The end of the earnings season is always a good time to take a step back and see who shined (and who not so much). Let’s take a look at how content delivery stocks fared in Q1, starting with Fastly (NYSE: FSLY).

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 strong Q1. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.2% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

Luckily, content delivery stocks have performed well with share prices up 14.2% on average since the latest earnings results.

Best Q1: Fastly (NYSE: FSLY)

Founded in 2011, Fastly (NYSE: FSLY) provides content delivery and edge cloud computing services, enabling enterprises and developers to deliver fast, secure, and scalable digital content and experiences.

Fastly reported revenues of $144.5 million, up 8.2% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 4.8%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Fastly achieved the biggest analyst estimates beat of the whole group. Unsurprisingly, the stock is up 36.8% since reporting and currently trades at $8.22.

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

Akamai (NASDAQ: AKAM)

Founded in 1999 by two engineers from MIT, Akamai (NASDAQ: AKAM) provides software for organizations to efficiently deliver web content to their customers.

Akamai reported revenues of $1.02 billion, up 2.9% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. The business had a strong quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and EPS guidance for next quarter topping analysts’ expectations.

Akamai scored the highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. Although it had a fine quarter compared its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 9.2% since reporting. It currently trades at $77.73.

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

Weakest Q1: F5 (NASDAQ: FFIV)

Initially started as a hardware appliances company in the late 1990s, F5 (NASDAQ: FFIV) makes software that helps large enterprises ensure their web applications are always available by distributing network traffic and protecting them from cyberattacks.

F5 reported revenues of $731.1 million, up 7.3% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 1.7%. Still, it was a mixed quarter as it posted EPS guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations.

Interestingly, the stock is up 6.3% since the results and currently trades at $281.59.

Read our full analysis of F5’s results here.

Cloudflare (NYSE: NET)

Founded by two grad students of Harvard Business School, Cloudflare (NYSE: NET) is a software-as-a-service platform that helps improve the security, reliability, and loading times of internet applications.

Cloudflare reported revenues of $479.1 million, up 26.5% year on year. This result beat analysts’ expectations by 2.1%. Aside from that, it was a mixed quarter as it also logged a solid beat of analysts’ billings estimates but EPS guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations.

Cloudflare delivered the fastest revenue growth but had the weakest full-year guidance update among its peers. The stock is up 22.9% since reporting and currently trades at $153.11.

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

Market Update

Thanks to the Fed’s series of rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has cooled significantly from its post-pandemic highs, drawing closer to the 2% goal. This disinflation has occurred without severely impacting economic growth, suggesting the success of a soft landing. The stock market thrived in 2024, spurred by recent rate cuts (0.5% in September and 0.25% in November), and a notable surge followed Donald Trump’s presidential election win in November, propelling indices to historic highs. Nonetheless, the outlook for 2025 remains clouded by potential trade policy changes and corporate tax discussions, which could impact business confidence and growth. The path forward holds both optimism and caution as new policies take shape.

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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