Spotting Winners: Fastly (NYSE:FSLY) And Content Delivery Stocks In Q2

Earnings results often indicate what direction a company will take in the months ahead. With Q2 behind us, let’s have a look at Fastly (NYSE:FSLY) 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 Q2. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.7% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

Luckily, content delivery stocks have performed well with share prices up 11.7% on average since the latest earnings results.

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 $148.7 million, up 12.3% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 2.7%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter for the company with EPS guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

"Fastly’s second quarter performance resulted in another record revenue quarter, outperforming both our revenue and operating loss guidance. We are raising our financial guidance for 2025 and now expect to generate positive free cash flow for the year,” said Kip Compton, CEO of Fastly.

Interestingly, the stock is up 21% since reporting and currently trades at $7.88.

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

Best Q2: 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 $512.3 million, up 27.8% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 2.3%. The business had a very strong quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ billings estimates and EPS guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations.

Cloudflare scored the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 8.3% since reporting. It currently trades at $224.71.

Is now the time to buy Cloudflare? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Slowest Q2: 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 $780.4 million, up 12.2% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 3.6%. It may have had the worst quarter among its peers, but its results were still good as it also locked in an impressive beat of analysts’ billings estimates and full-year revenue guidance exceeding analysts’ expectations.

Interestingly, the stock is up 11.7% since the results and currently trades at $334.59.

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 $1.04 billion, up 6.5% year on year. This number topped analysts’ expectations by 2.2%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter as it also produced 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 5.9% since reporting and currently trades at $79.30.

Read our full, actionable report on Akamai Technologies here, it’s free.

Market Update

In response to the Fed’s rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has been gradually trending down from its post-pandemic peak, trending closer to the Fed’s 2% target. Despite higher borrowing costs, the economy has avoided flashing recessionary signals. This is the much-desired soft landing that many investors hoped for. The recent rate cuts (0.5% in September and 0.25% in November 2024) have bolstered the stock market, making 2024 a strong year for equities. Donald Trump’s presidential win in November sparked additional market gains, sending indices to record highs in the days following his victory. However, debates continue over possible tariffs and corporate tax adjustments, raising questions about economic stability in 2025.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Hidden Gem Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.

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