Snowflake vs. Oracle: Which Cloud Data Stock Is Built for the AI Future?

Snowflake SNOW and Oracle ORCL are leading the shift as enterprises modernize data infrastructure to meet the demands of large-scale AI workloads. Snowflake offers a cloud-native architecture with strong scalability, cross-cloud flexibility and integrated AI tools like Cortex AI and Snowpark. Oracle combines its enterprise software legacy with a growing cloud portfolio, including Oracle Autonomous Database, MySQL HeatWave and AI-enhanced infrastructure through OCI and multicloud partnerships.Per the Datainsights Market, the global cloud data platform market is valued at $22.78 billion in 2025 and is expected to reach $104.50 billion by 2033, witnessing a CAGR of 24.3%. As enterprise investments in AI-ready infrastructure accelerate, both SNOW and ORCL are well-positioned to capture demand.However, SNOW or ORCL, which of these cloud data stocks has the greater upside potential?Let’s find out.The Case for SnowflakeSnowflake is positioned as a core enterprise platform for AI-driven data workloads. Its architecture supports deployment across major public clouds, open table formats like Apache Iceberg and the integration of structured and unstructured data, essential for building scalable AI pipelines. Tools such as Snowpark, the Native App Framework and Polaris Catalog offer a flexible developer environment, while Cortex AI allows business users to run large language models directly on governed enterprise data.Adoption of these capabilities continues to expand. Over 5,200 customer accounts used Snowflake’s AI and ML features weekly in the first quarter. At Summit 2025, SNOW introduced more than 100 new features, including Snowflake Copilot for conversational queries and native access to Meta’s Llama 4. The partnership with Microsoft further enhances Snowflake’s reach by enabling Cortex AI on Azure, while integrations with Acxiom and firms like Siemens and Dentsu bring customer intelligence and campaign analytics directly onto the platform.The developments are contributing to steady enterprise traction. Snowflake reported $996.8 million in product revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2026, up 26% year over year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter product revenue is pegged at $1.04 billion, with the consensus mark for total customers being pegged at 11,961 customers. The consensus mark for remaining performance obligations is pegged at $6.84 billion for the to-be-reported quarter.As enterprises continue investing in AI-ready data platforms, Snowflake’s ecosystem depth, product innovation and cross-cloud flexibility position it to benefit from the growing demand.The Case for ORCLOracle is building a vertically integrated enterprise platform for AI-powered workloads. ORCL’s stack combines cloud infrastructure, autonomous databases and industry-focused applications, supported by expanding multi-cloud partnerships with Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and AWS. The architecture is designed to support mission-critical systems while enabling customers to run AI models securely on enterprise data.Oracle continues to integrate generative AI across core products. The latest 23ai database enables vector search, retrieval-augmented generation and model fine-tuning directly on enterprise data. These capabilities have seen growing adoption across the public sector, healthcare and industrial clients. Oracle’s Fusion and NetSuite applications now embed AI assistants that help enterprises automate invoice processing, employee service requests, financial forecasting and procurement planning, allowing enterprises to streamline critical workflows across departments.Oracle’s platform capabilities are translating into broad-based cloud momentum. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, total cloud revenue rose 27% year over year to $6.7 billion. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure revenues grew 62% year over year for the last reported quarter. Database services reached an annualized revenue of $2.6 billion, up 31%. Fusion and NetSuite Cloud ERP revenues both reached $1 billion, growing 22% and 18%, respectively. Strategic back-office SaaS applications now contribute $9.3 billion in annualized revenue.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the first quarter of fiscal 2026 cloud services and license revenue is pegged at $12.21 billion, with the consensus mark for cloud license and on-premise revenue being pegged at $891 million.As enterprises scale AI adoption and modernize their back-end systems, Oracle’s platform breadth, multicloud flexibility and embedded intelligence place it in a strong position to support enterprise transformation at scale.Price Performance and Valuation of SNOW and ORCLIn the year-to-date period, SNOW shares have rallied 33.3%, while ORCL shares have appreciated 53.4%.SNOW and ORCL Price PerformanceImage Source: Zacks Investment ResearchIn terms of valuation, Snowflake appears more expensive, trading at 13.64X forward 12-month Price/Sales compared with Oracle’s 10.43X.Both Snowflake and Oracle hold a Value Score of F.SNOW and ORCL ValuationImage Source: Zacks Investment ResearchHow Do Earnings Estimates Compare for SNOW & ORCL?The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SNOW’s fiscal 2026 earnings is pegged at $1.06 per share, unchanged over the past 30 days. The figure indicates a 27.71% increase year over year.Snowflake Inc. Price and Consensus Snowflake Inc. price-consensus-chart | Snowflake Inc. QuoteThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for ORCL’s fiscal 2026 earnings is pegged at $6.73 per share, up by 2 cents over the past 30 days. This indicates an 11.61% increase year over year.Oracle Corporation Price and Consensus Oracle Corporation price-consensus-chart | Oracle Corporation QuoteHere’s Why SNOW is a Better Buy Right NowBoth Snowflake and Oracle are helping enterprises modernize their data environments for the AI era. Oracle brings scale and application breadth, but its growth remains tied to legacy migrations and hybrid setups. Snowflake offers a more focused, cloud-native platform built for AI-driven analytics and agile data development. SNOW’s premium valuation reflects the strength of its execution, differentiated architecture and growing relevance in next-generation enterprise data strategy.Currently, Snowflake carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), making it a more attractive pick than Oracle, which has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Zacks' Research Chief Picks Stock Most Likely to "At Least Double"Our experts have revealed their Top 5 recommendations with money-doubling potential – and Director of Research Sheraz Mian believes one is superior to the others. Of course, all our picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier recommendations like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.See Our Top Stock to Double (Plus 4 Runners Up) >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Oracle Corporation (ORCL): Free Stock Analysis Report Snowflake Inc. (SNOW): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks