Akamai Technologies, Inc. vs Ross Stores, Inc. — how do they compare? Akamai Technologies, Inc. trades at $123.85 (market cap $16.77B), while Ross Stores, Inc. trades at $249.14 (market cap $80.78B). The key difference: Ross Stores, Inc. is far larger — about 4.8× Akamai Technologies, Inc.'s market cap, and Ross Stores, Inc. pays a 0.71% dividend while Akamai Technologies, Inc. pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| AKAM | ROST | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $16.77B | $80.78B |
Sector | Technology | Consumer Cyclical |
52-Week High | $161.14 | $255.23 |
52-Week Low | $71.97 | $144.67 |
Enterprise Value | $22.75B | $81.37B |
Dividend Yield | — | 0.71% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Akamai Technologies (AKAM) trades at $123.20, up 4.72% with strong quarterly earnings beats and accelerating cloud infrastructure growth. The stock shows mixed technical signals with bearish moving averages but neutral oscillators. Recent Q2 2026 results exceeded expectations with $1.59 EPS versus $1.57 estimate, driven by 39% growth in Cloud Infrastructure Services. However, net income margins have declined from 14.47% in 2022 to 9.51% currently due to increased infrastructure investments.
Akamai presents a compelling growth story in AI and cybersecurity markets with analyst consensus target of $150.11 suggesting 22% upside potential. Key risks include margin pressure from heavy infrastructure spending and competitive threats in cloud services. The balanced analyst rating distribution (47% Buy, 49% Hold) reflects cautious optimism about the company's strategic positioning amid ongoing profitability challenges.
ROST trades at $250.45, down 1.72% on the day, with a bullish technical signal from moving averages and a consensus analyst price target of $259.00. The company has consistently beaten earnings estimates, with Q1 2026 EPS of $2.02 exceeding the $1.73 forecast. Strong fundamentals include a net income margin of 9.74% and ROE of 38.98%, supported by revenue growth to $21.13 billion in 2025 and recent expansion with 47 new stores opened in mid-2026.
The outlook remains positive given earnings momentum and store growth, but elevated valuation ratios like a P/E of 35.17 pose a risk if growth slows. Analyst sentiment is bullish with 64% buy ratings, though technical indicators show mixed signals with RSI near overbought levels. Investors should weigh robust profitability against high multiples in a competitive retail sector.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
Akamai operates a content delivery network, or CDN, which entails locating servers at the edges of networks so its customers, which store content on Akamai servers, can reach their own customers faster, more securely, and with better quality. Akamai has over 325,000 servers distributed over 4,000 points of presence in more than 1,000 cities worldwide. Its customers generally include media companies, which stream video content or make video games available for download, and other enterprises that run interactive or high-traffic websites, such as e-commerce firms and financial institutions. Akamai also has a significant security business, which is integrated with its core web and media businesses to protect its customers from cyberthreats.
Read more on AKAM →Ross Stores is a leading American off-price apparel and home fashion retailer, operating over 1,920 stores (at the end of fiscal 2021) across the Ross Dress for Less and dd's Discounts banners. Ross offers a variety of name-brand products and targets undercutting conventional retailers' regular prices by 20%-70%. The company uses an opportunistic, flexible merchandising approach
Read more on ROST →