Content Delivery Network (CDN)

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Cloudflare vs. Akamai Technologies: Which CDN Stock Has an Edge?
ZACKSยท 2025-06-12 16:46
Industry Overview - The content delivery network (CDN) market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 18.04% from 2025 to 2034, indicating strong industry growth potential [2]. Cloudflare Analysis - Cloudflare's CDN offers a high-performance platform that enhances content delivery speed and secures web connectivity, reducing latency and improving load times [4]. - The company employs advanced techniques such as tiered caching and Argo smart routing to optimize delivery efficiency and minimize traffic [5]. - Cloudflare supports advanced protocols like HTTP/3 and provides developer flexibility through Cloudflare Workers, which has been adopted by over three million developers [6]. - Projected revenues for Cloudflare in 2025 are between $2.09 billion and $2.094 billion, reflecting a year-over-year growth of 25.4% [7]. - Non-GAAP earnings per share for Cloudflare are anticipated to be between 79 cents and 80 cents, indicating a year-over-year growth of 5.3% [8]. Akamai Technologies Analysis - Akamai Technologies has experienced a decline in delivery revenues for 17 consecutive quarters, raising concerns about its CDN business sustainability [11][15]. - The company integrates security features like DDoS and WAF protection with edge computing solutions, handling approximately two trillion web interactions daily [12][13]. - Akamai's non-GAAP earnings are expected to be in the range of $6.10 to $6.40 per share, with a Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.27 per share, indicating a year-over-year decline of 3.2% [15]. Stock Performance and Valuation - Year-to-date, Cloudflare shares have increased by 66.9%, while Akamai shares have decreased by 18.3%, reflecting diverging investor sentiment [11][17]. - Cloudflare is trading at a forward sales multiple of 26.65X, while Akamai is at 2.71X, suggesting that Cloudflare's strong market position justifies its higher valuation despite appearing overvalued [18]. Conclusion - Cloudflare is gaining market share and showing robust growth, while Akamai is struggling with declining revenues, leading to a more favorable investment outlook for Cloudflare [19].