Moody’s and S&P downgrade Akamai on debt-fueled AI infrastructure buildout

S&P downgraded Akamai to BB+ from BBB-, moving it into speculative grade, while Moody’s cut it one notch to Baa3; both assigned stable outlooks after Akamai raised more than $2 billion in convertible debt to fund AI edge infrastructure. S&P projects adjusted leverage slightly above 4x in 2027 and more than $1 billion of cumulative unadjusted free operating cash flow deficits through 2029; Moody’s expects pro forma gross leverage above 7x. Anthropic could represent roughly 25% of revenue at full ramp around 2028, while Akamai has more than $4 billion in cash and liquid investments and an undrawn $1 billion revolver.