Akamai Technologies, Inc. (AKAM)
Akamai acts as the internet's invisible backbone, speeding up websites and protecting them from cyberattacks through a massive global network of servers.
Is Akamai Technologies, Inc. a good stock for a UK beginner?
The honest version: There's no rating here and nothing for sale. In its favour: Essential infrastructure for the modern internet. Worth weighing: Earnings have recently seen a decline.
Is this normal for this company?
Each figure against the range this same company has produced recently. Neither end of a range is the good end.
Share price divided by the earnings actually reported over the four most recent quarters. The range is the same calculation at each of this company's last few results, so roughly the past year.
Profit as a share of sales, from the company's own quarterly statements. The range covers the 5 quarters we hold, and the figure shown is its most recent one.
How these ranges are built
Every number here is the company's own reported figure, not a comparison with other companies. The ranges come from this company's own results and its share price. Where it reports in a different currency from the one its shares trade in, the price-to-earnings range is left out rather than mixing the two.
What does Akamai Technologies, Inc. do?
Think of Akamai as a giant digital delivery service that stores copies of websites closer to where you live, making pages load in a blink. Businesses pay to use this network to deliver content quickly and keep their sites safe from hackers. Notice how they balance their traditional web-speed business with their growing focus on cloud security services.
On our factor screen it looks strongest on momentum and value, and weakest on income.
- !Pays no dividend - the whole return rides on the share price
- ✓Growing - revenue up about 5% over the year
- !High P/E of 42 - big growth is already priced in
- !Carries a lot of debt - roughly 2.0x its equity
- —
- Growth screens low
- Income screens low
Does Akamai Technologies, Inc. pay a dividend?
No - Akamai Technologies, Inc. doesn't currently pay a dividend, so the whole return would rest on the share price. Plenty of growing companies reinvest their profits instead of paying them out - neither approach is better or worse, they're just different.
Does Akamai Technologies, Inc. have more cash or more debt?
It holds about $3.36B in cash against about $9.34B of debt - so it has net debt of about $5.98B. Debt is not automatically a problem - it funds growth - but it has to be serviced and repaid, which matters more when profits wobble.
From the latest reported balance sheet. Cash and debt levels change, and some borrowing is normal - this is context, not a judgment.
What do Akamai Technologies, Inc.'s numbers mean?
How has it performed?
Growth of £1,000, the worst fall, and year by year
Over about 2 years to 2026-09-11. This is the share price only; any dividends would add to it. And it's the USD return - as a UK investor your actual £ return also moves with the exchange rate. Past performance is not a guide to the future, and it could just as easily have fallen.
How much has Akamai Technologies, Inc. actually fallen?
Over the last 2 years of daily prices, Akamai Technologies, Inc. fell as much as −36% from a high to a later low. Falls like this are normal when you own a share.
Past falls are not a forecast - it can fall further, or recover.
How has it done year by year?
Calendar-year total return - the share price with dividends reinvested - from adjusted closing prices. The current year is only part-complete. Past returns are not a guide to the future.
A closer look at the numbers
Ownership, earnings history, where the money goes, and the outlook range
Does the share price tell you if it's cheap or expensive?
Based on beta - how much the price swings versus the whole market. Bumpier isn't bad; it just means a rougher ride, which matters more the sooner you might need the money.
Prices move on results, news and the mood of the whole market - no single headline explains a day, and a quiet week is usually just noise, not a signal.
How much money does Akamai Technologies, Inc. make?
Revenue and profit by quarter, and how much of each sale turns into profit.
Where does each £100 of Akamai Technologies, Inc.'s sales go?
A rough split of the latest full-year figures: of every £100 of sales, about £43 covers making the product or service, £47 goes on running costs, tax and interest, and about £10 is left as profit. Margins vary a lot by industry, and one-off items can distort a single year.
When does Akamai Technologies, Inc. report earnings, and how did recent quarters go?
Akamai Technologies, Inc. is next scheduled to report on about 2026-11-05 - dates can move, and we don't predict results; this just tells you when to look.
‘Beat’ and ‘missed’ are against what analysts expected, not whether the business is doing well.
| Reported | Expected EPS: The earnings per share analysts expected for the quarter - the average of their forecasts. 'Beating' or 'missing' is measured against this number. | Actual EPS | vs expected |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-06 | $1.58 | $1.59 | In line |
| 2026-05-07 | $1.60 | $1.61 | In line |
| 2026-02-19 | $1.75 | $1.84 | Beat +5% |
| 2025-11-06 | $1.64 | $1.86 | Beat +14% |
| 2025-08-07 | $1.53 | $1.73 | Beat +13% |
| 2025-05-08 | $1.57 | $1.70 | Beat +9% |
Across the last 6 quarters here, Akamai Technologies, Inc. came in ahead of what analysts expected 4 times. One quarter is noise, not a trend.
See who else reports over the next two weeks →
Where these figures come from
Each quarter a company reports its results against a consensus of analyst forecasts. The figures here are reported versus expected earnings per share from published results; the expectation is that analyst consensus, not our view. Report dates are estimates and can move.
What are the scenarios for Akamai Technologies, Inc.?
An illustrative range for the year ahead — not a prediction or a price target.
What are the pros, cons and common questions?
The case each way, and the questions people ask
Akamai becomes an essential layer for the future of the internet.
Obsolescence of current delivery technology.
What are the pros and cons of Akamai Technologies, Inc.?
A balance check, not a score or verdict.
- Essential infrastructure for the modern internet
- Strong profit margins on core services
- Lower price volatility compared to the broader market
- Earnings have recently seen a decline
- No dividend payments for income-focused investors
- High competition from massive cloud giants
- Rapid changes in internet technology could make their network less relevant
- Cybersecurity threats are constantly evolving and require expensive updates
- Reliance on a small number of very large corporate clients
The write-up's own warning lights — if these start happening, the case above changes.
- A sustained drop in global internet traffic growth
- Major cloud providers offering similar security services for free
Common questions about Akamai Technologies, Inc.
Does Akamai Technologies, Inc. pay a dividend?
No - Akamai Technologies, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend, so the return would rest on the share price. Many growing companies reinvest profits instead of paying them out.
When does Akamai Technologies, Inc. report earnings next?
Akamai Technologies, Inc. is next scheduled to report results on about 2026-11-05. Report dates are estimates and can move; this is a diary note for when to look, not a forecast of the outcome.
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This plain-English summary was auto-generated on 2026-08-02 from public data and checked for an education-only, no-advice tone (the figures above carry their own, usually fresher, 'as of' date). It's information, never a recommendation.