Akamai shares surge on $1.8bn deal with unknown AI company

(Sharecast News) - Akamai Technologies shares surged on Friday after the cyber security and cloud computing company revealed details of a $1.8bn contract, as first-quarter results came in line with market expectations. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based outfit didn't disclose which company signed the deal, but said it was with a "leading, US-based frontier model provider".

The seven-year contract was for its fastest-growing but smallest division, cloud infrastructure services (CIS), which accounted for less than a tenth of group revenues generated in the first quarter.

The stock was up 20% at $139.98 by 1523 BST.

"We are very pleased to announce that a leading frontier model provider has committed to $1.8 billion over seven years for CIS, further validating our position as a key infrastructure provider in the AI economy," said chief executive Tom Leighton.

"Our security portfolio is also uniquely positioned to benefit from the rapid evolution of AI, with our enterprise customers needing our security products and expertise more than ever before."

The news came as first-quarter revenues grew 6% to $1.07bn, with cybersecurity revenues up 11% at $590m, delivery and other cloud applications revenues down 7% at $389m and CIS revenues surging 40% to $95m.

Net income fell 14% to $106m, with earnings per share falling to $0.71, due to higher expenses and costs compared with last year.

Looking ahead, Akamai expects to generate $1.075bn-1.100bn in sales over the second quarter, and $4.445bn-4.550bn over 2026 as a whole.