US Market Retreats Amid US-Iran Tensions
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Feb 19 2026
0mins
Should l Buy AKAM?
Source: Yahoo Finance
- Market Retreat Reasons: The stock market retreated due to escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran, causing investors to feel uneasy about the economic outlook, which led to declines in major indices and highlighted the market's sensitivity to geopolitical risks.
- GE Aero Leads New Buys: Despite the overall market weakness, GE Aero emerged as a standout for new buys, indicating strong performance in the aviation sector that may attract investors seeking safe havens, thereby enhancing its competitive position in the industry.
- Comfort Systems Earnings Volatility: Comfort Systems' earnings report drew significant market attention, and while specific figures were not disclosed, the volatility in its performance could impact investor confidence, reflecting the dynamics within the construction services sector.
- Grail Earnings Impact: Grail's earnings report became a focal point for the market, and although detailed data was not provided, the changes in its performance could significantly influence investor sentiment in the biotechnology sector, showcasing the high volatility and potential opportunities within the industry.
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Analyst Views on AKAM
Wall Street analysts forecast AKAM stock price to rise
11 Analyst Rating
6 Buy
5 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 97.640
Low
89.00
Averages
103.73
High
115.00
Current: 97.640
Low
89.00
Averages
103.73
High
115.00
About AKAM
Akamai Technologies, Inc. is a cybersecurity and cloud computing company. The Company develops and provides solutions for global enterprises to build, secure and accelerate their applications and digital experiences. Akamai Connected Cloud, the Company's platform, is comprised of an edge and cloud architecture and underlying network for cloud computing, security and content delivery services. Its cloud computing services include compute, storage, networking, database and container management services that are required to build, deploy and secure applications and workloads. Its security solutions are designed to keep infrastructure, websites, applications, application programming interfaces and users safe from a multitude of cyberattacks and online threats while improving performance. Its content delivery solutions consist of Web and mobile performance focused solutions and media delivery solutions. It also provides services and support for its customers as they utilize its solutions.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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See More
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- Acquisition of NVIDIA GPUs: Akamai has purchased thousands of NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs to enhance its global distributed cloud infrastructure, aiming to improve capabilities in AI R&D, fine-tuning, and post-training optimization, thereby increasing overall computational efficiency.
- Unified Platform Development: This deployment creates a unified platform that intelligently routes AI inference workloads to optimized compute resources, significantly reducing latency and data egress issues, which enhances user experience.
- AI Inference Cloud Strategy: Akamai's recent launch of the AI Inference Cloud redefines how AI is utilized by bringing it closer to users and devices, with projections indicating a 45%-50% revenue growth in CIS for 2026.
- Optimistic Market Outlook: With the momentum of the AI Inference Cloud accelerating, Akamai is positioned favorably in future market competition, further solidifying its leadership in the AI and cloud computing sectors.
See More
Akamai Acquires NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs to Enhance AI Infrastructure
- Acquisition of NVIDIA GPUs: Akamai has announced the acquisition of thousands of NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs to enhance its global distributed cloud infrastructure, aiming to create a unified platform for AI R&D that improves the efficiency of AI inference workloads.
- Latency Reduction: The new architecture supports rapid inference by reducing latency and data egress issues associated with centralized data centers, addressing the primary barrier faced by 56% of organizations in AI deployment, thereby enhancing the company's competitive position in the inference era.
- Localized Optimization: Akamai's GPU clusters enable on-site optimization of large language models, ensuring data privacy and regional compliance, which further enhances the company's flexibility and adaptability in AI applications.
- Cost Savings: Compared to traditional hyperscaler infrastructure, Akamai's AI inference platform can reduce latency by up to 2.5 times, helping businesses save as much as 86% on AI inference costs, significantly improving return on investment.
See More
Amazon Data Centers Hit by Drone Strikes
- Facility Damage: Amazon Web Services (AWS) reported that two data centers in the UAE and one in Bahrain were taken offline due to drone strikes, significantly impacting service availability and stability in the region.
- Damage Assessment: The strikes caused structural damage and power disruptions, leading to fire incidents, with AWS indicating that the recovery process will be prolonged due to the complex nature of the physical damage.
- Service Impact: Several applications, including AWS's EC2 virtual servers, S3 storage service, and DynamoDB database service, experienced elevated error rates and degraded availability, affecting customers' workloads in the impacted areas.
- Customer Advisory: AWS advised customers in the Middle East to take steps to mitigate the impacts of the conflict, such as backing up data or migrating workloads to other AWS regions, in anticipation of potential instability in the future.
See More
Iran Faces Severe Internet Blackout Amid Conflict
- Current Internet Blackout: Iran is experiencing a near-total internet blackout lasting over 48 hours amid ongoing conflict with the U.S. and Israel, with connectivity at just 1% of normal levels, severely impacting over 90 million citizens and highlighting the government's strict control over information flow.
- Historical Context: NetBlocks attributes this blackout to a 'regime-imposed' nationwide shutdown, reminiscent of a similar incident in January that lasted weeks and obscured severe human rights violations, indicating the government's tendency to employ such tactics during public protests to maintain control.
- Cyber Attack Threats: U.S. and Israeli cyberattacks have targeted Iranian internet infrastructure, with multiple government-aligned news websites hacked, and even the popular religious calendar app BadeSaba, with over 5 million downloads, compromised, indicating a psychological warfare strategy against the populace.
- Potential Cyber Retaliation: As Iran retaliates with strikes against U.S. and allied targets, analysts warn that Iranian-aligned groups may initiate cyber attacks, with CrowdStrike's head noting observed activities consistent with Iranian threat actors, suggesting that more aggressive cyber operations may be forthcoming.
See More
US Stocks Plunge as Trade Policy Concerns Emerge
- Market Decline: On Monday, the S&P 500 Index fell by 1.04%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 1.66%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index decreased by 1.21%, reflecting risk-off sentiment triggered by uncertainty over U.S. trade policy.
- Tariff Increase: President Trump signed an executive order raising global tariffs from 10% to 15%, a move that could curb global economic growth and negatively impact the stock market, particularly as it faces existing pressures.
- AI Risk Impact: A report from Citrini Research detailing potential risks of artificial intelligence on the global economy led to declines in software and payment stocks, with Datadog and Atlassian seeing drops of over 11% and 10%, respectively, indicating market concerns over tech stocks.
- Economic Data Highlights: Despite the stock market downturn, the U.S. January Chicago Fed National Activity Index rose by 0.39 to 0.18, surpassing expectations, suggesting that the economic fundamentals remain strong and may provide support for a future market rebound.
See More
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- Partnerships: Nvidia is collaborating with leading cybersecurity firms including Akamai, Palo Alto Networks, Forescout, Xage Security, and Siemens to enhance operational technology (OT) cybersecurity through accelerated computing and AI.
- Real-Time Threat Detection: This initiative aims to advance real-time threat detection and response capabilities across critical infrastructure, thereby strengthening companies' defenses against cyberattacks and improving overall security.
- Market Reaction: Following the announcement, Nvidia's shares rose by 0.45%, indicating a positive market response to its new strategy, while Akamai's stock increased by 5%, reflecting investor optimism about the partnership's prospects.
- Industry Impact: This move not only enhances Nvidia's competitiveness in the cybersecurity sector but also has the potential to drive innovation and development in OT security technologies across the industry, aligning with the growing demand for cybersecurity solutions.
See More
