Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) shares plummeted 13.22% during intraday trading on Friday, following the company's release of disappointing forward guidance despite reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter results.

The cloud and cybersecurity company forecast first-quarter adjusted earnings per share between $1.50 and $1.67, falling short of the analyst consensus estimate of $1.75. For the full year 2026, Akamai projected adjusted EPS of $6.20 to $7.20, below the $7.31 estimate. The company attributed the weaker outlook to a persistent memory supply crunch that has increased hardware costs, potentially requiring price adjustments for customers.

Additionally, Akamai plans to significantly increase capital expenditures in 2026, estimating capex will reach 23% to 26% of revenue, up from 19% in 2025. This includes approximately $250 million in investments to grow its artificial-intelligence inference cloud. While the company reported strong Q4 earnings of $1.84 per share (beating the $1.75 estimate) and revenue of $1.095 billion (exceeding the $1.076 billion estimate), investors focused on the near-term margin pressures from these increased spending plans.