Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) stock plunged 9.31% in pre-market trading on Friday as the company's outlook for 2025 fell short of expectations, reflecting the ongoing challenges it faces in its transition to focus more on security and cloud infrastructure services.

In its fourth-quarter 2024 earnings report, Akamai highlighted several headwinds and growth slowdowns that dampened investor sentiment. While the company reported strong Q4 performance with revenue and earnings exceeding guidance, and milestones like surpassing $2 billion in security revenue, there were key concerns:

- Akamai faces a significant $60 million headwind from its largest customer pursuing a 'DIY' strategy, impacting overall revenue growth.
- Despite growth in cloud computing revenue, the company expects a slowdown in this segment, projecting only 15% growth in cloud computing solutions in 2025, compared to higher growth rates in previous years.
- Akamai's delivery revenue declined by 18% year-over-year in Q4 2024, although there are signs of stabilization.
- Foreign exchange fluctuations are expected to negatively impact revenue and non-GAAP EPS expectations in 2025.
- The company anticipates increased capital expenditures in 2025, partly due to infrastructure builds for a large cloud infrastructure services contract.