Akamai Completes Strong 2012, But Gets Hammered Anyway

For the recent few quarters, Akamai (NASDAQ:AKAM, news, filings) has been posting better than expected earnings numbers.  They managed to mostly continue that string yesterday but the street was apparently looking for more.  First here are their numbers in context:

$ in millions	Q4/11	Q1/12	Q2/12	Q3/12	Q4/12	Q1/13 (guidance)
Revenue	323.4	319.4	331.3	345.3	377.9	352-362
COS	102.5	102.6	107.5	110.0	111.9
SG&A+R&D	132.8	140.4	139.4	149.7	164.4
Gross Margin %	68.3%	67.8%	67.6%	68.1%	70.4%
Adj.  EPS	0.45	0.41	0.43	0.43	0.54	0.50-0.52

Revenues were within the guided range, although not in the upper half as analysts had hoped.  Earnings per share on the other hand exceeded both guidance and analyst projections, as did forward EPS guidance.  however, Q1 revenue guidance was lower than expected, which appears to have disappointed some traders.

Additionally, they announced another $150M authorization for their stock buyback program, under which they did buy $141M worth last year.

All in all though, it looks to me like Akamai finished off a rather powerful 2012 with slightly cautious guidance.  But expectations are expectations and the market is currently giving the CDN giant’s stock price a 15% haircut.

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