Can Akamai Technologies Meet These Numbers?

Akamai Technologies (Nasdaq: AKAM  ) is expected to report Q4 earnings on Feb. 6. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Akamai Technologies's revenues will expand 17.7% and EPS will expand 8.9%.

The average estimate for revenue is $380.9 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.49.

Revenue details
Last quarter, Akamai Technologies booked revenue of $345.3 million. GAAP reported sales were 23% higher than the prior-year quarter's $281.9 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Last quarter, non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.43. GAAP EPS of $0.27 for Q3 were 17% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.23 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Recent performance
For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 68.1%, 120 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 23.3%, 10 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 14.0%, 100 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $1.38 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.74.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 3,022 members out of 3,169 rating the stock outperform, and 147 members rating it underperform. Among 759 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 729 give Akamai Technologies a green thumbs-up, and 30 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Akamai Technologies is outperform, with an average price target of $39.05.

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