New York, February 20, 2026, 16:41 (EST) — Trading after the bell.
- Akamai tumbled roughly 14%. The cloud-security outfit flagged higher memory expenses—a hit to profit in the near term.
- Stocks climbed, boosted by a U.S. Supreme Court decision that invalidated President Donald Trump’s global tariffs.
- Nvidia’s results next week are now front and center for investors seeking hints about AI infrastructure budgets and the ripple effects on costs.
Akamai Technologies shares dropped roughly 14%, trading near $94 after hours on Friday. The stock came under heavy pressure after the cloud and cybersecurity company issued a profit forecast that missed expectations, triggering an extended selloff.
This decline highlights a fresh challenge in the AI surge: the rising cost of parts. With data centers ramping up, memory—essential for servers—isn’t getting any cheaper. Companies renting out cloud capacity? They often get stuck with the higher bills before they can adjust prices.
It’s a reminder: “AI” doesn’t mean a single play. Chipmakers catch the tailwind from spending, but service providers? They’re left justifying margins.
Akamai on Thursday projected first-quarter adjusted earnings—excluding one-off items—at $1.50 to $1.67 per share, trailing the $1.75 consensus from analysts polled by LSEG. CEO Tom Leighton told Reuters that memory costs have “probably doubled,” adding that Akamai might have to hike prices, but will be “very careful” about how it approaches that. Reuters
The company put out a softer profit forecast for the quarter, but dialed up its 2026 revenue target to a range of $4.40 billion to $4.55 billion. For the fourth quarter, revenue landed at $1.10 billion, topping Wall Street’s estimates, while adjusted earnings came in at $1.84 a share.
Akamai’s been doubling down on security and compute, chasing enterprise dollars as more businesses move workloads online and scramble to secure apps and web stacks. But on Friday, markets sent a clear signal: growth isn’t the headline—costs are.
U.S. equities closed in the green after the Supreme Court blocked Trump’s global tariffs. The S&P 500 added 0.69%. Nasdaq climbed 0.90%, while the Dow managed a 0.47% gain. “Today is a removal of some uncertainty, and we’re on to the next phase,” said Mike Dickson, head of research and quantitative strategies at Horizon Investments. Reuters
Even so, Akamai’s warning sliced through an otherwise upbeat session—tech especially felt the sting. Jitters around AI-themed stocks and returns on all that cash have investors on edge.
The risk Akamai faces is clear enough. Should memory prices remain high and customers push back on higher charges, margins could take a hit—even if demand stays solid. If enterprise IT budgets start to weaken, managing those pressures gets tougher.
The AI sector’s next milestone lands Wednesday, Feb. 25, as Nvidia delivers results. “Hyperscalers are positioned to boost capital spending,” noted Marta Norton, chief investment strategist at Empower. Still, she cautioned, “it can be hard for Nvidia to surprise when everyone expects it to surprise.” Also coming up: earnings from Salesforce, Intuit, and Dell. Traders are eyeing Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday too. Reuters
