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Akamai Soars After Securing $1.8 Billion Seven-Year AI Cloud Deal

The pledge signals investor confidence in Akamai’s edge network for running AI near users.

Overview

  • Akamai shares jumped more than 20% in premarket trading Friday following a $1.8 billion, seven-year commitment announced Thursday with an unnamed frontier model provider for its cloud infrastructure services.
  • Akamai reported first-quarter results that were roughly in line with expectations, with adjusted earnings of $1.61 per share and revenue of $1.074 billion, up 6% year over year.
  • Cloud infrastructure services revenue rose 40% to $95 million and security revenue grew 11% to $590 million, while delivery and other cloud applications fell 7% to $389 million.
  • For the June quarter, Akamai guided to $1.075–$1.1 billion in revenue and $1.45–$1.65 in non-GAAP EPS, below Wall Street estimates, and it raised its full-year outlook to $4.445–$4.55 billion in revenue and $6.40–$7.15 in EPS.
  • CEO Tom Leighton said the deal validates Akamai’s AI role, pointing to its widely distributed network in 700 cities that can run inference close to users for faster responses.