Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Fastly, Inc. (FSLY)

Understanding Fastly, Inc.'s (FSLY) mission is critical right now, especially as the company navigates a volatile market while showing real operational leverage.

Their focus on empowering developers to build, secure, and deliver digital experiences at unprecedented speed is directly translating into financial performance: Fastly reported a Q3 2025 total revenue of $158.2 million, a 15% year-over-year jump, with security revenue alone surging by 30%. But can a company's core values, like their commitment to transparency and an endless spirit of service, truly sustain a non-GAAP gross margin of 62.8% and help them achieve the full-year 2025 adjusted EPS guidance midpoint of $0.05? Let's defintely dig into the DNA of the business-its mission, vision, and core values-to see if the culture is built to support that kind of growth and the 627 enterprise customers they now serve.

Fastly, Inc. (FSLY) Overview

You're looking for a clear picture of Fastly, Inc., and the direct takeaway is this: the company is successfully transitioning from a pure Content Delivery Network (CDN) provider to a diversified, high-growth edge cloud platform, evidenced by its record 2025 financial results and accelerating security revenue. This shift is a big deal, and it's why the stock saw a jump post-earnings.

Fastly was founded in 2011 by Artur Bergman in San Francisco, with the core idea of building a faster, more programmable CDN-a network of servers distributed globally to deliver content quickly to users by bringing it closer to them, reducing latency. Unlike older CDNs, Fastly focused on real-time control and a developer-centric approach. They went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2019, marking their entry into the public market.

Today, the company's offerings extend far beyond simple content delivery. They operate a global edge cloud platform, which is a category of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) that lets developers run code and secure applications right at the edge of the internet. This is where the action is, and their sales reflect a multi-product strategy across three main areas:

• Network Services: Core CDN, image optimization, load balancing.
• Security Solutions: DDoS protection, Next-Gen Web Application Firewall (WAF), bot management.
• Other Revenue: Compute (serverless edge computing) and Observability solutions.

For the full fiscal year 2025, Fastly has raised its revenue guidance, now expecting a range between $610 million and $614 million, reflecting strong demand for their platform. That's a solid 13% annual growth at the midpoint, and it shows the platform is resonating with enterprise clients.

2025 Financial Performance: Security Drives Record Revenue

The latest financial reports for the third quarter ended September 30, 2025, defintely show a company hitting its stride, exceeding expectations across the board. Fastly reported a record total revenue of $158.2 million for the quarter, marking a 15% year-over-year increase. This revenue beat was driven by a significant acceleration in their newer, higher-margin product lines. Here's the quick math on where the growth came from:

• Network Services: Generated $118.8 million, an 11% year-over-year increase.
• Security Revenue: Surged to $34.0 million, representing a 30% year-over-year growth.
• Other Revenue (Compute/Observability): Grew 51% year-over-year to $5.4 million.

The 30% surge in security revenue is the key takeaway here; it underscores the success of their cross-sell strategy and the importance of their security portfolio. Plus, they're getting more efficient. The company achieved a record $18.1 million in positive free cash flow for the quarter, a major operational milestone. They also narrowed their GAAP net loss to $29.5 million, a 22.4% improvement from the prior year, and posted a Non-GAAP net income per diluted share of $0.07. That's a real sign of operational leverage kicking in.

Fastly's Leadership in the Edge Cloud Industry

Fastly isn't just a CDN player anymore; they are a recognized leader in the global edge cloud platform space. Their competitive edge comes from their highly programmable platform, which gives developers more control than traditional cloud architectures. This focus on the 'programmable edge' is what attracts sophisticated, high-traffic enterprise customers-and they now have 627 of them. The ability to deploy serverless code and security features closer to the end-user minimizes latency and provides a superior digital experience, which is crucial for modern applications and media companies. They are actively expanding their market share, particularly in the Asia-Pacific-Japan (APJ) region.

