Fastly FSLY is scheduled to release third-quarter 2026 results on Nov. 4.
For the third quarter of 2026, FSLY expects revenues in the range of $184-$190 million and non-GAAP earnings of 11-13 cents per share. The company projects non-GAAP operating income of $20-$24 million.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter revenues is currently pegged at $188.3 million, indicating growth of 19% from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter. The consensus mark for earnings is currently pegged at 12 cents per share, unchanged over the past 30 days. The figure indicates a 71.4% jump from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.
Fastly is expected to have benefited from increasing adoption of its unified edge cloud platform, growing demand for cybersecurity solutions, AI-driven traffic expansion and stronger customer spending in the third quarter of 2026. However, higher operating expenses and supply-chain constraints are likely to have posed challenges.
Fastly, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise
Fastly, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Fastly, Inc. Quote
Fastly’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in all the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 92.26%.
Let us see how things have shaped up for the upcoming announcement.
Factors Likely to Have Influenced FSLY’s Q3 Performance
Strong demand for security solutions is likely to have been a major growth driver for Fastly in the to-be-reported quarter. The growing sophistication of cyberattacks and proliferation of AI-generated traffic are expected to have accelerated adoption of its Next-Gen Web Application Firewall, Bot Management and DDoS Protection solutions. Security revenues increased 43% year over year to $41.7 million in the second quarter of 2026, with Bot Management and DDoS Protection recording triple-digit growth. Continued demand for application protection, automated threat detection and content governance is likely to have sustained this momentum in the third quarter.
Growing AI and agentic traffic is expected to have driven demand for Fastly’s edge computing and security capabilities. The company’s Compute platform is likely to have benefited from enterprises deploying low-latency applications and integrating custom processing functions at the network edge. The expansion of AI-powered workloads is expected to have supported adoption of its Compute and Observability solutions, which collectively generated 69% year-over-year revenue growth in the second quarter of 2026.
Increasing platform adoption and cross-selling opportunities are likely to have supported Fastly’s third-quarter performance. The company’s unified platform enables enterprises to combine content delivery, application security, compute and observability capabilities, encouraging customers to consolidate multiple services with a single provider. On its September 2026 Investor Day, Fastly disclosed that 72% of its large customers had adopted at least two product suites, while 30% used four or more, up from 7% two years earlier. This growing multiproduct penetration, coupled with a trailing 12-month net retention rate of 117% in the second quarter, is likely to have contributed to higher customer spending and recurring business expansion.
However, rising operating expenses are likely to have weighed on Fastly’s third-quarter profitability. The company indicated that hiring activities deferred from the second quarter, along with increased discretionary spending, would result in a normalization of operating expense growth during the third and fourth quarters. Investments in product development, sales capabilities and international expansion are also expected to have increased costs. Consequently, Fastly projected third-quarter non-GAAP operating income of $20-$24 million, below the $27 million reported in the preceding quarter, despite expectations of sequential revenue growth.
Moreover, supply-chain constraints and infrastructure expansion costs are likely to have posed challenges. Fastly highlighted shortages and pricing pressures affecting memory components, prompting the company to accelerate infrastructure investments during the first half of 2026.
What Our Model Says
According to the Zacks model, the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat, which is not the case here.
Fastly currently has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and a Zacks Rank #2. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Stocks to Consider
Here are some companies worth considering, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings in their upcoming releases:
Forgent Power Solutions FPS has an Earnings ESP of +6.06% and sports a Zacks Rank #1 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Forgent Power shares have dropped 15.3% year to date (YTD). Forgent Power is scheduled to report its first-quarter fiscal 2027 results on Nov. 12.
Telos TLS currently has an Earnings ESP of +5.26% and sports a Zacks Rank #1.
Telos shares have inched up 2.2% YTD. Telos is slated to report its third-quarter 2026 results on Nov. 9.
NVIDIA NVDA currently has an Earnings ESP of +3.46% and has a Zacks Rank #2.
NVIDIA shares have climbed 8.4% YTD. NVIDIA is set to report its third-quarter fiscal 2027 results on Nov. 17.
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Fastly, Inc. (FSLY): Free Stock Analysis Report
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