$Oracle(ORCL.US)

To all overnight warriors, late-night champions, pre-market teasers and post-market contemplators, believers in "U.S. stocks always rise," and digital nomads who have been hurt by tech stocks:

Good late night, I am a Nasdaq philosopher who chases rallies in the Nasdaq lights, repeatedly tests the S&P annual line, and oscillates daily between "DCA changes destiny" and "day trading ruins lives."

Taking advantage of this boring and disappointing intraday market, I'd like to talk to you about my newly updated "Black Humor Dictionary of U.S. Stocks," with a new entry called "Oracle-style profits": EPS surged 37%, far exceeding expectations, but the market only focused on the negative $10 billion in free cash flow and asked the philosophical question—"Your future is beautiful, but who's responsible for my account tonight?" Turns out, Wall Street doesn't just want growth—it wants cash growth that can be pocketed immediately.

This plunge is a classic case of market sentiment shifting from "applauding dreams" to "panicking over bills." Oracle presented a schizophrenic picture: its right hand held up the "future"—remaining performance obligations surged 438% YoY to $523 billion, painting a story that stretches to the edge of the galaxy. Its left hand handed over the "bill":—quarterly capex of $12 billion, full-year guidance aggressively raised by $15 billion to $50 billion, and free cash flow shockingly at -$10 billion. The market voted with its feet and screamed, "I believe in your future, but can you not make my present so ugly?"

Is there anyone like me who feels their investing career is always schizophrenically torn between "chasing grand narratives" and "begging for short-term profits"? We learn from Buffett to think long-term, but our bodies honestly trade "expectation gaps" on every earnings day. Oracle's experience today is just like the "Schrödinger's state" of many of our holdings: logically grand and self-consistent, but once the path to realization involves "burning cash" and "debt," Mr. Market instantly turns from a romantic into a cold accountant.

Finally, here's the footnote for this black night: "I thought 'time’s friend' was value investing, but now I realize time might also be 'cash flow’s enemy.' When the bill’s due date comes earlier than the dream’s realization date, the market will always choose to sell first."