- Revenue Growth: Q4 2025 revenue reached $1.095 billion, up 7% YoY, with non-GAAP EPS at $1.84 (11% YoY growth).
- CIS Expansion: Cloud Infrastructure Services revenue hit $94 million (+45% YoY), driven by a $200 million 4-year contract with a major U.S. AI-focused tech firm.
- Security Solutions Momentum: High-growth security products (API security, Guardicore) grew revenue 36% YoY, reflecting strong demand for AI-era cybersecurity.
- 2026 Guidance: Full-year revenue projected at $4.4β4.55 billion (+5β8% YoY), with CIS growth accelerating to 45β50% and Security revenue rising in high single digits.
- Inference Cloud Investment: $250 million allocated to expand GPU capacity by 10x, adding 40β50 locations by 2026, targeting AI inference, transcoding, and generative media workloads.
Segment Performance and Growth Drivers
The CIS segment's strong performance was underpinned by new and expanded contracts, including a significant 4-year, $200 million commitment with a major U.S. tech company. This deal, along with others, contributed to the CIS revenue growth and underscores the growing demand for Akamai's cloud infrastructure services, particularly in the AI space. As Ed McGowan noted, the capital intensity is increasing due to significant demand for CIS, indicating a positive outlook for this segment.
Guidance and Outlook for 2026
For 2026, Akamai expects revenue to range from $4.4 billion to $4.55 billion, representing a 5% to 8% increase as reported and 4% to 7% in constant currency. The company projects Security revenue to grow in the high single digits on a constant currency basis, while CIS is expected to accelerate to 45% to 50% year-over-year growth. Non-GAAP EPS is anticipated to be in the range of $6.20 to $7.20. The guidance suggests a continued strong performance across key segments, driven by the growing demand for cloud infrastructure and security services.
Valuation and Growth Expectations
Analysts estimate next year's revenue growth at 7.1%, which is slightly above the company's guided range. With a current P/E Ratio of 30.05 and an EV/EBITDA of 13.72, the market appears to be pricing in a certain level of growth and profitability. The ROE of 9.64% and ROIC of 4.32% indicate a reasonable return on equity and invested capital, respectively. As Akamai continues to expand its CIS and security offerings, the company's ability to deliver on its growth projections will be closely watched.