AI Backlogs Become Demand Barometer

Investors are pivoting from quarterly revenue to remaining performance obligations (RPO) to gauge AI demand. Oracle’s $455B backlog—more than double what Wall Street expected—overrode a revenue/EPS miss and drove a historic re‑rating. In AI infrastructure, multi‑year commitments now matter more than current sales. — This shifts how markets, media, and policymakers interpret the AI boom, elevating contracted backlog as the key indicator of real, durable demand and associated capex and energy needs.