---
title: "Akamai signed over US$14bn of cloud deals; it earned US$109m from cloud last quarter"
summary: "Akamai’s filings of May to November: what Anthropic’s US$11.6bn and the other cloud contracts commit, what the build costs, how it is funded, and what US$7bn in 2028 needs."
url: https://www.thetechbag.com/blog/akamai-14bn-ai-cloud-commitments
format: Analysis
desk: "Cloud & DevOps"
region: Global
published: 2026-11-07
facts_checked: 2026-11-07
author: TechBag (The TechBag Journal)
tags: ["Akamai","Akamai Cloud","Linode","Anthropic","cloud infrastructure services","AI infrastructure","remaining performance obligations","backlog","capex","convertible notes","warrants","memory prices","earnings","guidance","share price","content delivery","AI economy"]
cover: https://www.thetechbag.com/blog/covers/akamai-14bn-ai-cloud-commitments.png
---

# Akamai signed over US$14bn of cloud deals; it earned US$109m from cloud last quarter

*Akamai’s filings of May to November: what Anthropic’s US$11.6bn and the other cloud contracts commit, what the build costs, how it is funded, and what US$7bn in 2028 needs.*

Analysis · Cloud & DevOps · By TechBag · Published 2026-11-07 · Facts checked 2026-11-07 · Canonical: https://www.thetechbag.com/blog/akamai-14bn-ai-cloud-commitments

The short version

1. Akamai has signed “more than $14 billion” of multi-year cloud infrastructure commitments this year, US$11.6bn of it from Anthropic over seven-year terms. Its cloud infrastructure revenue in the quarter to September was US$109m, up 34%.[1][3]
2. The contracts are signed, not earned: revenue starts in October–December 2026, and Akamai expects to spend about US$6.8bn of capital before the capacity is fully running at the end of 2028. Its backlog of contracted revenue rose from US$7.6bn to US$19.9bn in one quarter.[2]
3. On that basis Akamai guides cloud infrastructure revenue of US$1.1–1.3bn in 2027, total growth of 17–22% (about 6% this year) and more than US$7bn of revenue in 2028, against US$4.44–4.465bn guided for 2026.[1]

Akamai is best known for delivering websites and video and for protecting them. On 5 November it told investors that a third business, renting computing capacity, would turn a company growing about 6% a year into one growing up to 22%. The case rests on contracts signed in the last six months, mostly with one customer, and on a building programme that has barely begun. This piece reads Akamai’s own filings to separate what has been signed from what has been earned, what the build will cost and how it is being paid for, and what has to happen for the 2028 target to hold.

## Three businesses: security pays the bills, delivery shrinks, cloud grows

Akamai has reported revenue in three lines since the start of 2026. Security, where Akamai names API security, web application and Guardicore segmentation products as the growth drivers, brought in US$622m in the quarter to September, up 9%. Delivery and other cloud applications, the content-delivery business, brought in US$391m, down 3%. Cloud infrastructure services (CIS), the compute business built on Linode, brought in US$109m, up 34%.[1][2][9] Total revenue was US$1,122m, up 6%.[1]

Akamai puts the delivery decline down to “downward pricing of contract renewals” and to customers optimising traffic to cut costs, and CIS growth to “growth in sales to new and existing customers of our compute solutions, as well as the compute partner solutions running on our platform”.[2] In the quarter, security was 55% of revenue, delivery 35% and CIS 10%, on our arithmetic from the release.

**Figure: Security still earns more than half; cloud infrastructure is the only line growing fast, from a small base**

*Revenue by solution, US$ million, quarters to March 2025 through September 2026 (2025 recast by Akamai)*

|  | Security | Delivery and other cloud applications | Cloud infrastructure services |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Q1 2025 | 531 | 417 | 68 |
| Q2 2025 | 552 | 420 | 71 |
| Q3 2025 | 568 | 405 | 81 |
| Q4 2025 | 592 | 409 | 94 |
| Q1 2026 | 590 | 389 | 95 |
| Q2 2026 | 604 | 396 | 99 |
| Q3 2026 | 622 | 391 | 109 |

