Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Akamai Technologies (Nasdaq: AKAM) dropped 20% in intraday trading today after reporting disappointing earnings and guidance.

So what: Second quarter non-GAAP EPS of $0.35 increased 3% year over year but fell short of the $0.37 consensus estimate. Revenue increased 13% to $277 million, just shy of the consensus forecast of $277.8 million. A tax rate of 35%, rather than the expected 32% to 33%, was a drag on earnings.  

Now what: Management guided second quarter non-GAAP EPS to $0.31 to $0.34 and revenue to $273 million to $283 million. Both fell short of consensus expectations of non-GAAP EPS of $0.38 and revenue of $288.7 million. Management vowed on its earnings call that it was determined to improve performance, but competition from Limelight Networks (Nasdaq: LLNW) and Level 3 Communications (Nasdaq: LVLT) is pressuring pricing and thus profits.

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