The market is paying attention to their security momentum and platform strategy, which is why their stock has reacted positively to the Q3 2025 results. If you want to dive deeper into the institutional confidence behind these numbers, you should read Exploring Fastly, Inc. (FSLY) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?. The company's success hinges on maintaining this innovation pace, especially in their Compute and Security offerings, to solidify their leadership against larger cloud providers.

Fastly, Inc. (FSLY) Mission Statement

You need to know what drives a company's investment thesis, and for Fastly, Inc. (FSLY), their mission is the compass. The direct takeaway is this: Fastly is focused on being the essential engine at the internet's edge, moving beyond just content delivery to a full-stack platform. Their mission statement is about empowering developers and businesses to build, secure, and deliver digital experiences at unprecedented speed and scale. It's a clear mandate that guides their product roadmap and capital allocation, especially as they target a full-year 2025 revenue guidance range of $610 million to $614 million.

That mission isn't just corporate fluff; it's a strategic necessity. It acknowledges that in the modern web, users expect real-time, personalized experiences, and developers shouldn't have to make a trade-off between speed, security, and scale. This focus is what allowed them to report Q3 2025 revenue of $158.2 million, a 15% year-over-year increase, showing their model is resonating with enterprise clients.

Core Component 1: Empowering Developers for Speed and Scale

The first pillar of the mission is all about putting power back into the hands of the people building the internet: the developers. Fastly's edge cloud platform strategically moves data and applications closer to the end user, which is the core concept of edge computing (running code where the user is, not in a distant data center). This improves the user experience and, just as important, lets companies focus on their core business instead of managing infrastructure.

Their commitment here is tangible in the numbers. The Last 12-Month Net Retention Rate (LTM NRR) for Q3 2025 rose to 106%, up from 104% in the prior quarter. That's a strong indicator that existing customers are spending more with Fastly as they build and scale more applications on the platform. Here's the quick math: a 106% LTM NRR means the average existing customer increased their spending by 6% over the last year, proving the platform's value and stickiness.

• Run applications closer to users.
• Improve user experience with low latency.
• Give developers programmatic control.

This focus on speed and scale is what makes their network services revenue-which includes their Content Delivery Network (CDN)-the largest segment, even though it's growing slower than security. Still, it brought in $118.8 million in Q3 2025. That's defintely a big number.

Core Component 2: Delivering Secure Digital Experiences

You can't talk about speed without talking about safety. The second critical component is security. In an era of non-stop cyber threats, a fast website that is easily hacked is useless. Fastly positions its security solutions-like Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection and their Next-Gen Web Application Firewall (WAF)-as an integrated layer, not an afterthought.

This is where the high-growth opportunity lies. Fastly's security revenue grew by a massive 30% year-over-year in Q3 2025, reaching $34.0 million. This growth rate is more than double the overall company revenue growth rate, reflecting a successful cross-sell strategy and the market's urgent demand for edge security. The platform enhancements they've shipped in security and compute are clearly driving better financial performance. If you want a deeper dive on the financials, you should read Breaking Down Fastly, Inc. (FSLY) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Core Component 3: Building a Trustworthy Internet

While not explicitly in the mission statement, Fastly's vision and core values serve as the third, foundational component, providing the ethical framework for the technology. Their stated vision is to create a trustworthy internet - where good thrives. This is a crucial, long-term aspiration that informs who they choose to do business with and how they handle data.

The company's core values, which include Trustworthiness, Operate with Integrity, and Embrace Transparency, are their guardrails. What this estimate hides is the qualitative impact of these values, but you can track it through their customer base. They increased their enterprise customer count to 627 in Q3 2025, adding 51 new customers compared to the prior year. These customers-often large, high-profile digital businesses-are choosing Fastly not just for the technology, but for the trust and integrity that underpins the platform.

They are committed to not exploiting customer data or end user data, which builds a strong, long-term relationship with their sophisticated enterprise clientele. They believe in the value of open-source software and open industry standards, which is a key differentiator in the developer community.

