Oracle Gave Larry Ellison and Co-CEOs $1 Billion in Stock Options that have Sunk

Oracle awarded co-founder Larry Ellison and its newly appointed co-CEOs stock-option packages with a combined grant-date value of $988 million in fiscal 2026, a year in which its cloud business boomed and its shares posted a 38% total return.

Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison as the company's shares face a sharp decline following a volatile year. [Photo: Oracle Facebook]

By the end of the fiscal year on May 31, all of those options were underwater, Amanda Gerut reported for Fortune.

The decline came after a volatile year for Oracle's stock, with the options having been priced near the market's peak.

Oracle, along with other megacap technology companies, has been racing to finance and build data centers while spending $55.7 billion in capital expenditures during the fiscal year.

On Friday, Oracle shares closed at $137, down 53% over the previous 12 months. The company's proxy statement, published Friday, said the three awards "had no intrinsic value" at fiscal year-end.

The strike price on an option is the price at which the holder can purchase shares. Ellison's award had a grant-date value of $117.8 million and a strike price of $280.

The exercise price for co-CEOs Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia is $308. Magouyrk and Sicilia received packages valued at $621.7 million and $248.7 million, respectively, shortly after their September 2025 promotions.