Akamai Technologies, Inc. (AKAM)
NEUTRALFundamental
62
Price
$105.89
Market Cap
$15.19B
Part 1 · What the company is worth
Overview
Akamai runs one of the world's largest networks of servers spread across thousands of locations close to internet users, originally built to make websites load faster by caching content nearby instead of fetching it from a distant data center. That same distributed network is now the foundation for two newer businesses: cybersecurity services that block attacks at the network edge, and cloud computing capacity sold as a lower-cost alternative to the big hyperscalers.
How it makes money
Akamai sells its network capacity mostly through subscription and usage-based contracts with large enterprises — media companies, banks, retailers — who pay to protect and speed up their websites and applications. Security is now the largest and fastest-growing piece of revenue, Compute (cloud infrastructure) the smallest but growing quickly, while the original Delivery business is shrinking as customers build multi-cloud setups or handle traffic themselves, a mix shift that is gradually changing what kind of company Akamai is.
Revenue by segment
Cloud security services — application and API protection, DDoS mitigation, bot defense — sold mainly to large enterprises. The largest and fastest-growing part of the business.
The original content delivery network business: caching and speeding up websites, video and software downloads. Revenue has been declining as customers adopt alternatives.
Cloud infrastructure and computing capacity, positioned as a lower-cost alternative to the largest cloud providers. The smallest segment but growing at double digits.
Competitive moat
Switching costs · NarrowOnce a large enterprise has wired Akamai's network into how its website or app handles traffic and security, ripping it out and replacing it with a competitor's is disruptive engineering work, which keeps existing customers in place. But that stickiness has not stopped Akamai's original Delivery business from shrinking as buyers adopt cheaper multi-cloud alternatives, so the moat protects revenue more than it grows it.
What drives demand
Moderately cyclicalDemand tracks enterprise spending on IT, security and internet infrastructure, which is more resilient than consumer spending but not immune to budget tightening in a downturn. Security spending in particular tends to hold up well even when other IT budgets are cut, since companies treat protection against attacks as close to mandatory.
Key risks
- Competition from hyperscale cloud providers — AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure and dedicated CDN or security rivals like Cloudflare all compete for the same enterprise budgets, and some customers choose to build the capability themselves.
- Structural decline of the Delivery business — The original CDN business has shrunk for several consecutive years as customers shift to multi-cloud strategies or in-house solutions, and there is no guarantee the decline levels off.
- Cybersecurity threats to its own network — As a security vendor, Akamai is itself a target for sophisticated attacks, especially during periods of heightened geopolitical tension; a breach would damage the trust its security business depends on.
- Need for continuous innovation — Security and cloud computing evolve quickly; failing to keep pace with new threats and technologies, or losing engineering talent to competitors, could erode Akamai's relevance in its two growth segments.
The case for
Buyers argue that Security and Compute are growing at double digits and now outweigh the shrinking Delivery business, that switching costs keep large enterprise customers in place, and that Akamai's global network gives it a lower-cost entry into cloud computing than building from scratch.
The case against
Sellers worry that Delivery's decline shows the core legacy business is being commoditized, that Security and Compute face well-funded competition from Cloudflare and the hyperscalers, and that Akamai must keep innovating just to hold its position against companies with far larger cloud infrastructure budgets.
Written by the editors, published on August 18, 2026
Direct competitors
Who this company fights with for the same customers
Generated on August 23, 2026 with claude-opus-5 — shared with all users
Through AWS it offers CloudFront, Shield and WAF alongside its cloud infrastructure, competing with Akamai both on delivery and security budgets and on the cloud computing spend Akamai is trying to win.
F5 sells application delivery, web application firewall and API security to the same large enterprises, both as appliances and through its Distributed Cloud service.
Azure Front Door, Azure CDN and Azure WAF put Microsoft in the same delivery and security deals, while Azure competes for the cloud computing workloads Akamai now pursues.
Cloudflare sells the same combination of content delivery, web application and API protection, DDoS mitigation and edge compute to the same enterprise and developer customers Akamai targets worldwide.
Fastly runs a competing global edge platform for content delivery, web application security and serverless compute, and names Akamai as a direct rival in its own annual report.
Imperva competes head-on for enterprise web application, API and bot protection contracts, the segment that now generates most of Akamai's revenue.