Next step: Finance: analyze the 30% security revenue growth against the cost of new product feature roll-outs by the end of the quarter.

Fastly, Inc. (FSLY) Vision Statement

You're looking at Fastly, Inc. (FSLY) not just as a content delivery network (CDN) player, but as a long-term strategic bet on the future of the internet. Their vision is simple but profound: to create a trustworthy internet - where good thrives. This isn't corporate fluff; it's a commitment that maps directly to their product roadmap and, more importantly, to their improving financial trajectory in 2025.

The company's mission is to empower developers and businesses to build, secure, and deliver digital experiences at unprecedented speed and scale. This focus on the developer experience, combined with a hard pivot toward security, is exactly what's driving their recent performance. We're seeing the strategic alignment pay off in the numbers, which is defintely what matters most to investors.

Creating a Trustworthy Internet: The Security Imperative

The first part of Fastly's vision, a trustworthy internet, speaks directly to the escalating threat landscape. You can't have a thriving digital economy if you're constantly fighting off distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks or web application exploits. Fastly addresses this by integrating security right into their edge cloud platform, moving protection closer to the user to stop threats before they hit your core infrastructure.

The market is validating this focus. In the third quarter of 2025, Fastly's Security revenue surged by a remarkable 30% year-over-year, reaching $34 million. This growth rate is a clear indicator that customers are consolidating their delivery and security needs onto a single, high-performance platform. Their core values of Trustworthiness and Operating with Integrity are the cultural foundation for this product strategy. It's a smart move in a competitive space-don't just deliver content fast; deliver it safely. You can dive deeper into the investor sentiment around this shift at Exploring Fastly, Inc. (FSLY) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Where Good Thrives: Empowering the Edge

The second component, 'where good thrives,' is about enabling innovation. Fastly built its business around the developer, giving them the tools to run code at the network's edge-the point closest to the end-user-through their Compute (serverless edge computing) and Network Services offerings. The goal is to eliminate the trade-off between scale, security, and speed of delivery.

This developer-centric approach is reflected in their customer metrics. The enterprise customer count reached 627 in Q3 2025, an increase of 51 from the same quarter last year. More importantly, the Last 12-Month Net Retention Rate (LTM NRR)-a key metric showing how much existing customers are spending-improved to 106% in Q3 2025. This means, on average, existing customers are spending 6% more with Fastly than they were a year ago. That's a healthy sign of successful cross-selling, especially into their higher-margin security and Compute products. They are living their value of Focus on the Customer.

• Run code closer to users.
• Improve site performance.
• Enable security at the source.

The Financial Backbone: Realizing the Vision

A grand vision needs a solid financial foundation, and Fastly is showing tangible progress toward sustained profitability in 2025. Management has been executing on operational discipline, which is translating into better guidance. For the full fiscal year 2025, the company has raised its revenue guidance to a range of $610 million to $614 million, representing approximately 13% annual growth at the midpoint.

Here's the quick math on the profitability shift: The company achieved non-GAAP net income of $11.1 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, in Q3 2025. This is a significant milestone, moving past the non-GAAP net losses reported in the prior quarters. Analysts are now forecasting a full-year 2025 non-GAAP Earnings Per Share (EPS) of around $0.06, signaling a profitable year ahead. What this estimate hides, still, is the ongoing capital expenditure required to expand the global edge network to keep pace with competitors like Akamai and Cloudflare, but the positive free cash flow of $18.1 million in Q3 2025 provides a strong buffer for that investment.

Fastly, Inc. (FSLY) Core Values

You're looking for the bedrock of Fastly, Inc.'s strategy-the core values that drive their edge cloud platform. The direct takeaway is that Fastly's values are not abstract poster slogans; they are directly tied to their product roadmap and recent financial performance, especially in security and network speed. They map near-term risks, like competitive pricing pressure in their core Content Delivery Network (CDN) business, to clear actions in high-growth areas like security and edge compute.

