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AKAM Set to Report Q1 Results: Will Top-Line Growth Boost Earnings?

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Akamai Technologies, Inc. (AKAM - Free Report) is scheduled to release first-quarter 2025 results on May 8, after the closing bell. In the last reported quarter, the company delivered an earnings surprise of 9.21%. It pulled off a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 3.42%, on average. The company is expected to report higher revenues year over year, backed by healthy demand in security and compute verticals across multiple end markets. Management’s focus on expanding its product portfolio to cater to advanced use cases is a tailwind.

Factors at Play

In the March quarter, Akamai inked a multiyear strategic agreement with one of the world’s largest technology companies. Per the deal, the company will leverage Akamai’s full stack cloud computing capabilities to bolster its infrastructure services. This is expected to have a positive impact on upcoming results.

During the quarter, Akamai introduced Akamai Cloud Inference, a new distributed edge platform designed to accelerate and optimize AI innovation by leveraging predictive models and large language models. The solution integrates Akamai’s latest Kubernetes orchestration with the Akamai App Platform, enabling organizations to rapidly deploy flexible, open-source Kubernetes infrastructure and seamlessly run AI models for inference.

In the to-be-reported quarter, Akamai unveiled a Managed Container Service that allows businesses to run workloads closer to users by leveraging its global network spanning more than 700 cities and 4,300 points of presence. This service supports data-intensive, low-latency applications with predictable performance and cost, using Akamai’s full-stack cloud infrastructure. These developments are likely to have supported the top line during the first quarter. 

VAST Data, an AI data platform company, teamed up with Akamai to make data-intensive AI inferencing faster and more efficient. This collaboration aligns with Akamai’s strategy to build a distributed cloud model that supports low-latency, AI-driven applications with seamless data access across edge and cloud environments. Additionally, Smartbig USA Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Korean gaming company Smartbig, selected Akamai’s Connected Cloud to power its global gaming infrastructure. These strategic initiatives are likely to have improved its top-line performance in the to-be-reported quarter.

Overall Expectations

Our estimate for revenues from the security segment is pegged at $522.8 million, suggesting 6.5% year-over-year growth. Our revenue estimate for the compute vertical is pegged at $162.9 million, indicating a 12.7% improvement year over year. Revenues from the delivery segment are projected to be $318.6 million. (Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.)

For the first quarter of 2025, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $1.01 billion, indicating year-over-year growth from $986.97 million. The consensus estimate for adjusted earnings per share stands at $1.58, suggesting a decline from $1.64 reported a year ago.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for Akamai this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy), or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. This is exactly the case here.

Earnings ESP: Earnings ESP, which represents the difference between the Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate, is +0.07%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
 

Akamai Technologies, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Akamai Technologies, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Akamai Technologies, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Akamai Technologies, Inc. Quote

Zacks Rank: Akamai currently has a Zacks Rank #3.

Other Stocks With Favorable Combination

The Earnings ESP for TELUS Corporation (TU - Free Report) is +6.06% and carries a Zacks Rank of 3 currently. The company is scheduled to report quarterly numbers on May 8. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Earnings ESP for Advanced Micro Devices (AMD - Free Report) is +0.74% and carries a Zacks Rank of 3 at present. The company is scheduled to report quarterly numbers on May 6.

Fortinet (FTNT - Free Report) is set to release quarterly numbers on May 7. It has an Earnings ESP of +3.77% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present.

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