Oracle Under Wide-Angle Lens

There's been so much discussion on Wall Street about Oracle's(ORCL Quote) organic growth you'd be pardoned for thinking CEO Larry Ellison was a Northern California farmer.

With 10 acquisitions, including nine this year, the company is indulging in a spending binge that could cost it as much as $17 billion if all deals close. And that makes it increasingly important -- as well as increasingly difficult -- to gauge Oracle's internal growth rate.

"Adding another layer to the company isn't the issue," says Pat Becker Jr., an analyst with Becker Capital Management. "I'm looking at the core business -- applications and database -- and asking how much is it growing." ...