I've spent two decades in this space, and I can tell you that a company's values are only as good as the numbers they produce. Fastly's values translate into measurable operational improvements and a push toward profitability, which is what matters to us as analysts and investors. For a deeper dive into who is buying the stock, you can check out Exploring Fastly, Inc. (FSLY) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Integrity and Security: Building Trust at the Edge

Integrity, for Fastly, means a dedication to protecting customer data and maintaining a secure platform, which is non-negotiable in the edge cloud space. This value is a major revenue driver, not just a compliance check. You can see this commitment reflected in their third quarter 2025 results, where Security revenue grew by a massive 30% year-over-year. That's a clear signal that their investment in security infrastructure is paying off, both for their customers and for the business's top line.

• Security revenue grew 30% year-over-year in Q3 2025.
• Launched Fastly DDoS Protection to mitigate distributed attacks.
• Fastly Bot Management won a 2025 DEVIES Award for innovation.

The security portfolio now accounts for approximately 21% of total revenue, which is a significant, defintely intentional shift. This focus helps mitigate the risk of margin compression in their core CDN business, giving them a more defensible product moat.

Innovation and Technological Advancement

The core value of innovation is about staying ahead of the curve by moving logic closer to the network's edge. This isn't just about speed; it's about giving developers the tools to build things that weren't possible before. Fastly backs this value with capital, which is the only way to make innovation real. In 2024, their Research and Development (R&D) expenses totaled $164.7 million, representing 28.2% of total revenue. That's a serious commitment to future-proofing the platform.

• R&D expenses were $164.7 million in 2024, or 28.2% of revenue.
• Focus on edge computing and the upcoming AI proxy to support major AI models.
• Improved network performance, reducing average latency by 15% in 2024.

Their innovation velocity is high, which is why we saw the launch of products like Fastly DDoS Protection and the continued success of their Compute and Observability solutions, which fall under the 'Other' revenue category. This is how they drive long-term value.

Exceptional Performance and Customer Focus

Exceptional performance means providing high-quality, reliable services that translate into a better experience for the end-user. For Fastly, this is measured by their ability to attract and retain high-value enterprise clients. The numbers here are compelling. In the third quarter of 2025, the Last 12-Month Net Retention Rate (LTM NRR)-a key metric showing existing customer spending-increased to 106%. That tells you customers are not only staying but are spending more on the platform.

• LTM Net Retention Rate rose to 106% in Q3 2025.
• Enterprise customer count reached 627 in Q3 2025, an increase of 51 from Q3 2024.
• Q3 2025 total revenue hit a record $158.2 million.

Honestly, the jump in enterprise customers and the rising NRR are the clearest indicators that the platform's performance and service quality are resonating, even with the core CDN business facing pricing pressure. They are clearly winning new business with their enhanced security and compute offerings.

Inclusion and Open Source Support

Fastly's commitment to inclusion and the developer community is a powerful cultural value that feeds directly into their talent and product pipeline. They value their employees and the broader open-source ecosystem, which is critical for a developer-centric company. This is why they were named one of U.S. News & World Report's 2024-2025 Best Companies to Work For, with a top ranking in quality of pay and benefits, plus employee experience and belonging. A motivated, well-compensated team is the only way to sustain the innovation needed to compete with giants like Amazon Web Services and Akamai Technologies.

• Named a 2024-2025 Best Company to Work For by U.S. News & World Report.
• Offers free services for open-source and nonprofit projects.
• Focus on a developer-friendly platform to empower innovation.

This value also extends to their 'Endless spirit of services,' which includes respecting privacy and not exploiting customer or end-user data. That stance builds long-term trust with developers, who are the ultimate decision-makers for their platform adoption.

The next concrete step for you is to map these value-driven initiatives to the company's forward guidance. Finance: Analyze the Q4 2025 EPS guidance range of $0.04 to $0.08 against the consensus full-year analyst forecast of a net loss of -$0.78 to understand the market's skepticism on their path to sustained profitability.