Akamai (AKAM) Stock Surges 23% on $1.8 Billion AI Infrastructure Deal

TLDR

• Akamai stock surged ~23% in premarket Friday after announcing a $1.8 billion, seven-year AI infrastructure deal with an unnamed “leading frontier model provider”
• Q1 EPS came in at $1.61, just above Wall Street’s $1.60 estimate; revenue rose 6% to $1.074 billion
• Cloud infrastructure services revenue jumped 40% year-over-year
• Full-year 2026 guidance raised to $6.40–$7.15 EPS and $4.445–$4.55 billion in revenue
• Q2 guidance came in below analyst expectations, with EPS forecast of $1.45–$1.65 vs. the $1.68 consensus

Akamai Technologies (AKAM) stock jumped roughly 23% in premarket trading Friday, hitting $143.69, after the company revealed a blockbuster AI infrastructure deal that overshadowed a largely in-line earnings report.

Akamai Technologies, Inc., AKAM

The company announced that a “leading frontier model provider” — unnamed — has committed $1.8 billion over seven years for cloud infrastructure services. The news landed after Thursday’s closing bell alongside Q1 results.

AKAM had closed Thursday’s regular session down 4.3% at $116.69, but remained up around 34% for the year before the premarket pop.

Q1 earnings came in at $1.61 per share, just a penny above Wall Street’s $1.60 estimate. A year ago the company earned $1.70 per share. Revenue grew 6% to $1.074 billion, narrowly beating the $1.073 billion consensus.

The standout number inside the report was cloud infrastructure services revenue, which grew 40% year-over-year. The security segment also held up, posting 11% sales growth.

Q2 Guidance Trails Estimates

For the second quarter, Akamai guided for EPS of $1.45 to $1.65 and revenue of $1.075 billion to $1.1 billion. Analysts had pencilled in $1.68 per share on $1.104 billion in sales — both above the top end of the company’s range.

That gap didn’t seem to dampen investor enthusiasm, with the AI deal clearly doing the heavy lifting on sentiment.

Full-Year Outlook Gets a Lift

For the full year, Akamai now expects EPS of $6.40 to $7.15 and revenue of $4.445 billion to $4.55 billion. The Wall Street consensus sits at $6.86 EPS and $4.47 billion in revenue — both within the updated range.

The new guidance is a step up from February’s outlook of $6.20 to $7.20 EPS on $4.4 billion to $4.55 billion in revenue.

Akamai carries a P/E ratio of around 37.89x, close to its five-year high of 38.31x, suggesting the stock is priced at a premium relative to its own history.

On the insider front, company executives sold approximately $9.7 million in stock over the past three months, with 13 selling transactions and no reported buying activity.

The company’s GF Score stands at 82 out of 100, with profitability and growth both rated 9/10. Financial strength scores lower at 6/10.

Akamai’s market cap sits at approximately $17.18 billion following Friday’s premarket move.

The post Akamai (AKAM) Stock Surges 23% on $1.8 Billion AI Infrastructure Deal appeared first on CoinCentral.