Source: Akamai quarterly results, Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1, Q1, Q2 and Q3 2026 (each showing the matching 2025 quarter) · as of 5 November 2026 · Rounded to the nearest US$ million

Profit fell as the cloud build began. Cost of revenue rose to 45% of revenue from 41%, led by “network build-out and supporting services” (up 45%, mostly partner costs) and co-location (up 25%). The non-GAAP operating margin fell 6 points to 25%, and GAAP net income fell 16% to US$117m.[1][2]

## What was signed: about US$14.4bn, US$11.6bn of it from one customer

The commitments arrived in three steps. On 7 May Akamai announced that “a leading, U.S. based frontier model provider” had committed US$1.8bn over seven years.[6] By 6 August the year’s multi-year CIS contracts were “collectively worth over $2.8 billion”, including more than US$600m over four years from a new US technology customer.[5] On 18 September Akamai and Anthropic signed two project plans under a master services agreement dated 5 May, under which Anthropic “has committed to pay the Company approximately $11.6 billion”, each plan for “an initial seven-year term commencing on their respective service start dates”.[3] Akamai said the capacity supports Anthropic’s “CPU workload” growth.[4] It has not said whether the May customer was Anthropic.

TechBag countTechBag count: how the US$14bn adds up

US$2.8bn signed by August plus US$11.6bn from Anthropic is about US$14.4bn, which matches the “more than $14 billion” in the release. Anthropic’s plans are about 81% of it. Spread evenly over seven years, US$11.6bn would be about US$1.66bn a year; Akamai has not said how fast the plans ramp, so the even spread is only a scale.[1][3][5]

A commitment is not revenue. It shows up first in remaining performance obligations (RPO), the contracted revenue Akamai has not yet earned under noncancellable contracts. RPO was US$19.9bn on 30 September, up from US$7.6bn three months earlier.[7] Akamai expects to recognise about 35% of it within two years, 28% in years three and four, 21% in years five and six and 16% in years seven and eight.[2] It had been US$4.8bn a year earlier and US$5.2bn at the end of 2025.[8][9] A quarter earlier it expected 40% within twelve months: the backlog is now much larger and much longer.[7]

**Figure: Contracted revenue not yet earned jumped to US$19.9bn in the quarter Anthropic signed**

*Remaining performance obligations at quarter end, US$ billion, September 2025 to September 2026*

|  | Remaining performance obligations |
| --- | --- |
| Sep 2025 | 4.8 |
| Dec 2025 | 5.2 |
| Mar 2026 | 5.5 |
| Jun 2026 | 7.6 |
| Sep 2026 | 19.9 |

Source: Akamai Forms 10-Q (Q3 2025, Q1, Q2 and Q3 2026) and Form 10-K for 2025, revenue recognition note · as of 6 November 2026 · RPO covers all of Akamai's contracts, not only cloud infrastructure, and excludes variable usage

The contract can still fall short. Revenue depends on Akamai meeting “delivery and service availability requirements”; Anthropic may end a project plan “upon notice of a material outage, subject to certain conditions”, or the whole agreement if Akamai is taken over by “a direct competitor of Anthropic”.[3] Akamai’s 10-Q now carries a risk factor that its CIS revenue “may become increasingly dependent on Anthropic”.[2]

## From contract to revenue: the capacity comes first

Akamai expects revenue from the new contracts “to begin to be recognized in the fourth quarter of 2026, accelerate in 2027, with anticipated capacity fully operational by the end of 2028”, and says that revenue “will primarily be derived in the U.S.”.[2] Before then it has to buy and install the machines. It estimates capital spending for the large contracts at “approximately $6.8 billion”, starting in the fourth quarter and continuing into 2028, and warns that these investments “are expected to precede a significant portion of the related customer cash inflows”.[2] In September it put the capex for the Anthropic plans alone at about US$5.5bn, with about US$1.7bn more in 2026 “to secure and pre-purchase critical supply chain components, including memory”.[4]

