<\/p>\n
Jim Cramer does not hand out compliments lightly during the lightning round of his show.<\/p>\n
So when he called one stock terrific this week, investors paid attention.<\/p>\n
The company he named has been public for 28 years, and it built its name speeding up websites.<\/p>\n
That is starting to change, and the shift is the real reason the endorsement matters.<\/p>\n
What Jim Cramer said about Akamai stock<\/p>\n
During the lightning round on CNBC’s Mad Money, Cramer gave a firm endorsement to Akamai Technologies (AKAM), calling the stock terrific, CNBC reported.<\/p>\n
Cramer hosts Mad Money and ran a hedge fund before moving to television, so his lightning calls sway many retail investors.<\/p>\n
What makes Akamai interesting is the business behind the call.<\/p>\n
How Akamai makes money and where its growth now comes from<\/p>\n
Akamai started in 1998 by speeding up websites through a content delivery network that stores web content close to users, so pages load faster.<\/p>\n
Co-founder Tom Leighton, an MIT mathematician who has been CEO since 2013, has moved the company toward higher-margin work in cybersecurity and cloud services.<\/p>\n
Security is now Akamai’s largest business. <\/p>\n
More AI Stocks:<\/p>\n
CrowdStrike’s AI bet just paid off in a big way<\/p>\n
Truist says CoreWeave stock could nearly double to $165<\/p>\n
Nvidia just demolished one of Wall Street’s biggest AI fears<\/p>\n
Its newer source of growth is cloud infrastructure, where Akamai rents out computing capacity for AI.<\/p>\n
It recently teamed up with Nvidia to run AI inference across more than 4,400 edge locations, according to an Akamai press release. <\/p>\n
The AI deals that changed Akamai’s outlook<\/p>\n
The clearest sign of the shift is the money the company has already committed.<\/p>\n
Akamai reported in its second-quarter results that it has signed more than $2.8 billion in multi-year cloud deals in 2026.<\/p>\n
Related: Goldman Sachs resets Dell stock price target by $60<\/p>\n
That includes a $1.8 billion, seven-year contract with Anthropic, Bloomberg reported.<\/p>\n
It also has a $600 million, four-year deal with a U.S. robotics company.<\/p>\n
These deals give the business years of visible AI revenue.<\/p>\n
What Akamai’s second quarter told investors<\/p>\n
Akamai’s second-quarter report beat expectations, even as profit fell from a year earlier due to heavy AI spending. <\/p>\n
Shares rose about 12% after the release, according to Investing.com.<\/p>\n
Here’s Akamai’s second quarter at a glance:<\/p>\n
Revenue of $1.1 billion, up 5% from a year earlier<\/p>\n
Security revenue of $604 million, up 10%<\/p>\n
Cloud infrastructure revenue of $99 million, up 39%<\/p>\n
Adjusted earnings of $1.59 a share, down 8%<\/p>\n
The older delivery business keeps shrinking, so growth now depends on the AI and security segments.<\/p>\n
Akamai is expanding its distributed network to run AI workloads for enterprise customers.<\/p>\n
SOPA Images \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
The spending and the risks investors should weigh<\/p>\n
Akamai is investing heavily, and that comes with a cost.<\/p>\n
The company’s management expects capital spending to be near 40% of revenue this year and paused buybacks to fund the expansion.<\/p>\n
That affects near term profit.<\/p>\n
Some analysts are also cautious about the stock. <\/p>\n
Citi cut its price target to $122 and kept a Neutral rating.<\/p>\n
How Akamai stock stacks up, and what still needs to happen<\/p>\n
Akamai is up about 30% in 2026, which is roughly double the S&P 500’s gain over the same stretch. <\/p>\n
At Citi’s 2026 Global TMT Conference, Leighton said the cloud unit should move from mid-single-digit to low-teens growth next year, Investing.com reported.<\/p>\n
What bulls need to see next<\/p>\n
The $2.8 billion in cloud deals turning into revenue, which the company expects to pick up in the fourth quarter<\/p>\n
Margins steadying as new capacity fills up<\/p>\n
Security sales holding double-digit growth<\/p>\n
The stock trades near $111 at about 40 times earnings, so much of the optimism may already be priced in.<\/p>\n
The bottom line on Akamai for investors<\/p>\n
Cramer’s call brings fresh attention. However, the bull case depends on whether the AI and security businesses can outgrow its fading delivery business.<\/p>\n
Akamai also has to do it fast enough to justify the spending.<\/p>\n
The multi-year deals offer real visibility, but the heavy costs and full valuation mean patience matters.<\/p>\n
Related: Anthropic-powered AI model sends shocking message to employee<\/p>\n
#Jim #Cramer #28yearold #tech #giant #terrific #buy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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