AKAM vs NET Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Akamai is generally evaluated as a mature, cash-generative infrastructure business managing a strategic pivot from legacy CDN delivery toward security and compute, while Cloudflare is judged as a premium-multiple growth compounder still scaling toward consistent profitability. The comparison typically comes down to valuation discipline versus paying up for sustained growth.
Use this AKAM vs NET comparison to separate value-oriented infrastructure exposure from premium-priced growth: Akamai offers a lower multiple and steady cash flow amid a legacy business transition, while Cloudflare offers faster growth and broader platform ambitions at a richer valuation.
AKAM holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. NET has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+45.51% vs +25.32%), though AKAM has the better forward P/E setup (14.86x vs 179.44x for NET). On fundamentals, NET is growing revenue faster (35.90%), while AKAM maintains the higher operating margin (7.63%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for AKAM (+43.57%) than for NET (+11.24%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Want exposure to internet infrastructure at a lower valuation multiple
- Value strong free cash flow and shareholder buybacks
- Believe the security and compute pivot can offset legacy CDN decline
- Prefer a more mature, lower-volatility profile than high-growth peers
- Prioritize sustained high revenue growth over near-term profitability
- Believe edge computing and zero-trust security adoption is still early
- Are comfortable paying a premium multiple for a platform-expansion story
- Want exposure to AI-related edge compute and developer platform growth
| Metric | AKAM | NET |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 39.2 | 66.6 |
| AI ranki | #1105 | #94 |
| Latest closei | $92.32 | $316.32 |
| 1M returni | -12.41% | -3.33% |
| 3M returni | -22.30% | +16.10% |
| 6M returni | -4.64% | +60.26% |
| 1Y returni | +25.32% | +45.51% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | AKAM | NET |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $12.65K (+26.5%) started 2025-10-16 | $14.96K (+49.6%) started 2025-10-16 |
| 5Y ago | $8.64K (-13.6%) started 2021-10-18 | $17.5K (+75.0%) started 2021-10-18 |
| 10Y ago | $16.8K (+68.0%) started 2016-10-17 | $175.73K (+1657.3%) started 2019-09-13 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | AKAM | NET |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $15.35B | $106.77B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 38.69 | N/A |
| Forward P/Ei | 14.86 | 179.44 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | 42.56 |
| EV/Revenuei | 4.93 | 42.24 |
| Analyst targeti | $153.31 | $333.55 |
| Target upsidei | +43.57% | +11.24% |
| Metric | AKAM | NET |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 5.40% | 35.90% |
| Earnings growthi | -26.80% | N/A |
| EPS growthi | -26.80% | N/A |
| FCF margini | +16.43% | +27.54% |
| Operating margini | 7.63% | -7.60% |
| Profit margini | 9.51% | -8.21% |
| ROIC proxyi | 8.92% | -14.43% |
| Return on equityi | 8.92% | -14.43% |
| Dividend yieldi | N/A | N/A |
| Payout ratioi | 0.00% | N/A |
| Dividend growth streaki | N/A | N/A |
| Betai | 0.64 | 1.66 |
| Debt/equityi | 196.67 | 217.86 |
| Current ratioi | 1.64 | 1.82 |
| Quick ratioi | 1.52 | 1.75 |
Over the past year, AKAM and NET have moved weakly in the same direction (correlation of 0.26), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | AKAM | NET |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +26.54% | +49.63% |
| CAGRi | +26.59% | +49.74% | |
| Volatilityi | 61.65% | 64.81% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.61 | 0.89 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.98 | 1.28 | |
| Max drawdowni | 43.09% | 36.76% | |
| Current drawdowni | 42.71% | 12.36% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 14.12% | 14.51% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 18.94% | 17.63% | |
| Max daily dropi | 16.66% | 23.62% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 22.58% | 23.58% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | -13.61% | +74.98% |
| CAGRi | -2.89% | +11.86% | |
| Volatilityi | 39.11% | 69.05% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.01 | 0.44 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.01 | 0.65 | |
| Max drawdowni | 46.84% | 82.58% | |
| Current drawdowni | 42.71% | 12.36% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 23.25% | 47.23% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 26.13% | 53.90% | |
| Max daily dropi | 21.73% | 23.62% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 23.01% | 39.37% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +68.04% | +1657.33% |
| CAGRi | +5.33% | +49.82% | |
| Volatilityi | 35.43% | 67.21% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.20 | 0.87 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.28 | 1.31 | |
| Max drawdowni | 46.84% | 82.58% | |
| Current drawdowni | 42.71% | 12.36% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 17.22% | 36.00% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 21.10% | 45.73% | |
| Max daily dropi | 21.73% | 23.62% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 23.01% | 39.37% |
| Category | AKAM | NET |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Akamai Technologies, Inc. | Cloudflare, Inc. |
| Sector | Technology | Technology |
| Industry | Software - Infrastructure | Software - Infrastructure |
| Core business | Akamai operates one of the largest content delivery networks globally and has increasingly shifted its business mix toward cloud security and compute services. | Cloudflare provides a global network for content delivery, DDoS protection, zero-trust security, and edge computing (Workers) used by businesses of all sizes. |
| Investor focus | Investors watch Akamai's transition away from slower-growing legacy CDN delivery revenue toward higher-growth security and compute segments, along with capital returns via buybacks. | Investors focus on Cloudflare's consistently high revenue growth rate, large customer and large-account expansion, and its path toward sustained GAAP profitability given a premium valuation. |
- Large, profitable, cash-generative legacy CDN business funds newer growth bets
- Established enterprise security customer base for web app and API protection
- Global network footprint provides low-latency infrastructure for compute expansion
- Sustained high double-digit revenue growth well above legacy infrastructure peers
- Expanding large-customer base adopting multiple products (security, network, developer platform)
- Developer platform (Workers) and AI-related edge compute positioning for future growth
- Core content delivery revenue continues to decline as a share of the business
- Slower overall growth than higher-multiple cloud and edge security peers
- Competition from Cloudflare, cloud hyperscalers, and other CDN providers
- Premium valuation multiple leaves limited room for growth deceleration
- Still working toward consistent GAAP profitability despite strong revenue growth
- Competitive intensity from Akamai, hyperscalers, and other CDN/security vendors
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