Let’s dig into the relative performance of F5 (NASDAQ: FFIV) and its peers as we unravel the now-completed Q3 content delivery earnings season.

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.

Luckily, content delivery stocks have performed well with share prices up 10.3% on average since the latest earnings results.

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. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 2%. Despite the top-line beat, it was still a slower quarter for the company with full-year EPS guidance missing analysts’ expectations significantly and revenue guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations.

Unsurprisingly, the stock is down 18.3% since reporting and currently trades at $237.35.

Read our full report on F5 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 next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Fastly pulled off 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 41.8% since reporting. It currently trades at $11.45.

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

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, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 1%. It may have had the worst quarter among its peers, but its results were still good as it also locked in EPS guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations and full-year EPS guidance exceeding analysts’ expectations.

Akamai Technologies delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and slowest revenue growth in the group. Interestingly, the stock is up 21.7% since the results and currently trades at $88.84.

Read our full analysis of Akamai Technologies’s results here.

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 result surpassed analysts’ expectations by 3.2%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter as it also put up 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 among its peers. The stock is down 4.2% since reporting and currently trades at $213.25.

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

Market Update

As a result of the Fed’s rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has come down from frothy levels post-pandemic. The general rise in the price of goods and services is trending towards the Fed’s 2% goal as of late, which is good news. The higher rates that fought inflation also didn't slow economic activity enough to catalyze a recession. So far, soft landing. This, combined with recent rate cuts (half a percent in September 2024 and a quarter percent in November 2024) have led to strong stock market performance in 2024. The icing on the cake for 2024 returns was Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. Presidential Election in early November, sending major indices to all-time highs in the week following the election. Still, debates around the health of the economy and the impact of potential tariffs and corporate tax cuts remain, leaving much uncertainty around 2025.

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