Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.07 EPS

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The technology company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.07, FiscalAI reports. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 30.28% and a net margin of 39.73%.The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Arista Networks’ conference call:

• Raised 2026 outlook: Management increased FY‑2026 revenue guidance to approximately $11.25B (25% growth) and lifted the AI networking target to $3.25B, while guiding an operating margin around 46%, signaling strong expected AI-driven demand.
• Record 2025 results: Fiscal 2025 revenue hit a record $9B with 28.6% growth, non‑GAAP gross margin ~64.6% and operating margin ~48.2%, and Q4 net income exceeded $1B, underscoring profitable scale.
• Supply and cost pressures: Management warned of worsening memory and silicon constraints and much higher memory prices, driving purchase commitments to $6.8B and creating pressure on margins and shipment timing, with potential SKU price increases expected.
• Concentration and timing risk: Two customers accounted for 16% and 26% of revenue in 2025 and product deferred revenue rose to $5.4B, which management says can create lumpiness and uncertainty in revenue recognition timing.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ANET traded up $10.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $145.13. The company had a trading volume of 7,724,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,541,265. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $132.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.70. Arista Networks has a 52 week low of $59.43 and a 52 week high of $164.94. The stock has a market cap of $182.76 billion, a PE ratio of 54.65, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on ANET. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target (up previously from $159.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Arista Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $188.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $184.00 target price (up from $183.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Friday. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.76.

Arista Networks News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Arista Networks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Beat and raised outlook — Arista reported Q4 EPS of $0.82 vs. $0.75 consensus and revenue of $2.49B vs. $2.38B, with revenue +28.9% y/y; management raised AI revenue guidance to $3.25B (an ~18% lift to the AI target) and issued revenue guidance above Street estimates — a direct driver of the stock move. Arista Networks Raises The Bar – Hyperscalers Unleash Capex (Q4 Review)
• Positive Sentiment: Upbeat revenue guidance lifted sentiment — Arista forecast annual revenue above Wall Street estimates, citing accelerating demand from data centers and AI workloads. That forward visibility pushed shares higher in after-hours trading. Reuters: Arista forecasts upbeat revenue
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets — Needham raised its price target to $185 with a Buy rating and Rosenblatt also boosted its target, adding institutional support to the rally. Benzinga: Needham price target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large options activity — Heavy call buying suggests speculative and institutional bullish positioning ahead of/after the print. Arista Sees Unusually High Options Volume
• Positive Sentiment: Outperforming peer Cisco — Coverage notes Arista handled supply-chain headwinds better than Cisco, making it the preferred way to play networking exposure right now. Barron’s: Arista Outshines Cisco
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings materials and call transcript are available for deeper read — useful for verifying management’s cadence on AI ramp and order book details. Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Cost and margin watch — Management flagged rising memory costs; they reiterated 2026 gross‑margin outlook by using strategic purchase commitments, but higher component costs remain a potential headwind if AI box prices or memory inflation persist. Seeking Alpha: margin and memory-cost discussion

Insider Buying and Selling at Arista Networks

In other news, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.43, for a total value of $1,123,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,784 shares in the company, valued at $1,373,967.12. This represents a 44.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 24,042 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $2,994,431.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,235,162.35. This trade represents a 70.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 216,464 shares of company stock worth $27,553,548. Insiders own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ANET. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC raised its stake in Arista Networks by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Glenview Trust co lifted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,502 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Sepio Capital LP boosted its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Sepio Capital LP now owns 1,661 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Resources Management Corp CT ADV grew its stake in Arista Networks by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 1,601 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Arista Networks by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 8,715 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $892,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arista Networks Company Profile

Arista Networks, Inc is a technology company that designs and sells cloud networking solutions for large-scale data centers and enterprise environments. The company is best known for its high-performance switching and routing platforms, which are used to build scalable, low-latency networks for cloud service providers, internet companies, financial services, telecommunications, and enterprise IT. Arista’s offerings emphasize programmability, automation and telemetry to support modern, software-driven network architectures.

Central to Arista’s product portfolio is its Extensible Operating System (EOS), a modular network operating system that provides consistent programmability, stateful control and advanced visibility across the company’s hardware platforms.