Every investor would love to stumble upon the perfect stock. But will you ever really find a stock that provides everything you could possibly want?
One thing's for sure: You'll never discover truly great investments unless you actively look for them. Let's discuss the ideal qualities of a perfect stock, then decide if Akamai Technologies (Nasdaq: AKAM ) fits the bill.
The quest for perfection
Stocks that look great based on one factor may prove horrible elsewhere, making due diligence a crucial part of your investing research. The best stocks excel in many different areas, including these important factors:
- Growth. Expanding businesses show healthy revenue growth. While past growth is no guarantee that revenue will keep rising, it's certainly a better sign than a stagnant top line.
- Margins. Higher sales mean nothing if a company can't produce profits from them. Strong margins ensure that company can turn revenue into profit.
- Balance sheet. At debt-laden companies, banks and bondholders compete with shareholders for management's attention. Companies with strong balance sheets don't have to worry about the distraction of debt.
- Money-making opportunities. Return on equity helps measure how well a company is finding opportunities to turn its resources into profitable business endeavors.
- Valuation. You can't afford to pay too much for even the best companies. By using normalized figures, you can see how a stock's simple earnings multiple fits into a longer-term context.
- Dividends. For tangible proof of profits, a check to shareholders every three months can't be beat. Companies with solid dividends and strong commitments to increasing payouts treat shareholders well.
With those factors in mind, let's take a closer look at Akamai Technologies.
| Factor | What We Want to See | Actual | Pass or Fail? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Growth | 5-Year Annual Revenue Growth > 15% | 23.8% | Pass |
| � | 1-Year Revenue Growth > 12% | 14.6% | Pass |
| Margins | Gross Margin > 35% | 69.3% | Pass |
| � | Net Margin > 15% | 17.3% | Pass |
| Balance Sheet | Debt to Equity < 50% | 0% | Pass |
| � | Current Ratio > 1.3 | 6.66 | Pass |
| Opportunities | Return on Equity > 15% | 9.3% | Fail |
| Valuation | Normalized P/E < 20 | 28.82 | Fail |
| Dividends | Current Yield > 2% | 0% | Fail |
| � | 5-Year Dividend Growth > 10% | 0% | Fail |
| � | � | � | � |
| � | Total Score | � | 6 out of 10 |
Source: S&P Capital IQ. Total score = number of passes.
Since we looked at Akamai Technologies last year, the company kept its score the same. Slightly slower growth is evident, but the big change is the company's substantial drop in valuation thanks to a 45% fall for the shares over the past year.
With the amount of content on the Internet, Akamai's data delivery technology should be in higher demand than ever. But the company has seen some major setbacks. One of the biggest was the decision from Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX ) late last year to go from having Akamai as its sole primary provider for streaming content, instead bringing competitors Limelight Networks (Nasdaq: LLNW ) and Level 3 Communications (Nasdaq: LVLT ) onboard as well.
Moreover, even more competition stands in the way of growth for Akamai. AT&T (NYSE: T ) reportedly uses EdgeCast to power its content delivery network. Cotendo, another upstart, has worked with Google (Nasdaq: GOOG ) on open-sourcing web acceleration -- a move which prompted Akamai's ongoing lawsuit against Cotendo.
With falling growth and lackluster margins, Akamai deserves the multiple compression it's seen over the past year. Now with Netflix having problems of its own, Akamai needs to pursue business more aggressively and earn the growth that even its somewhat lower valuation still builds into the stock price.
Keep searching
No stock is a sure thing, but some stocks are a lot closer to perfect than others. By looking for the perfect stock, you'll go a long way toward improving your investing prowess and learning how to separate out the best investments from the rest.
Click here to add Akamai Technologies to My Watchlist, which can find all of our Foolish analysis on it and all your other stocks.
Finding the perfect stock is only one piece of a successful investment strategy. Get the big picture by taking a look at our "13 Steps to Investing Foolishly."
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