Looking back on content delivery stocks’ Q3 earnings, we examine this quarter’s best and worst performers, including Cloudflare (NYSE: NET) and its peers.

The amount of content on the internet is exploding, whether it is music, movies and or e-commerce stores. Consumer demand for this content creates network congestion, much like a digital traffic jam which drives demand for specialized content delivery networks (CDN) services that alleviate potential network bottlenecks.

The 4 content delivery stocks we track reported a very strong Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.7% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 8.8% on average since the latest earnings results.

Cloudflare (NYSE: NET)

With a massive network spanning more than 310 cities in over 120 countries, Cloudflare (NYSE: NET) provides a global network that delivers security, performance and reliability services to protect websites, applications, and corporate networks.

Cloudflare reported revenues of $562 million, up 30.7% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 3.2%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter for the company with a solid beat of analysts’ billings estimates and EPS guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations.

Cloudflare scored the fastest revenue growth but had the weakest full-year guidance update of the whole group. Investor expectations, however, were likely higher than Wall Street’s published projections, leaving some wishing for even better results (analysts’ consensus estimates are those published by big banks and advisory firms, not the investors who make buy and sell decisions). The stock is down 4.4% since reporting and currently trades at $212.32.

We think Cloudflare is a good business, but is it a buy today? Read our full report here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Best Q3: Fastly (NYSE: FSLY)

Taking its name from the core advantage it delivers to customers, Fastly (NYSE: FSLY) operates an edge cloud platform that processes, secures, and delivers web content as close to end users as possible, enabling faster digital experiences.

Fastly reported revenues of $158.2 million, up 15.3% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 4.7%. The business had an exceptional quarter with EPS guidance for the next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Fastly achieved the biggest analyst estimates beat and highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 39.5% since reporting. It currently trades at $11.26.

Is now the time to buy Fastly? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Weakest Q3: F5 (NASDAQ: FFIV)

Originally named after the F5 tornado, the most powerful on the meteorological scale, F5 (NASDAQ: FFIV) provides security and delivery solutions that protect applications across cloud, data center, and edge environments for large organizations.

F5 reported revenues of $810.1 million, up 8.5% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 2%. Still, it was a slower quarter as it posted full-year EPS guidance missing analysts’ expectations and revenue guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations significantly.

As expected, the stock is down 19.6% since the results and currently trades at $233.40.

Read our full analysis of F5’s results here.

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: AKAM)

With a massive distributed network spanning 4,100+ points of presence in nearly 130 countries, Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: AKAM) provides a global distributed cloud platform that helps businesses deliver, secure, and optimize their digital experiences online.

Akamai Technologies reported revenues of $1.05 billion, up 5% year on year. This number surpassed analysts’ expectations by 1%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter as it also recorded EPS guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations and full-year EPS guidance exceeding analysts’ expectations.

Akamai Technologies had the weakest performance against analyst estimates and slowest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is up 19.5% since reporting and currently trades at $87.25.

Read our full, actionable report on Akamai Technologies here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Market Update

The Fed’s interest rate hikes throughout 2022 and 2023 have successfully cooled post-pandemic inflation, bringing it closer to the 2% target. Inflationary pressures have eased without tipping the economy into a recession, suggesting a soft landing. This stability, paired with recent rate cuts (0.5% in September 2024 and 0.25% in November 2024), fueled a strong year for the stock market in 2024. The markets surged further after Donald Trump’s presidential victory in November, with major indices reaching record highs in the days following the election. Still, questions remain about the direction of economic policy, as potential tariffs and corporate tax changes add uncertainty for 2025.

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