KeyBanc analyst Jackson Ader just gave Akamai Technologies, Inc. (AKAM) and Fastly, Inc. (FSLY) a serious vote of confidence, upgrading both stocks as he sees a breakout year ahead for the content delivery veterans.

For Akamai, Ader flipped from Underweight all the way to Overweight while boosting his price target from $66 to $115. Fastly got bumped from Sector Weight to Overweight, keeping its $14 price target intact.

Why the Optimism Now?

Ader points out that both companies have been working for years to escape the gravitational pull of the content delivery business, which tends to be cyclical and not exactly a growth powerhouse. Akamai has led this charge, pushing hard into security and compute to build more predictable revenue streams.

The thesis is straightforward: both companies are positioned to beat their software peers in 2026, primarily because their security and compute businesses are hitting their stride at exactly the right moment.

Akamai's Cloud Compute Momentum

When Ader first covered Akamai, he identified several catalysts that could drive outperformance. The biggest one? Faster-than-expected growth in Compute, fueled by surging demand for edge computing to support AI workloads.

While overall Compute revenue hasn't fully reaccelerated yet, early signals point to a pickup starting in the fourth quarter, led by strong momentum in Cloud Infrastructure Services (CIS).

Ader expects this CIS expansion to continue gaining steam, especially with the company's recently announced AI Inference Cloud platform providing additional tailwind for Akamai shares through 2026.

Bottom line: the analyst projects Akamai will accelerate revenue growth next year, supported by improved CDN pricing and rising cloud computing demand.

Fastly's Security Turnaround

Fastly's story is a comeback narrative. After a rough 2024, the company has bounced back impressively. Revenue is now forecast to grow 12.6%, representing a 540-basis-point acceleration from FY24.

Ader says the turnaround is well underway, and he's confident the largely refreshed executive team can keep pushing top-line growth and margin expansion forward.

CEO Kip Compton has been particularly aggressive on the security front, expanding Fastly's Security business from a single product to five. That expansion reflects management's confidence in the company's ability to compete and win deals, especially following its go-to-market transformation.