Shares of Akamai Technologies rallied after the company said it would supply cloud infrastructure services to a leading artificial-intelligence lab in a seven-year agreement worth $1.8 billion.

The cloud and cybersecurity company described the AI lab as a "leading, U.S. based frontier model provider," without providing its name or any further information.

Akamai's disclosure of the deal caused shares to surge 26% to $146.73 in after-hours trading Thursday. The stock, which closed the market session down 4.3% at $116.69, is up 34% this year.

The deal overshadowed any concerns investors may have had after the company reported a first-quarter profit of $106.3 million, or 71 cents a share, down from $123.2 million, or 82 cents a share, a year earlier.

Stripping out certain one-time items, adjusted earnings were $1.61 a share. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting $1.60 a share.

Revenue rose to $1.07 billion, up from $1.02 billion a year prior and in line with analyst estimates.

For the current second quarter, Akamai expects adjusted earnings of $1.45 to $1.65 a share on revenue of $1.08 billion to $1.1 billion.

Analysts are expecting adjusted earnings of $1.68 a share on revenue of $1.1 billion for the second quarter.

The company narrowed its full-year guidance, projecting adjusted earnings of $6.40 to $7.15 a share on revenue of $4.45 billion to $4.55 billion. Akamai had previously guided for adjusted earnings of $6.20 to $7.20 a share, on revenue of $4.40 billion to $4.55 billion.

Wall Street analysts expect adjusted earnings of $6.86 a share on revenue of $4.48 billion, according to FactSet.