Oracle shares rose about 8% in extended trading on Wednesday after the software maker reported results that exceeded Wall Street estimates and signaled that cloud growth is accelerating.

Here’s how the company did in comparison with LSEG consensus:

• Earnings per share: $1.70 adjusted vs. $1.64 expected
• Revenue: $15.9 billion vs. $15.59 billion expected

Revenue increased 11% during the fiscal fourth quarter, which ended on May 31, according to a statement. Net income rose to $3.43 billion, or $1.19 per share, from $3.14 billion, or $1.11 per share, in the same quarter last year.

CEO Safra Catz said in the statement that cloud infrastructure revenue will increase by more than 70% in the 2026 fiscal year, up from growth of 52% in the quarter.

The company said revenue from cloud services and license support totaled $11.7 billion, topping the $11.59 billion consensus from analysts polled by StreetAccount. Cloud and on-premises license revenue of $2.01 billion was above StreetAccount’s $1.82 billion consensus.

During the quarter, Oracle announced a partnership with Cleveland Clinic and G42, the United Arab Emirates’ artificial intelligence holding company, on an AI delivery platform for health care. Oracle also announced cloud and consulting commitments with IBM. And SoftBank said it would acquire Oracle-backed chip design startup Ampere for $6.5 billion.

Capital expenditures for the 2025 fiscal year exceeded $21 billion, compared with less than $7 billion in fiscal 2024.

As of Wednesday’s close, Oracle shares were up 6% for the year, while the S&P 500 index was up 2%.

Executives will issue guidance and discuss the results with analysts on a conference call starting at 5 p.m. ET.

This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

WATCH: OpenAI announces Stargate UAE, in partnership with Nvidia, Oracle, SoftBank, Cisco, G42

When Matt Kubancik, a small business owner in Louisville, Kentucky, cast his ballot for Donald Trump in November, he was hoping that the Republican nominee’s return to the White House would provide a spark to the economy and lead to reduced prices for gas and groceries.

Instead, the first half-year of Trump’s second term in the White House has been more like a “vacation from hell,” Kubancik said. Guardian Baseball, the baseball goods company he co-founded in 2018, mostly relies on manufacturers in China, which is locked in a full-blown trade war with the U.S. 

It didn’t take long for Kubancik to regret his vote. After 20 years as a Republican, Kubancik changed his registration to Democrat last month.

“I’ve been a registered lifelong Republican. I’ve supported independent candidates and Democratic candidates in the state of Kentucky before, but this made it enough to switch parties,” Kubancik said in an interview. “I don’t feel the country is headed down the right path.”

While the stock market has bounced back from a brutal start to the year, thanks largely to the Trump administration pausing its most extreme tariffs announced in April, small retailers that rely on imports to stay afloat are stuck in no-man’s land. Tariffs from China are still at a historically high rate of 30%, coming down at least temporarily from Trump’s prior announcement of 145% after the two countries reached a 90-day truce on May 12.

The big concern is what happens when that three-month agreement expires in August. Both countries have already accused each other of violating the preliminary trade agreement.

Guardian Baseball sells its products on Amazon and in brick-and-mortar stores like Walmart. Even at a rate of 30% for goods from China, its costs are significantly higher than they were before Trump took office. Some small businesses have stopped ordering more inventory or are hitting pause on new product development while they wait to see how the situation evolves. Others have been forced to raise prices because they can no longer afford to digest higher import costs.

The struggles faced by businesses like Guardian Baseball don’t necessarily show up in the data.

According to a survey of 270 business leaders released on Monday from Chief Executive Group, less than 30% of CEOs forecast either a mild or severe recession over the next six months. That’s down from 46% who said the same in May and 62% in April.

And a quarterly report published Tuesday from the National Federation of Independent Business showed that optimism increased slightly in May from April, though “uncertainty is still high among small business owners,” NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg said in the release.

U.S. and Chinese officials late Tuesday concluded two days of trade talks in London. Under the preliminary agreement, the U.S. would apply 55% tariffs on Chinese goods, Trump said in a post on Truth Social. The full details of the agreement have yet to be released. Trump said the deal is subject to approval by his administration and China President Xi Jinping.

