VZ - Akamai Stock Is Up Amid COVID-19 Crash as Web Traffic Soars
For years, internet traffic growth has been booming. Not only are more corners of the globe getting connected for the first time, but the number of connected devices in developed markets continues to grow, and the size of data transfers is on the rise. That's thanks in large part to video -- both live and streamed content -- being one of the fastest areas of rising web demand.
Even before the coronavirus banished many households to temporary confinement, internet infrastructure giant Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) had been forecasting mid-20% annual growth in global traffic through 2021. According to monthly traffic trends provided by content delivery network (CDN) Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: AKAM), that pattern had been holding through Feb. 2020 with a 26% surge compared with internet usage a year ago. With many people now stuck at home, though, initial reports indicate that Akamai and other CDNs are experiencing as much as a 50% increase in traffic so far in March. With investors taking cover in small pockets of the market seen as being able to weather the storm, Akamai's surge in demand has the stock currently trading down 5% year to date, compared with a 28% decline for the S&P 500.
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