to tech giants like Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta, Oracle's financial strength is relatively limited.In terms of capital expenditure, Oracle's total annual capital expenditure is nearly $11 billion, while the aforementioned four companies are expected to spend a total of $236.5 billion in 2024.In terms of cash flow, Oracle's free cash flow for the 12 months ending in November was $9.5 billion, while Microsoft is expected to have generated over $70 billion in free cash flow last year. Additionally, among these five companies, only Oracle's debt exceeds its total cash.Despite limited financial strength, analysts believe Oracle still has unique advantages:<blockquote>Flexible data center strategy: According to Bernstein analyst Mark Moerdler, Oracle leases a large amount of data center real estate rather than purchasing it and optimizes the configuration of equipment to reduce space and improve performance efficiency.Efficient capital expenditure: This approach allows Oracle to allocate a larger proportion of capital expenditure to purchasing computing equipment, whereas large spenders like Microsoft have lower efficiency.</blockquote>Wall Street has reacted positively to Oracle's AI layout. Following the news of &#34;Stargate,&#34; Oracle's stock price rose 14% within two days. Analysts believe this project solidifies Oracle's cloud computing division OCI's important position in supporting generative AI workloads.<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://wpimg-wscn.awtmt.com/6b97d739-cef3-40b8-8b58-237059dd0756.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://wpimg-wscn.awtmt.com/6b97d739-cef3-40b8-8b58-237059dd0756.png"/>Deutsche Bank analyst Brad Zelnick stated, &#34;We believe this is a win for Oracle, at least further establishing OCI's relevance in the future development of AI.&#34;

ORCL

Oracle's financial strength is relatively limited, but its flexible data center strategy and efficient capital expenditures have secured it a place in this cash-burning battle

- Oracle, while not the wealthiest player in the AI race, has carved out a niche with its flexible strategies and unique advantages.  
- The company is a key investor and technology partner in the "Stargate" project, with its first data center under construction in Texas, despite having limited financial resources compared to giants like Microsoft and Amazon.  
- Analysts view Oracle's efficient capital expenditure and adaptable data center strategy as strengths, contributing to a positive market reaction, with a 14% stock price increase following the project announcement.

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Oracle

The AI battle is all about top-tier spending, why does the "poor" Oracle have a reason to compete?