Oracle Corporation (ORCL) Earnings: An Early Look

Most experts believe that Oracle’s purchase of Acme is driven by the desire to attack Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO), which has been doing its own share of trying to move beyond its networking roots to incorporate cloud-related elements. Yet despite its strategic shifts lately, Cisco still seems more interested in defending its networking turf than in going up against Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ:ORCL) directly. Similarly, Oracle should see its more direct competitors as a bigger threat, especially as International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) and other peers have taken their own steps to broaden their scope across the industry.

In its quarterly report, watch for Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ:ORCL) to give more information about the status of and reasoning behind the Acme Packet buyout. What happens with this key acquisition will define the future path for Oracle for years to come.

The article Oracle Earnings: An Early Look originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Dan Caplinger.

Fool contributor Dan Caplinger has no position in any stocks mentioned. You can follow him on Twitter @DanCaplinger. The Motley Fool recommends Acme Packet and Cisco Systems. It owns shares of IBM and Oracle.

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