Bloomberg Intelligence Podcast Summary

Episode: Oracle to Raise Up to $50 Billion in Debt and Equity This Year
Date: February 2, 2026
Hosts: Scarlet Fu and Paul Sweeney
Main Guests: Mandeep Singh (Global Tech Research Head, Bloomberg Intelligence), Woojin Ho (Senior Technology Analyst, Bloomberg Intelligence), Geetha Ranganathan (US Media Analyst, Bloomberg Intelligence), Sam Fazelli (Senior Pharmaceuticals Analyst/Director of Research, Bloomberg Intelligence)

Overview

This episode explores Oracle’s ambitious plans to raise up to $50 billion in debt and equity to accelerate its AI infrastructure and cloud ambitions, analyzes the impact on Oracle’s financial health, and compares it with other tech giants. The episode also touches on SpaceX/X.AI’s potential combination and implications for IPOs in the AI space, provides insight into Disney’s strategy and CEO succession, reviews pharma earnings and trends, and examines networking equipment opportunities amid the AI boom.

Key Discussion Points by Segment

Oracle’s $50 Billion Capital Raise: Implications and Skepticism

[02:08 – 06:48]

Oracle’s Plan and Industry Context

• Oracle aims to raise up to $50B this year, split roughly equally between debt and equity, to fund its target of $44B in cloud revenue by 2027.
• This investment supports building the AI infrastructure/data centers necessary for their four-year growth plan.
• Market is wary as Oracle’s credit spreads have widened and credit default swaps (CDS) have increased, reflecting concerns about over-leverage and financial health—especially compared to cash-rich rivals.

Notable Quotes:

• Paul Sweeney: “Oracle raising up to $50 billion, a big chunk of that—up to 25 billion—will be through debt…there are a lot of questions over the financial health of a company like Oracle versus say a company like Microsoft.” [02:08]
• Mandeep Singh:

  “Oracle had given a revenue guide for the next four years...they said we have an $18 billion cloud business that’s going to go to $150 billion plus... The problem…was there wasn’t really an explanation of how they would raise the funding.” [03:10]
  “If you believe their plan is going to be successful, which cloud demand is the one thing—you know, with AI whether or not they are big applications, nobody knows. But everyone will be consuming compute on the cloud. That’s the part of the business that’s visible.” [04:58]

Investor Response and Concerns

• Oracle’s relative lack of free cash flow ($20B/year vs. $100B for Microsoft/Google/Meta) generates investor skepticism about raising and deploying such large sums.
• Oracle currently holds only ~4% of the cloud market, but targets up to 15-20% share—an aggressive ramp-up many doubt is attainable.
• Equity markets reacted to these ambitions with a 40% Oracle share price drawdown.

Notable Quotes:

• Mandeep Singh:

  “In the case of Microsoft, Meta, Google, they generate up to $100 billion in free cash flow in a year. So with an Oracle that generates about $20 billion...how do you make a $50 billion plus CapEx investment?... There was some skepticism around what is it that Oracle can accomplish given they don’t have the free cash flow to fund this build out.” [05:40]

SpaceX and X.AI Combination: Funding the Next AI Arms Race

[06:48 – 09:16]

Rationale for Combining Entities

• Elon Musk reportedly in talks to combine SpaceX with X.AI, his AI startup, to address X.AI’s limited user base (~20-30M vs. OpenAI’s 900M) and funding shortfalls.
• SpaceX, with robust EBITDA margins and government contracts, could make the combined entity more attractive for investors/IPO.

Notable Quotes:

• Mandeep Singh:

  “XAI doesn’t have a choice but to keep investing. Problem is, because of their smaller user base, no one wants to keep funding XAI with another 10 billion round or 20 billion when they don’t have free cash flow either…combining it makes it more palatable for anybody who is putting money in that combined entity.” [07:06]

• Mandeep Singh (on IPO prospects):

  “Even OpenAI and Anthropic want to go public this year. So this year could be huge in terms of IPO.” [08:55]

Disney Earnings and CEO Succession

[11:48 – 16:53]

Parks Business Outshines, Strategic Shifts

• Disney reported 6% revenue growth, hitting a record $10B, but offered a cautious outlook due to expected dips in international park tourism.
• Analysts see this as bar-lowering ahead of a new CEO announcement.
• Parks now constitute about 60% of company profits; future expansions (e.g., World of Frozen opening, more cruise capacity) further strengthen this focus.

Notable Quotes:

• Geetha Ranganathan:

  “...They are undertaking investments across the board. So even in this quarter alone, we’re going to see this big opening of World of Frozen which will almost double the size of Disneyland Paris. That’s a huge investment again.” [13:12]
  “As we look forward...park profit could very well be three quarters of total company profits in the next few years’ time.” [14:38]

CEO Succession Drama

• Top contenders: Josh d’Amaro (Parks) and Dana Walden (Content). d’Amaro reportedly in the lead, reflecting Disney’s transformation into a parks-centric company.
• Streamlining and cost reductions under Bob Iger (from $32B to $23B in content costs) put Disney on firmer ground compared to turbulence during Chapek’s tenure.

