Channel Beat: Oracle Cloud Shows Fast Growth in Q2

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Oracle beat analyst expectations in its second financial quarter, bolstered by its fast-growing cloud business.

Q2 earnings were 63 cents per share, which beat analysts' expectation of 60 cents per share. Redwood City, Calif.-based Oracle's cloud revenues were up 26 percent at $649 million. Cloud Software-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service revenues were $484 million, up 34 percent.

Oracle shares jumped 2 percent in after-hours trading after the numbers came out.

Apple is weathering a stock dive, as the Cupertino, Calif.-based company's shares dropped as much as 1.5 percent Wednesday. That erased any gains for the year. The stock has since rallied, but it's up just 0.8 percent for the year.

Rumors about sluggish smartphone sales may be to blame for the poor performance. Analysts are expecting weaker Q4 demand for iPhones than in 2014.

Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab has lost two key executives in recent weeks-- Christopher Doggett, North American managing director and president, and John Murdock, vice president of SMB and channel sales.

Doggett took a post at Boston-based Carbonite, and earned praise from CEO Eugene Kaspersky. Murdock took a position at cloud software company Centage, Natick, Mass., and will be replaced by Leslie Bois.

PUBLISHED DEC. 17, 2015