Shares of Akamai Technologies (AKAM) surged 8.96% in Friday's pre-market trading session following the company's impressive third-quarter results and optimistic future outlook. The cybersecurity and cloud computing firm's performance, particularly in its security and cloud infrastructure segments, coupled with its focus on AI-driven growth, has sparked investor enthusiasm.

For the third quarter ended September 30, Akamai reported revenue of $1.055 billion, a 5% increase year-over-year and above the analyst consensus estimate of $1.043 billion. The company's adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.86, significantly beating Wall Street's expectation of $1.64. This strong performance was driven by robust growth in Akamai's security division, which saw a 10% increase in revenue to $568 million, while the cloud infrastructure services segment experienced a remarkable 39% year-over-year growth.

Looking ahead, Akamai provided an upbeat forecast for the fourth quarter, projecting revenue between $1.065 billion and $1.085 billion, with the midpoint surpassing analysts' average estimate. The company also raised its full-year guidance for adjusted earnings per share to a range of $6.93 to $7.13, exceeding the consensus estimate of $6.72. CEO Tom Leighton highlighted the positive impact of AI on Akamai's business, stating, "AI is a tailwind for us, pretty much across the board." This sentiment, coupled with the launch of Akamai Inference Cloud powered by NVIDIA AI infrastructure, suggests strong growth potential in AI-related services, further fueling investor optimism and contributing to the stock's significant rise in pre-market trading.