ORCL Preview: Estimates Are at Risk By Gary Dvorchak About this article: The Street is looking for earnings of 34 cents per share on $5.8 billion in sales when Oracle reports after the close tonight, but it seems increasingly possible that those numbers are at risk. Companies selling $25 billion a year in anything depend on large deals ($1 million-plus) to accumulate that level of sales, and big-ticket capital expenses are always the first items to be reviewed when companies tighten their belts. Software is doubly at risk, because it doesn't wear out like physical capex; you can always get by with your existing systems for one more quarter, especially when your own business is not growing at the moment. A number of analysts are reporting that their Oracle channel checks show some application deals being deferred, but the surprise might be weakness in database/middleware as well. The huge dollar rally does not help either, as a majority... Or, call us at 1-866-321-TSCM (8726) Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. ET. Outside the U.S. and in Canada, call 1-212-321-5200. More Stories From RealMoney Durable Goods Up Move Down the Tech Food Chain Jobless Claims Still High Bulls' Tenacity Is the Big Question Mark Should You Buy It? Pharmaceutical Product Development Bad News Trumps All Support for Banks Holds, For Now Bummer, Yields Are on the Rise Money on the Line Makes a Big Difference Structured Products: Unsafe at Any Price MORE STORIES FROM REALMONEY

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