"This allows competitors particularly SAP to work on product functionality while market growth is constrained by IT budgets." Oracle's ( ORCL ) August quarter results, which will be announced as most software companies are finishing up their third quarter ending in September, is likely to be viewed as a proxy for the rest of the software sector, Sherlund said. At meetings last week with New York investors, Oracle CFO Jeff Henley left the impression that results are probably in line with estimates, which have been reduced several times, Sherlund wrote. The consensus estimate pegs Oracle's first-quarter earnings at 7 cents a share on $2.1 billion in revenue, according to Thomson Financial/First Call. "An in-line August quarter for Oracle would probably be viewed as a further sign of stabilization of the software business following many quarters of earnings shortfalls and estimate reductions," wrote Sherlund, who has a market outperform rating on Oracle.