Business and Finance

Oracle Corp (ORCL.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) reported a 27 percent rise in quarterly profit as sales of new software beat expectations, but the company gave a cautious outlook citing economic uncertainties, and its shares fell 3 percent.

Oracle, whose shares had been near a seven-year high, posted May quarter results that topped Wall Street estimates on virtually all measures. But the company cautioned that while business is growing, deals are taking longer to close than they have historically as customers are giving them more scrutiny.

“Bit more cautious environment. But … we have a big enough pipeline hopefully to get through it all,” Oracle President Charles Phillips said on a conference call.

Oracle gave forecasts for its fiscal first quarter, ending in August, roughly in line with expectations. It saw revenue growing 18 percent to 20 percent, net income at 17 to 18 cents per share, and earnings excluding items at 26 to 27 cents.

Analysts, on average, were looking for earnings excluding items of 27 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Pacific Crest Securities analyst Brendan Barnicle said Oracle’s commentary on business trends suggested some caution about the economy paydayloans. He said smaller software maker Red Hat Inc (RHT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) exhibited a similar tone in its report on Wednesday.

“I think companies are going to continue to be cautious about their guidance that they give moving into summer,” Barnicle said.

Chief Financial Officer Safra Catz said the August quarter faced tough comparisons with a year ago, when software license growth had jumped 35 percent from the year-earlier period. 

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