Akamai Drops 18% Despite Q4 Earnings Beat as 2025 Guidance Disappoints

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) posted stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings, but shares fell 18% intra-day today as its 2025 outlook came in below Wall Street expectations.

For Q4, the cybersecurity and cloud computing company reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.66, exceeding analyst estimates of $1.52. Revenue reached $1.02 billion, slightly above the $1.01 billion consensus and marking 3% year-over-year growth.

However, investor sentiment turned negative after Akamai issued weaker-than-expected guidance for both Q1 and full-year 2025. The company expects first-quarter EPS between $1.54 and $1.59, missing the $1.61 forecast. Revenue for the period is projected to fall between $1 billion and $1.02 billion, short of analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion.

The full-year 2025 outlook also fell short, with Akamai forecasting EPS between $6.00 and $6.40, well below the $6.82 consensus estimate. The company expects annual revenue to range from $4 billion to $4.2 billion, undercutting analyst projections of $4.25 billion.

Despite the weaker forward guidance, Akamai saw strong momentum in key segments. Security revenue climbed 14% year-over-year to $535 million, and compute revenue surged 24% to $167 million. However, delivery revenue dropped 18% to $318 million, signaling ongoing headwinds in that segment.

While Akamai continues to expand its cybersecurity and cloud business, the lackluster revenue and profit outlook for 2025 overshadowed an otherwise solid quarter, leading to the post-earnings stock decline.