“President Xi and I are going to work closely to open up China to American Trade,” Trump wrote in a post. “This would be a great WIN for both countries!!!”

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC’s “Money Movers” on Wednesday that U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports won’t change from their current levels, even as a trade deal between Washington and Beijing has yet to be finalized.

The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment.

In addition to the China levy, the Trump administration placed a 25% tariff on goods from Canada.

“Any time I hear that ding from Shopify, I have to worry about where the order is coming from,” Sagar said.

Greg Shugar, who operates multiple apparel businesses, said the problem with trying to plan for the future is that policy decisions are “all about Trump’s ego.”

“If we understood the true motivation behind the administration we’d know where to go or what to do,” said Shugar, co-owner of women’s clothing company Carrie Amber Intimates and men’s accessory maker Beau Ties Vermont.

Shugar said Trump’s shifting position on tariffs has left him paralyzed on whether or not to move production out of China.

Last month, he joined a group of other small business owners at an event organized by the National Retail Federation, with a plan to bring their concerns to the White House. The group met with a representative from the Trump administration for about 30 minutes.

Shugar said he left feeling more pessimistic about the tariff situation than before he walked in the door.

“We’re not going to eat a 30% tariff and neither is the consumer,” Shugar said. “So there’s actually no winners, there’s only losers with these tariffs.”

After Walmart warned last month that it will have to raise prices, Trump told the retail giant to “eat the tariffs.”

Kubancik of Guardian Baseball said his company “got a big break” last year when it signed a deal with Walmart to put its products in 3,000 stores.

Now he’s delaying inventory orders from China and taking a more conservative approach to coming up with new products, because the company can’t afford to take on added risk.

“It felt like we finally made it as a brand,” Kubancik said. “And now it feels like a plane nosediving.”

WATCH: Trump is now recognizing China has more leverage than expected

Disney and Universal joined forces in a lawsuit against artificial intelligence image creator Midjourney, alleging copyright infringement.

It is the first AI copyright lawsuit from Hollywood giants.

The lawsuit claims that the company used and distributed AI-generated characters from the movie studios like Star Wars, The Simpsons and other films and alleges that Midjourney disregarded requests to stop.

The studios included numerous examples in the suit of AI-generated images of characters from Cars, Toy Story, Shrek, The Avengers and the minions from Despicable Me.

Disney and Universal are demanding a jury trial, arguing that the actions threaten to “upend the bedrock incentives of U.S. copyright law.”

“Midjourney is the quintessential copyright free-rider and a bottomless pit of plagiarism,” the movie studios said, calling the actions “calculated and willful.”

Both companies said they sent letters to Midjourney’s counsel to prevent further copyright infringement, but the company continued to release new iterations of its image generator.

“​​Midjourney, which has attracted millions of subscribers and made $300 million last year alone, is focused on its own bottom line and ignored Plaintiffs’ demands,” the suit says.

CNBC has reached out to Midjourney for comment on the case.

The rise of AI has raised the stakes in the media industry, and sparked concerns over how to protect content from illegal copyrighting. This is one of the most significant copyright legal battles to date involving AI.

“Creativity is the cornerstone of our business,” said Kimberley Harris, executive vice president and general counsel of NBCUniversal, in a statement. “We are bringing this action today to protect the hard work of all the artists whose work entertains and inspires us and the significant investment we make in our content.” 

Midjourney told Disney it was reviewing the letter but never responded, according to the suit. Universal said Midjourney did not respond to its letter.

“We are bullish on the promise of AI technology and optimistic about how it can be used responsibly as a tool to further human creativity,” said Horacio Gutierrez, senior executive vice president and chief legal and compliance officer of The Walt Disney Company, in a statement. “But piracy is piracy, and the fact that it’s done by an AI company does not make it any less infringing.”

The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court Central District of California.

WATCH: Disney, Universal file complaint against AI company Midjourney alleging copyright

Disclosure: Universal is owned by NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC. Comcast owns NBCUniversal.