Akamai Technologies, Inc (NASDAQ:AKAM), a content delivery and cloud infrastructure service provider ended the trading session positive note. Investors who own the stock gained 20.58% or $9.76 per share as it went up from its previous close at $47.42 pr share to $57.18 per share on Thursday.
Revenue and EPS beats estimates
The primary reason behind the significant increase in the stock price of Akamai Technologies, Inc (NASDAQ:AKAM) is its outstanding financial results for the fourth quarter of 2013. The company reported a quarter profit of $0.55 per share and $436 million revenue, an increase of 10% and 15% year-over-year, respectively.
The reported EPS and revenue of Akamai Technologies, Inc (NASDAQ:AKAM) were outperformed than the higher-end profit and revenue guidance of $0.53 per share and $430 million provided the management of the company. Its financial results also beat the consensus estimate of Wall Street analyst of $0.52 earnings per share on $423 million revenue.
In a statement, Tom Leighton, CEO of Akamai Technologies, Inc (NASDAQ:AKAM) said “We were extremely pleased with how the business performed in the fourth quarter and throughout 2013, with strong growth across all our solution offerings and geographies. We achieved gross margin expansion through continued improvements in network efficiencies while at the same time invested in growth drivers intended to enable us to take advantage of the significant opportunities in front of us.”
For the full year 2013, Akamai Technologies, Inc (NASDAQ:AKAM) posted $2.02 earnings per share and $1.58 billion revenue, an increase of 26% and 15% year-over-year, respectively.
EPS and revenue Guidance
For the current quarter, the management of Akama Technologies, Inc (NASDAQ:AKAM) expected to generate earnings per share in the range of $0.51 to $0.55 excluding tax charge of approximately $48 million to $52 million. In terms of revenue, the company projected to deliver around $426 million to $430 million.
Balance sheet, cash flow & shares buyback
Akamai Technologies, Inc (NASDAQ:AKAM) ended the quarter with $673.9 million cash, cash equivalents and short-term maketable securities. The company generated $171.7 free cash flow. During the quarter, the company repurchased 1.1 million shares worth approximately $48 million.
