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Oracle's Data Center Force Majeure Flap

Oracle shares fell 5% after Bloomberg reported a force majeure notice on its New Mexico data center; the company responded that such notices are routine and won't affect delivery.

2026-09-24 ~ 2026-09-25 · 2 episodes · 11 posts

Episode 1 · Oracle Declares Force Majeure on New Mexico Megadata Center, Shares Fall 5% (2026-09-24, 9 posts)

On September 24, Oracle was reported to have issued a force majeure notice for a hyperscale data center under construction in New Mexico. The news came via Bloomberg, was amplified by Joe Weisenthal (TheStalwart) and others, and was also covered by ZeroHedge. After the news broke, $ORCL fell about 5%, as markets worried that execution risk and cost pressure in the AI compute buildout boom were starting to eat into big tech's finances.

Confirmed

  • Oracle has issued a force majeure notice on the New Mexico data center project (reported by Bloomberg, ZeroHedge and others)
  • $ORCL dropped about 5% after the news
  • Oracle's official account responded that force majeure notices are common in developments of this scale and are typically just used to preserve contractual rights among partners, not indicating project delays or changed delivery expectations

Unconfirmed

  • X user ns123abc claimed, with screenshots, that the data center is OpenAI's Stargate site in New Mexico, but this link has not been officially confirmed; ns123abc also stressed in follow-up posts that the news remains unverified
  • Whether the project will be paused, terminated or delayed if the force majeure clause is actually invoked is still unknown

Why it matters

  • The New Mexico data center is believed to be tied to a major AI compute contract; if force majeure stands, it could affect the related AI compute supply arrangements
  • The incident is seen as a sign that soaring infrastructure costs and execution risks are surfacing amid the AI compute expansion boom; some market watchers think Oracle may be using the clause to escape rapidly rising project costs
  • The news triggered broad market reaction, with some users tagging Sam Altman directly on X and others mocking Larry Ellison sarcastically

Episode 2 · Oracle Says Data Center Force Majeure Notice Doesn't Change Delivery Timeline (2026-09-25, 2 posts)

Oracle clarified that its data center force majeure notice is common in large-scale projects and is meant to preserve contractual rights, not to signal delays. The company said delivery expectations and rent payments remain unchanged.