Notable Quotes:

• Geetha Ranganathan:

  “It’s different this time around because the company isn’t … trying to still figure out what it was. Was it a TV network company? … a streaming company? … or was it really a theme parks company? … But I think right now ... this is mainly a parks company.” [15:22]

Pharma Earnings: Vaccines, MFN Status, and Obesity Drugs

[20:15 – 25:39]

Sanofi, Roche, and Johnson & Johnson Earnings

• No major shocks in Q4 earnings, but vaccine utilization is declining in the U.S. (Sanofi forecasts a “down year” in 2026, contrasting Moderna’s optimistic view).
• Vaccine hesitancy is an issue across U.S. and Europe.

Impact of Most Favored Nation (MFN) Status

• Pharma companies less specific about the cost impacts of potential MFN policy; manufacturing headcounts down overall, with minimal change yet from U.S. policy initiatives.

Notable Quotes:

• Sam Fazelli:

  “I think there’s vaccine hesitancy across the board. I mean, why do we have quite a few European countries who've lost their measles elimination status too? Not just the U.S. problem.” [22:14]

Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk: Focus on Obesity Drugs

• High expectations for upcoming earnings.
• Novo’s oral obesity drug launch labeled one of the strongest in diabetes/obesity history; market watching closely for volume trends, pricing effects, and global (ex-U.S.) expansion.

Networking Equipment and the AI Investment Surge

[29:10 – 34:39]

Investment Opportunities and Key Players

• AI networking switch hardware projected to grow 91% to $21B annually.
• Woojin Ho’s “new networking FANG”: Cisco, Celestica, Corning, Ciena (4Cs), plus Arista and Nvidia as top AI networking beneficiaries.

Notable Quotes:

• Woojin Ho:

  “The AI networking space is expected to grow 91% on the switching hardware alone to $21 billion… My new networking fang: Cisco, Celestica, Corning, and Sienna—4Cs—Arista, and Nvidia.” [29:50]

Investment Cycle and Supply Chain

• Networking equipment sector relatively low CapEx, high margin, and largely self-funded—contrast with cloud and data center giants needing large outside capital.
• Supply chains have adapted post-COVID and tariffs, with manufacturing diversified into Mexico, Taiwan, and Canada; tariffs now a “non-story” for networking firms.
• Stocks (e.g., Celestica, Arista, Cisco) have shown strong multi-year performance, with some multiples now “a little bit rich.”

Notable Quotes:

• Woojin Ho:

  “Networking is probably at the center of [the AI investment cycle] right now and that’s why you’re having a lot of investment on the networking front.” [32:25]
  “The stocks themselves have done well. The multiples have actually gotten a little bit rich.” [34:02]

Timestamps to Key Segments

| Time | Segment Description | |------------|---------------------------------------------------| | 02:08-06:48 | Oracle’s $50B capital raise and cloud ambitions | | 06:48-09:16 | SpaceX/X.AI and the changing AI IPO landscape | | 11:48-16:53 | Disney’s earnings, parks focus, CEO transition | | 20:15-25:39 | Pharma: vaccine trends, MFN, obesity drugs | | 29:10-34:39 | AI networking equipment: investment, stocks, supply chain |

Noteworthy Quotes and Speaker Attribution

• “If you believe their plan is going to be successful, which cloud demand is the one thing…everyone will be consuming compute on the cloud. That’s the part of the business that’s visible.”
  — Mandeep Singh [04:58]

• “...combining [X.AI] makes it more palatable for anybody who is putting money in that combined entity.”
  — Mandeep Singh [07:06]

• “As we look forward...park profit could very well be three quarters of total company profits in the next few years’ time.”
  — Geetha Ranganathan [14:38]

• “I think there’s vaccine hesitancy across the board. I mean why do we have quite a few European countries who’ve lost their measles elimination status… not just the U.S. problem.”
  — Sam Fazelli [22:14]

• “The AI networking space is expected to grow 91% on the switching hardware alone to $21 billion… My new networking fang: Cisco, Celestica, Corning, and Sienna—4Cs—Arista, and Nvidia.”
  — Woojin Ho [29:50]

• “Networking is probably at the center of [the AI investment cycle] right now and that’s why you’re having a lot of investment on the networking front.”
  — Woojin Ho [32:25]

Tone and Language

The discussion is candid, data-driven, and occasionally laced with humor; panelists openly weigh skepticism against corporate optimism, consistently grounding forecasts and commentary in market realities.

Conclusion

This episode delivers a comprehensive look at pivotal industry shifts: Oracle betting big on AI/cloud with aggressive financing, Musk’s entity consolidation in AI, Disney’s strategic refocus on parks and leadership stability, important pharma trends, and the evolving landscape for networking as AI infrastructure explodes. Listeners gain actionable insights into financial strategies, market skepticism, sector opportunities, and the critical drivers shaping technology and related industries in 2026.