Today’s stock pitch is for Akamai, the leading global service provider for accelerating content and applications online (such as streaming video). After growing their profits by a stunning 73% in the third-quarter earnings report, you may wondering whether Akamai (NYSE: AKAM) is going to continue their unbelievable growth or fall to their main competitor Limelight Networks (NYSE: LLNW). Answer? They are both of good value. Limelight is undervalued right now at $12.80 a share, while Akamai certainly is better poised to control the content-delivery industry with its superior client base (YouTube, MTV, Apple, XM, etc.).

Why own Akamai you ask? In a press release today (October 30th, 2007), Akamai introduced the industry’s first and only PCI-compliant site acceleration service. “PCI-compliant site and transaction acceleration will provide companies conducting ecommerce online with the assurance that sensitive credit card information is transmitted over a platform that is PCI-compliant (Source: Akamai Technologies, Inc.).” This is just icing on the cake, as I would have recommended the stock with the same authority before this news. It just goes to show how well this company is adapting to change, staying ahead of the curve.

Akamai is dependable. They have quite an arsenal of big-name companies in their client portfolio, such as Microsoft and Apple, and continue to serve over 2,600 customers in long-term contracts. Put simply, they aren’t going anywhere. Adjusted Earnings (Non-GAAP) beat Wall Street’s expectations by a cent (no small task) and grew by 49%. Also, revenue is up 45% and their business suggests continued growth anywhere from 25%-30%. Solid.

Finally, the size of the company is fast. They operate over 20,000 servers in 70 countries around the world, Dominating the content delivery network (CDN) industry with an estimated 70% market share. And we all know that companies are increasingly incorporating high-quality video and interactive graphics to enhance user’s experience as the percentage of broadband internet connections continues to grow. This makesAkamai (NYSE: AKAM) a great buy for a long-term investment. Their balance sheet is healthy and we can expect an excellent return on investment for at least the next ten years.

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