Oracle Reportedly Raises Prices 15%-20% On Major Pdts

Oracle (ORCL) has raised prices by 15%-20% “across all major product lines,” according to a brief research note this afternoon by Citigroup’s Brent Thill. Now, you want to keep in mind that Oracle negotiates prices with customers of any significant size, so the numbers on the price list are not necessarily what people actually pay. But that said, it still is an eye-opening development.

Thill says the company has not installed a price increase of this magnitude “for many years.”

According to the note, Thill examined the price list release earlier this week and compared it to previous lists to uncover the price increases.

So how can they get away with this in an soft IT spending environment? Thill says there are three reasons. One, the company is the first or second leading player in each of the categories in which they play. Two, it has been a long time since it raised prices this much. And three, he notes that customers rarely pay list prices after negotiating.

Oracle today is up 5 cents at $22.58.

Author: Eric Savitz @ http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily