Web content delivery company Akamai Technologies Inc. said Wednesday its second-quarter profit jumped 59 percent, but sales fell short of Wall Street's expectations, sending shares down sharply.
Akamai, whose customers include Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp., said quarterly earnings rose to $34.3 million, or 19 cents per share, from $21.6 million, or 12 cents per share in the same period last year.
Results included amortization charges and other items. Excluding those items, Akamai said its profit totaled 41 cents per share in the quarter, matching Wall Street's view, according to a Thomson Financial survey of analysts.
Revenue increased 27 percent to $194 million from $152.7 million in the year-ago quarter, lower than the $196.7 million analysts had predicted.
In a statement, Paul Sagan, Akamai's chief executive, said the company "delivered solid results in a challenging environment."
But investors disagreed. Shares of Akamai plummeted $5.02, or 16 percent, to $26.23 in after-hours trading after shedding 29 cents to end the regular session at $31.25.
