The end of the earnings season is always a good time to take a step back and see who shined (and who didn’t). Let’s take a look at how content delivery stocks fared in Q1, starting with F5 (NASDAQ: FFIV).

The amount of content on the internet is exploding, whether it is music, movies and or e-commerce stores. Consumer demand for this content creates network congestion, much like a digital traffic jam which drives demand for specialized content delivery networks (CDN) services that alleviate potential network bottlenecks.

The 4 content delivery stocks we track reported a strong Q1. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.8% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

While some content delivery stocks have fared somewhat better than others, they have collectively declined. On average, share prices are down 1.7% since the latest earnings results.

Best Q1: F5 (NASDAQ: FFIV)

Originally named after the F5 tornado, the most powerful on the meteorological scale, F5 (NASDAQ: FFIV) provides security and delivery solutions that protect applications across cloud, data center, and edge environments for large organizations.

F5 reported revenues of $811.7 million, up 11% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 3.7%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter for the company with a solid beat of analysts’ billings estimates and full-year EPS guidance exceeding analysts’ expectations.

“Our second quarter revenue of $812 million grew 11% year over year, driven by 22% product revenue growth—our seventh straight quarter of double-digit product growth,” said François Locoh-Donou, F5’s Chairman, President, and CEO.

F5 pulled off the biggest analyst estimate beat and highest guidance raise of the whole group. Unsurprisingly, the stock is up 38.3% since reporting and currently trades at $420.00.

Is now the time to buy F5? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Cloudflare (NYSE: NET)

With a massive network spanning more than 310 cities in over 120 countries, Cloudflare (NYSE: NET) provides a global network that delivers security, performance and reliability services to protect websites, applications, and corporate networks.

Cloudflare reported revenues of $639.8 million, up 33.5% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 3%. The business had a very strong quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ billings estimates and full-year EPS guidance exceeding analysts’ expectations.

Cloudflare scored the fastest revenue growth among its peers. Although it had a fine quarter compared to its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 4.4% since reporting. It currently trades at $245.50.

Is now the time to buy Cloudflare? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Slowest Q1: Akamai (NASDAQ: AKAM)

With a massive distributed network spanning 4,100+ points of presence in nearly 130 countries, Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: AKAM) provides a global distributed cloud platform that helps businesses deliver, secure, and optimize their digital experiences online.

Akamai reported revenues of $1.07 billion, up 5.8% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. It was a softer quarter as it posted EPS guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations and full-year EPS guidance slightly missing analysts’ expectations.

Akamai delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates, weakest guidance update, and slowest revenue growth in the group. Interestingly, the stock is up 1.9% since the results and currently trades at $118.90.

Read our full analysis of Akamai’s results here.

Fastly (NASDAQ: FSLY)

Taking its name from the core advantage it delivers to customers, Fastly (NASDAQ: FSLY) operates an edge cloud platform that processes, secures, and delivers web content as close to end users as possible, enabling faster digital experiences.

Fastly reported revenues of $173 million, up 19.8% year on year. This result topped analysts’ expectations by 0.6%. Overall, it was a strong quarter as it also put up EPS guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations and full-year EPS guidance exceeding analysts’ expectations.

Fastly scored the highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. The stock is down 42.4% since reporting and currently trades at $18.18.

Read our full, actionable report on Fastly here, it’s free.

Market Update

Late in 2025 into early 2026, there was hand-wringing around artificial intelligence. For software companies, the fear was that AI would erode pricing power and compress margins as new tools made it easier to replicate what once required expensive enterprise platforms. Crypto investors had their own version of the same anxiety: if AI agents could trade, allocate capital, and manage wallets autonomously, what exactly was the long-term value of today’s crypto infrastructure?

These concerns triggered a noticeable rotation away from these sectors and into safer havens. But markets rarely dwell on one narrative for long. Spring 2026 came, and the focus shifted abruptly from technological disruption to geopolitical risk. The US’ conflict with Iran became the dominant driver of market psychology, and when geopolitics takes center stage, the script changes quickly. Investors stop debating growth rates and start worrying about oil supply, inflation, and global stability.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Top 5 Quality Compounder Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.