Fastly (NYSE:FSLY) 2025 Conference Transcript

Summary of Fastly's Earnings Call Company Overview - Company: Fastly - Industry: Software, specifically focusing on Content Delivery Network (CDN) and security solutions Key Points Business Evolution - Fastly has evolved significantly since its IPO in 2018, transitioning from a CDN-focused company to a platform strategy that integrates security and compute services [2][3] - The acquisition of Signal Sciences has diversified Fastly's offerings, enhancing its security portfolio [2] Security Portfolio Growth - Security now accounts for over 20% of Fastly's revenue, growing at 30% year-over-year [4] - The security portfolio has expanded beyond the web application firewall (WAF) to include bot mitigation, DDoS protection, and API discovery [5][6] - Fastly's security growth is attributed to a more complete product offering and effective cross-selling strategies [7][10] Market Position and Growth Expectations - Fastly anticipates growing faster than the overall security market, which is projected to grow at 13-14% annually [10] - The company reported $34 million in security revenues for the quarter, with a $5 million sequential increase [9] Go-to-Market Strategy - Fastly has strengthened its go-to-market approach by hiring industry experts, enhancing its ability to sell security products [9] - The company is focusing on high-touch relationships with large customers to mitigate revenue concentration risks [14] AI and Edge Computing - Fastly is positioning itself as an enabler for AI applications, with products like the AI accelerator and Compute@Edge [17][19] - The company is exploring opportunities in AI edge inferencing and has seen interest from customers for high-performance storage solutions [19][20] Capital Expenditures (CapEx) - Fastly's CapEx is projected to be around 10-11% of revenues, with a focus on infrastructure investments to support growth [24][25] - The company aims to provide clearer guidance on infrastructure CapEx as a percentage of total revenues [25] Gross Margins - Fastly reported gross margins of 62.8% in Q3, driven by network optimization and a shift towards more SaaS-like offerings [27][28] - The company expects improvements in gross margins as the product mix evolves [29] International Expansion - Fastly is expanding its go-to-market efforts internationally, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, to capture more opportunities [30][31] Net Retention Rate (NRR) - Fastly's NRR improved to 106%, driven by better customer focus and upsell opportunities [33][34] Network Services Performance - The network services segment experienced 11% year-over-year growth, attributed to healthy traffic patterns and pricing stability [35][36] Competitive Landscape - Fastly maintains a competitive edge through high performance and customer satisfaction, primarily competing with Akamai and other security vendors [43][44] Additional Insights - Fastly is actively addressing concerns related to AI bot mitigation and the impact of AI on ad-supported sites [38][40] - The company is focused on building relationships and trust with large customers to enhance revenue predictability [14] This summary encapsulates the key insights from Fastly's earnings call, highlighting the company's strategic direction, growth areas, and market positioning.