Akamai Q1 2026: $1.8B AI Deal Drives CIS Surge, Guidance Raised

Transcript intelligence

What changed

Revenue rose 6% YoY to $1.074 billion, narrowly topping the $1.073 billion consensus, and EPS of $1.61 edged the $1.60 estimate. The stock surged 25.8% on the announcement—26.6% versus a flat SPY benchmark—on volume four times the baseline, before drifting back 3.9% in subsequent sessions. The standout development was the $1.8 billion multi-year AI deal, which shifts Akamai's growth narrative from steady mid-single-digit revenue expansion to a potential double-digit trajectory by 2027. CapEx guidance stepped up meaningfully, with Q2 targeted at $433–$453 million and full-year spending at roughly 40–42% of revenue.

Guidance delta

Management raised full-year guidance, citing the CIS pipeline and the $1.8 billion deal as underpinning double-digit revenue growth into 2027. CapEx is projected at $433–$453 million for Q2 and approximately 40–42% of total revenue for the full year—a material step-up from prior spending levels. Non-GAAP operating margin is expected to hold around 26%. The company continues aggressive share repurchases and remains opportunistic on M&A.

Key takeaways

• CIS revenue surged 40% YoY, with a robust pipeline of AI-specific GPU deployments.
• Security revenue grew 11% YoY, led by WAF, API security, and Guardicore segmentation.
• The $1.8 billion seven-year AI deal validates Akamai's edge-compute strategy and underpins double-digit revenue growth guidance for 2027.
• CapEx is set to rise sharply, targeting $433–$453 million in Q2 and roughly 40–42% of total revenue for the full year.
• Operating margin is expected to remain around 26% while the company continues aggressive share repurchases.

Management priorities

• Scale out NVIDIA GPU deployments across 4,300 points of presence and increase managed container services in 100+ cities.
• Build out physical infrastructure and expand sales and support teams for CIS growth.
• Continue to enhance the AI inference grid and edge compute orchestration.
• Maintain active share-buyback program and remain opportunistic for M&A.
• Introduce new security features leveraging AI for zero-day detection.