Balance Sheet & Liquidity
Revenue
$4.32B
Trailing 12 months (through 6/30/2026)
Net Income
$411M
Trailing 12 months (through 6/30/2026)
Free Cash Flow
$1.01B
Total Equity
$4.98B
Total Liabilities
$6.50B
Current Ratio
1.64
Interest Coverage
13.75
Debt/EBITDA
7.32
Earnings Per Share
Revenue & Net Income
Free Cash Flow
Income Breakdown
Historical statement
Margins over time
Debt over time
How heavy the debt is
Growth grid
Growth — Revenue
Fair Value Estimation
Fair Value
$103.43
Current Price
$105.89
Margin of Safety
-2.4%
Fair Value Range
$67.23 - $139.64
Estimation Methods
Valuation Metrics
P/E Ratio
38.14
ROE
9.1%
P/B Ratio
3.20
P/FCF
15.88
Gross Margin
57.5%
ROIC
2.9%
Profitability Radar
Value Creation (Economic Moat)
ROIC
2.9%
WACC
5.4%
ROIC − WACC
-2.4 pp
ROIC is below the cost of capital — the company is destroying value for every dollar invested.
Fundamental Analysis Criteria
Passed (18)
- EPS shows upward trend
- EPS CAGR 9.91%
- Price CAGR 5.17%
- Gross Margin 57.5%
- P/FCF 15.88
- Debt/Equity ratio
- Operating Margin 10.5%
- Positive Free Cash Flow
- Current Ratio
- Interest Coverage
- Return on Tangible Assets
- ROE 8.5%
- Revenue Growth 5Y 5.6%
- Analyst Consensus 64% Buy
- Earnings Surprise avg 2.9%
- Earnings Quality (OCF/NI) 3.52
- Share Dilution -4.6%
- Piotroski F-Score 5/9
Failed (8)
- ROIC 2.9%
- P/B Ratio 3.20
- CapEx intensity
- Debt/EBITDA
- Low reliance on intangibles
- Price below Graham Number
- DCF valuation (Overvalued)
- Net Margin Trend 9.5% vs 10.4%
Unavailable (2)
- Dividend Payout NaN%
- PEG Ratio (need PE > 0 and growth > 0)
Piotroski F-Score
Mixed signals: some areas need attention
Earnings Quality
High quality: earnings backed by cash
Share Dilution
Buying back shares. Shareholder friendly
Governance
Executive Team
| Name | Title | Age |
|---|---|---|
| Dr. F. Thomson Leighton | Co-Founder, CEO, President & Director | 68 |
| Mr. Edward J. McGowan CPA | Executive VP, CFO & Treasurer | 54 |
| Mr. Adam Karon | COO & GM of Cloud Technology Group | 53 |
| Mr. Paul Joseph | Executive Vice President of Global Sales & Services | 51 |
| Mr. Mani Sundaram | Executive VP & GM of Security Technology Group | 49 |
| Ms. Laura Howell | Senior VP & Chief Accounting Officer | 45 |
| Dr. Robert Blumofe Ph.D. | Executive VP & CTO | 60 |
| Ms. Kate Prouty | Senior VP & Chief Information Officer | - |
| Mr. Mark Stoutenberg | Head of Investor Relations | - |
| Mr. Aaron S. Ahola | Executive VP, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary | 55 |
Audit Risk
2
Board Risk
5
Compensation Risk
2
Shareholder Rights Risk
6
Part 2 · The price and when to enter
This part won't tell you whether the company is worth owning: it helps you choose when to buy it, once the fundamentals have convinced you. Inside: technical analysis, potential, historical drawdowns, gamma exposure.
Latest News
Recent headlines for AKAM, sourced from Markets Gazette.
- 5/9/2026POSITIVEAnthropic Signs $1.8 Billion Akamai Cloud Deal Amid Surging Claude AI Demand: Report
Akamai Technologies has reportedly secured a significant $1.8 billion cloud computing deal with AI firm Anthropic. This agreement will bolster the infrastructure capacity for Anthropic's rapidly growing Claude AI platform. The deal underscores the increasing demand for robust cloud services to support advanced AI development and deployment. For Akamai investors, this substantial contract signifies a strong validation of its cloud capabilities and a significant revenue stream, potentially boosting future earnings and market position in the competitive AI infrastructure sector.
- 5/8/2026POSITIVEWhy Akamai Shares Are Trading Higher By 26%; Here Are 20 Stocks Moving Premarket
Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) experienced a significant pre-market surge of 26% following the release of its robust Q1 financial results. The company not only surpassed expectations for the first quarter but also issued an optimistic upward revision to its fiscal year 2026 sales guidance. This dual positive development suggests strong operational performance and a confident outlook for future revenue growth, signaling potential for continued stock appreciation and increased investor interest.
via Markets Gazette