**Figure: Akamai spends first and is paid later: about US$6.8bn of capex before the capacity is fully running in 2028**

*How a signed cloud commitment becomes revenue and cash at Akamai, as its filings of September to November 2026 describe it*

1. 01The contract is signedAnthropic commits about US$11.6bn over seven-year terms; it enters the backlog, not revenue.
2. 02Capacity is boughtAbout US$6.8bn of capex; US$1.7bn of memory through Jabil, servers from Lenovo, US$2.4bn of new data-centre leases.
3. 03Service startsRevenue is recognised as capacity is delivered, from October–December 2026, accelerating in 2027.
4. 04Cash comes backAkamai expects “a meaningful increase in cash flows from operations beginning in 2028”.

Source: Akamai Form 10-Q for Q3 2026; Form 8-K and press release of 24 September 2026 · as of 6 November 2026

The supply chain is already contracted. On 24 September Akamai authorised Jabil, which builds its custom servers, to buy about US$1.7bn of memory components; a day earlier it had signed a seven-year statement of work with Lenovo for hardware and services.[3] At 30 September it had US$2.4bn of co-location leases that had not yet started, most due to begin by the end of 2027, and about US$1.0bn of server purchase commitments that are “noncancellable, except upon customer cancellation”.[2] The 10-Q also notes “a significant increase in server and memory costs due to market dynamics driven by hyperscalers”, the same memory squeeze we charted in [PC shipments and DRAM prices](https://www.thetechbag.com/blog/pc-shipments-fall-memory-prices-ai-data-centres).[2]

## How it is paid for: convertible notes, cash, and no buybacks

Capital spending was US$464m in the quarter, 41% of revenue, against US$224m and 21% a year earlier.[1] On the cash-flow statement, Akamai paid US$605m for property, equipment and capitalised software while operations brought in US$433m: on our arithmetic, the first quarter of the three this year in which cash capex exceeded operating cash. It bought back no shares in the quarter, after spending US$616m on buybacks in the first half.[1]

The money came mostly from convertible notes. In May Akamai sold US$1.75bn of notes due 2030 and US$1.75bn due 2032, both at a 0% coupon, and said it would use part of the proceeds “to fund the accelerated capital expenditure requirements” of CIS. Its convertible notes now total US$7.64bn of principal, including US$1.15bn due on 1 September 2027; its US$1.0bn revolving credit facility was undrawn.[2] Cash and marketable securities were US$4.239bn on 30 September.[1]

**Figure: The build is funded from a US$4.2bn cash pile raised largely through US$7.6bn of convertible notes**

*Akamai's capital spending and funding, quarter to and position at 30 September 2026*

US$6.8bn

Estimated capex for the large CIS contracts, Q4 2026 into 2028

Akamai 10-Q

41%

Capex as a share of revenue in Q3 2026, from 21% a year earlier

Akamai

US$7.64bn

Convertible notes outstanding; US$1.15bn due September 2027

Akamai 10-Q

US$4.24bn

Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, 30 September

Akamai

Source: Akamai Q3 2026 release (8-K Exhibit 99.1) and Form 10-Q · as of 6 November 2026 · Capex here is Akamai's accrual measure; the US$6.8bn is its estimate for the large CIS contracts over several years

Akamai expects to fund the build from cash, operations and its credit lines, but says it “may evaluate a range of financing alternatives”, “with consideration given to potential dilution to shareholders”, if spending and customer payments fall out of step.[2] There is also the warrant it gave Anthropic: up to 7.74 million common shares on conversion, about 5% of the company, at US$111.33 a share. About 2% vests with the first payment under the third project plan; the rest vests in three steps, one for each further US$3bn Anthropic commits.[3][4] Borrowing to build AI capacity ahead of revenue is the pattern we traced at [Oracle](https://www.thetechbag.com/blog/oracle-sells-20bn-shares-notes-at-its-own-cap) and across [Big Tech](https://www.thetechbag.com/blog/big-tech-borrows-sells-shares-for-ai).

## What has to happen for US$7bn in 2028

The targets are steep against today’s base. Akamai guides 2026 revenue of US$4,440m to US$4,465m, against US$4,208m in 2025, which is growth of about 6%.[1][9] For 2027 it guides CIS revenue of US$1.1bn to US$1.3bn and total growth of 17% to 22% at constant currency; for 2028, revenue “projected to exceed $7.0 billion”.[1] In August its quarterly release gave no 2027 or 2028 figure.[5]

TechBag countTechBag count: what the targets imply

Applying 17–22% to the 2026 range gives roughly US$5.2bn to US$5.4bn of revenue in 2027, before currency effects. More than US$7.0bn in 2028 then needs growth of at least about 29% that year, and is about 57% above the 2026 midpoint. CIS ran at about US$435m a year in the third quarter (US$109m times four); the 2027 range is 2.5 to 3 times that, and would make CIS about a fifth to a quarter of Akamai’s revenue, up from 10%.[1]

**Figure: Signed in 2026, built through 2028: the dates Akamai's targets depend on**

*Akamai's commitments, financing and targets, May 2026 to December 2028, as disclosed to 6 November 2026*

| Date | Event | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| May 2026 | US$1.8bn | Seven-year commitment from an unnamed frontier model provider |
| May 2026 | US$3.5bn of notes | 0% convertible notes due 2030 and 2032, partly for CIS capex |
| Aug 2026 | Over US$2.8bn | Multi-year CIS commitments signed year to date |
| Sept 2026 | Anthropic, US$11.6bn | Two seven-year project plans; a warrant for up to about 5% |
| Nov 2026 | More than US$14bn | 2027 and 2028 targets set; CIS revenue from the deals starts this quarter |
| Sept 2027 | US$1.15bn notes due | The 2027 convertible notes mature |
| Dec 2028 | Capacity fully running | Akamai's expectation; 2028 revenue above US$7.0bn |

Source: Akamai releases of 7 May, 6 August and 5 November 2026; 8-K and press release of 24 September 2026; Form 10-Q for Q3 2026 · as of 6 November 2026 · Dates after 6 November 2026 are Akamai's expectations, not events

The market has not settled on a reading. Akamai’s shares closed at US$77.84 on 5 November, down 9.4% that day before the results came out after the close, and rose 6.7% to US$83.09 on 6 November. That is 27% below the US$113.94 close of 25 September, the first session after the Anthropic announcement, and 25% below the warrant’s US$111.33 exercise price.[10] We found no company statement on the moves.

Our viewWhat to watch

The fourth-quarter release will show the first CIS revenue from the new contracts. After that, three markers in Akamai’s own disclosures: whether capex runs to the US$6.8bn estimate and on time, since revenue depends on delivery and availability terms; whether it chooses one of the “financing alternatives” before the US$1.15bn of notes fall due in September 2027; and whether Anthropic’s commitments grow in US$3bn steps, which is what vests the rest of the warrant.[2][3]

In India: the build-out is American; the Indian cloud regions bill in dollars

Akamai does not report Indian revenue. No country outside the US was 10% or more of its revenue in the nine months, and it expects the new CIS revenue to come “primarily” from the US.[2] For an Indian customer, what changes first is the price conversation. Akamai says that at renewal it is “taking steps” to sign delivery and security customers “to multi-year contracts that take into account the significant cost increases we have experienced from hyperscaler market dynamics”.[2]

Akamai Cloud’s public API lists three core regions in India: Chennai, Mumbai and Mumbai 2. Chennai and Mumbai 2 list GPU instances; Mumbai 2 lists no Object Storage. Prices carry a regional surcharge only in Jakarta and São Paulo, so the smallest plan, 1 vCPU and 1 GB, is US$5 a month in India, about ₹470 at the European Central Bank’s rate of ₹93.92 for 6 November, plus 18% GST, about ₹554 in all.[11][12][13] TechBag covers the products on [its Akamai hub](https://www.thetechbag.com/akamai) and the [Akamai Cloud intel page](https://www.thetechbag.com/akamai/akamai-cloud).

How we did this

Figures as of 7 November 2026, 4pm IST

Revenue by solution, margins, cash flow, capex and guidance are from Akamai’s quarterly releases (Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1) for Q1, Q2 and Q3 2026; 2025 quarters are the recast figures those releases show. Remaining performance obligations, the capex estimate, leases, purchase commitments, notes and risk factors are from the Forms 10-Q and the 2025 Form 10-K. The Anthropic terms are from the 8-K and press release of 24 September 2026. “More than $14 billion” is Akamai’s figure; neither filing gives an aggregate term for it. The Q3 call transcript and presentation were not available to us, so nothing is quoted from the call. Share prices are Nasdaq closing prices. Shares of revenue, the US$14.4bn sum, the implied 2027 range, the run rate, cash capex against operating cash and the rupee figure are our arithmetic.

Spotted an error? Write to us; corrections are published at the foot of the piece.

Sources

1. [Akamai: Akamai Reports Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1086222/000108622226000097/exhibit991-q32026.htm) — 5 November 2026
2. [Akamai: Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, quarter ended 30 September 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1086222/000108622226000100/akam-20260930.htm) — filed 6 November 2026
3. [Akamai: Form 8-K, Items 1.01, 3.02 and 5.03 (Anthropic project plans, warrant, Lenovo and Jabil agreements)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1086222/000119312526401048/d288154d8k.htm) — filed 24 September 2026
4. [Akamai: Akamai Announces $11.6 Billion Multi-year Agreement with Anthropic (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1086222/000119312526401048/d288154dex991.htm) — 24 September 2026
5. [Akamai: Akamai Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1086222/000108622226000083/exhibit991-q22026.htm) — 6 August 2026
6. [Akamai: Akamai Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial Results (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1086222/000108622226000054/exhibit991-q12026.htm) — 7 May 2026
7. [Akamai: Forms 10-Q for the quarters ended 31 March and 30 June 2026 (remaining performance obligations)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1086222/000108622226000086/akam-20260630.htm) — filed 8 May and 7 August 2026 Q1: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1086222/000108622226000058/akam-20260331.htm
8. [Akamai: Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 September 2025 (remaining performance obligations)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1086222/000108622225000256/akam-20250930.htm) — filed 7 November 2025
9. [Akamai: Annual Report on Form 10-K for 2025](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1086222/000108622226000022/akam-20251231.htm) — filed 20 February 2026
10. [Nasdaq: Akamai Technologies (AKAM) historical quotes](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/akam/historical) — closes to 6 November 2026
11. [Akamai Cloud (Linode) API v4: regions and the g6-nanode-1 plan type](https://api.linode.com/v4/regions) — read 7 November 2026 plan prices: https://api.linode.com/v4/linode/types/g6-nanode-1
12. [European Central Bank euro reference rates, USD/INR cross rate (via the Frankfurter API)](https://api.frankfurter.app/2026-11-06?from=USD&to=INR) — 6 November 2026
13. [India Briefing: Digital services in India: OIDAR, GST applicability and compliance](https://www.india-briefing.com/news/tax-digital-services-oidar-in-india-gst-applicability-and-compliance-22465.html) — updated 29 September 2023

**Disclosure.** TechBag is a software reseller: it earns a margin when a reader buys through it, including from vendors named here. The analysis is TechBag’s own; no vendor paid for or saw this piece before publication. Facts are labelled reported, TechBag count or our view.

**Read this next:** [Cloudflare’s revenue grew 39%; its gross margin fell to 71.2%](https://www.thetechbag.com/blog/cloudflare-grows-39-margin-falls) — Another network company's July to September quarter: Cloudflare's revenue grew 39% while its gross margin fell to 71.2%.

Go deeper on TechBag

- [The Akamai hub](https://www.thetechbag.com/akamai) — Akamai's security, delivery and cloud products, with dated, sourced claims
- [Akamai Cloud intel page](https://www.thetechbag.com/akamai/akamai-cloud) — the compute business behind the commitments, its prices and its three Indian regions
- [Akamai Guardicore Segmentation](https://www.thetechbag.com/akamai/akamai-guardicore-segmentation) — one of the security products Akamai names as driving its largest line