Oracle missing its earnings guidance is like Mariano Rivera blowing a save opportunity, or Bob Dylan putting out a disappointing record. It happens, but not very often. And when it does, the only real question is: Why?
The answer matters beyond the world of Oracle (ORCL) shareholders. Oracle has long been seen as a kind of proxy for corporate spending on information technology. If Oracle's earnings disappointed because of internal problems, that's not such a big deal outside Oracle. If Oracle didn't do much wrong, however, it points to a possible slowdown in IT spending for next year.
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