There are no safe havens in the stock market. Every stock carries risk. But some less than others. This column features stocks that have shown one or more of the following characteristics: less volatility, better earnings, larger market caps, safe and increasing dividends. In these times of turmoil, our goal is to show readers better opportunities for investing with fewer risks.

November 24, 2009 - Oracle Corp. (ORCL-NASDAQ) an enterprise software company, engages in the development, manufacture, distribution, servicing, and marketing of database, middleware, and application software worldwide.

Its Software License Updates and Products Support segment offers rights to unspecified software product upgrades and maintenance releases, and Internet access to technical content, as well as Internet and telephone access to technical support personnel.

The company's Consulting segment provides services in the areas of business strategy and analysis, business process simplification, and solutions integration, and the upgrade of software products.

Its On Demand segment offers software and hardware management, and maintenance services for its software products; and life cycle management services, database and application management services, industry-specific solution support centers, and remote and on-site expert services.

The company's Education segment provides instructor-led, media-based, and Internet-based training in the use of software products. It distributes products and services to resellers, system integrators/implementers, consultants, education providers, Internet service providers, network integrators, and independent software vendors. The company was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Redwood City, California.

Like earnings that keep going higher. Starting in 2006, earnings per share were 80 cents, then went to $1.01, followed by $1.30. This year, they hit $1.44 (fiscal year ends in May). Next year, 29 analysts have a consensus estimate of $1.53, then $1.68 in 2011. Over the last 5 years, average annual earnings increased by 23%. Over the next 5, look for 12.5%. The next quarterly report will be out in December. Expect 36 cents a share, up from 34 cents last year in the same quarter. For the next quarter, look for 36 cents compared to 35 cents last year.

While new software sales slowed due to global economic recession, Oracle kept its bottom line growing because of license updates and support. Analysts don't see better software sales anytime soon, but with cost cuts and careful expense management, earnings should continue to improve, just not as strong as in the past years.

Oracle is trying to complete the acquisition of Sun Microsystems, but the European Commission is having trouble with a merger of the two giants. In particular, the commission is concerned about Sun's MySQL database which is an open source product and that Oracle might limit the prospects of MySQL, giving Oracle the opportunity to gain even more market share for its software and services. On the plus side: the U.S. regulatory bodies have twice scrutinized the deal and have no objection to it. It would seem Oracle feels there will be a positive resolution with the European body since it issued $5 billion in debt to finance the Sun purchase.

There are two hurdles for Oracle stock. One is the general economic slowdown. Once that recedes and IT spending returns to robust levels, earnings estimates will have to be revised upward. Second is the approval of the Sun deal. Once that unknown is resolved, the stock should move higher. When both of those events occur is anyone's guess, but they will most likely happen within the next year.

More numbers: Trailing P/E is 20.42 but Forward P/E is 13.48. Price to Sales is 4.87. Price to Book is 4.28. Book value is $5.22 a share. Operating margin for the last 12 months was 38.17% while Profit margin was an extraordinary 24.55%. Return on Equity was 22.58%. Total debt is $14.72 billion while Total cash is $20.57 billion. Current ratio is 2.67. There are 5.01 billion shares outstanding with a float of 3.85 billion. Insiders own 23.16%. Institutions have 61.60%. The dividend is 20 cents a share annually. The yield is .9. Value Line rates the company's financial strength at A++.

Conservative investors should find this stock of interest with its large cash position, exceptionally strong profit margins, and decent growth in tough economic times. If the EC approves the Sun deal and global economies improve, look for this stock to reflect the good news.

- Company Web site: www.oracle.com

Ted Allrich