What Did Fastly Stock Investors Miss Before The Run?

Fastly (FSLY) stock returned 241.5% in the twelve months to October 9, 2026, easily outpacing the 17.0% gain for the S&P 500. Buyers appear to have been paying for a clear shift in the underlying business: sales began growing faster again, and losses shrank. Investors stepping in today are betting that this momentum will hold, while observers who missed the rally might wonder if the company offered advance warning. How early did Fastly show that its sales were turning?

Fastly Gave A First Sign In February 2025

The initial signal arrived on February 12, 2025, about eight months before the run began. During a quarterly earnings call, management outlined a new approach to how Fastly sells its products. The strategy involved pitching customers on the company’s entire range, including security solutions and bot protection.

Management noted on that call that demand had weakened at a few of its largest customers. Revenue from clients outside its ten largest accounts, however, grew 16% year over year. Because total revenue grew only 2.0% in the fourth quarter of 2024, the health of those smaller accounts remained masked in the overall figures. Anyone buying the stock after that presentation was investing in a turnaround plan, not yet a proven result.

Fastly’s Next Two Filings Backed The Plan

That strategy started taking shape across the subsequent two quarterly reports, both filed before the stock run. Fastly filed its results on May 7, 2025, showing revenue grew 8.2% in the quarter ended March 2025. Top-line growth then reached 12.3% in the second quarter of 2025, detailed in a report filed on August 6, 2025.

Some investors noticed the initial acceleration immediately. Fastly stock was up about 30% for the week by early Friday, according to a news report on May 9, 2025. The company’s regulatory filings showed faster sales by August 6, 2025, two months before the twelve-month window that produced the 241.5% gain began.

Neither filing demonstrated a profit. Fastly’s operating loss was still 24.6% of revenue in the second quarter of 2025. Anyone waiting for proof that revenue growth would translate into profit did not have it yet.

Are Fastly’s Sales Still Picking Up?

Sales momentum continued through the latest reported quarter. Management announced on the August 5, 2026 call that revenue grew 23% to $183.3 million in the second quarter of 2026. Security revenue grew 43%, aligning with the strategy detailed in February 2025. The company’s operating loss over the past twelve months narrowed to 12.0% of revenue, down from 24% a year earlier. Fastly’s overall stock run was substantially larger than that of its peer Cloudflare, which returned 64.1% over the same twelve months.

That 23% total, however, masks a shift in where the growth originates. Revenue from Fastly’s ten largest customers grew 48% in the second quarter of 2026, while revenue from all other customers grew 12%. This marks a reversal from the February 2025 call, when revenue from accounts outside the ten largest grew 16% and demand had weakened among a few of the largest buyers. Management added that a couple of live sporting events contributed to revenue in the latest quarter, categorizing those events as episodic.

Looking ahead, management used the August call to guide third-quarter revenue of $184 million to $190 million, implying 18% growth at the midpoint. That expected pace is slower than the 23% Fastly just reported. The third quarter has since ended, and the company is scheduled to report its results on November 4, 2026. Third-quarter revenue above $190 million, the top of that range, would beat management’s guide, while revenue below $184 million would miss it.

Does This Mean You Should Act On FSLY?

Our purpose is to inform you with unique data so you make the right investment decisions. That said, betting on a single stock is always risky, no matter which direction you choose.

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