ORCL vs WK: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?
Last updated August 2026
Short answer
ORCL is the larger of the two ($374.09B market cap): the incumbent the market prices for continued execution (11.93x forward earnings, beta 1.71). WK is the smaller challenger ($4.17B), actually pricier on forward earnings (18.35x): more room to run, but more to prove. The real question is which set of drivers you believe, and whether owning one (or both) leaves you over-concentrated.
ORCL vs WK: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.
| Metric | ORCL | WK | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $374.09B | $4.17B | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | 11.93 | 18.35 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Trailing P/E | 22.28 | 89.52 | Valuation on the last 12 months. A big drop from trailing to forward means the market expects earnings to jump, so more growth is already in the price. |
| Beta | 1.71 | 0.44 | Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 7% of range | 58% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
Reading it: ORCL is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.
Before you buy: how ORCL and WK affect your concentration
The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. ORCL and WK share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.
This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined ORCL and WK exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
What does Oracle (ORCL) do?
Oracle is one of the largest enterprise software companies in the world. The traditional business is database software (the Oracle Database is the dominant enterprise relational database), enterprise applications (Oracle ERP, HCM, CRM via the Fusion suite, plus NetSuite for smaller businesses), and Java (Oracle owns and maintains the Java platform). These are mature, sticky, high-margin businesses.
What does Workiva Inc. (WK) do?
Workiva (NYSE: WK) sells a single cloud platform for regulated reporting. Finance, audit, risk and sustainability teams pull figures from their ERP, general ledger and other systems, assemble documents that stay linked back to those sources, and file the result with regulators. The original wedge was SEC filings and XBRL tagging, where changing one number has to flow through every table and footnote that uses it. From there the company added SOX and internal controls, statutory reporting, ESEF filings in Europe, and sustainability disclosure. Around 92% of revenue is subscription and support, spread across roughly 6,750 customer organizations including a large share of the Fortune 500.
ORCL vs WK: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- ORCL drivers: Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) AI deals; Database and applications as the cash cow.
- WK drivers: Large accounts, not logo count; The margin turn arrived a year early.
Which fits which kind of investor
A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: AI cloud deals carry execution risk: massive datacenter buildouts must be delivered on time, profitably. For WK, european scope is the clearest risk.
ORCL or WK: which should you pick?
Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick ORCL if you believe its drivers more; WK if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the ORCL and WK guides.
ORCL vs WK: the full fundamentals
ORCL. Oracle's valuation has re-rated meaningfully higher as the market has come to view it as an AI cloud beneficiary rather than just a legacy database company. The multiple expansion is justified if AI cloud bookings continue; it compresses quickly if growth stalls.
WK. At ~$74 a share the market value is ~$4.17B. Netting out ~$815M of cash and adding back ~$773M of converts puts enterprise value near ~$4.1B, roughly 4x the ~$1.04B of revenue guided for 2026 and about 19x the free cash flow that a ~21% margin implies. Software growing in the high teens with cash margins near 20% carried far richer multiples in 2021; the market now pays for steady compounding rather than acceleration, and Workiva is priced accordingly.
Headline figures (approximate, early 2026): ORCL shows revenue (ttm) ~$58 billion, operating margin ~30% (compressed by AI capex), net income (ttm) ~$13 billion, eps (ttm) ~$4.50; WK shows revenue (ttm) ~$966M, q2 2026 revenue growth ~19% year over year, subscription also ~19%, non-gaap operating margin (q2 2026) ~16.8%, up from ~3.8%, 2026 free cash flow margin guidance ~21% on ~$1.04B of revenue.
The bottom line: ORCL vs WK
ORCL and WK are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined ORCL and WK exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how ORCL or WK fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in Oracle with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how ORCL fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the difference between ORCL and WK?
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Oracle is one of the largest enterprise software companies in the world. Workiva (NYSE: WK) sells a single cloud platform for regulated reporting. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is ORCL or WK the better stock?
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Neither is universally better. ORCL is the larger incumbent; WK is the smaller challenger and looks pricier on forward earnings. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, ORCL or WK?
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On forward P/E (as of August 2026), ORCL trades at 11.93x and WK at 18.35x, so ORCL is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both ORCL and WK?
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Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of ORCL vs WK?
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ORCL: AI cloud deals carry execution risk: massive datacenter buildouts must be delivered on time, profitably. If AI capex demand cools, the buildout becomes a stranded asset risk. WK: European scope is the clearest risk. Directive (EU) 2026/470 raised CSRD thresholds to roughly 1,000 employees and EUR 450M of turnover and fully exempted listed SMEs, which removes a large slice of the mandated buyers the sustainability products were sized for. Competition arrives from two directions at once: disclosure specialists that undercut on the filing piece, and close and controls platforms expanding toward reporting. The ~$773M of convertible notes sits against ~$815M of cash and securities, so the balance sheet is comfortable, though conversion becomes a dilution question at higher share prices. Retention around 111% is decent but below what the stock was once valued on, and with customer count growing about 4% there is little new-logo volume to offset a further slip. Platform consolidation deals take a long time to close, so a budget freeze shows up as delayed expansions rather than churn, which makes it slow to detect.
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Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell ORCL or WK; figures are approximate and dated (as of August 2026). Verify current data before investing.