Brokers Set Expectations for Arista Networks FY2026 Earnings

Key Points

• Erste Group nudged Arista's FY2026 EPS estimate to $3.13 (from $3.12) and raised FY2027 to $3.86, slightly below the consensus FY2026 estimate of $3.17, reflecting incremental analyst confidence in the company's multi-year earnings trajectory.
• Arista recently beat quarterly expectations with $0.82 EPS versus $0.75 forecast and revenue of $2.49 billion (up 28.9% YoY), while reporting strong profitability (net margin ~39%, ROE ~30%).
• Despite solid results, ANET shares slipped (~4.1%) amid profit-taking and concerns about stretched valuation (forward P/E ~60, PEG ~3.03), and insiders sold roughly 1.5 million shares (~$246M) over the past three months, including CEO Jayshree Ullal's $75.9M sale.

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Erste Group Bank increased their FY2026 EPS estimates for Arista Networks in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, April 27th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now anticipates that the technology company will post earnings per share of $3.13 for the year, up from their prior estimate of $3.12. The consensus estimate for Arista Networks' current full-year earnings is $3.17 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Arista Networks' FY2027 earnings at $3.86 EPS.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The technology company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.07. Arista Networks had a net margin of 38.99% and a return on equity of 30.37%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. Arista Networks's revenue was up 28.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on ANET. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $184.00 target price (up from $183.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group set a $200.00 target price on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of Arista Networks from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $175.00 target price (up from $159.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $177.83.

Arista Networks Trading Down 4.1%

ANET stock opened at $165.47 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $140.55 and a 200-day moving average of $137.30. Arista Networks has a 12 month low of $77.72 and a 12 month high of $179.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.48.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Global Trust Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 33.0% in the third quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 19,273 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,808,000 after buying an additional 4,780 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Arista Networks in the third quarter valued at $8,263,000. National Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Arista Networks in the third quarter valued at $1,296,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its holdings in Arista Networks by 38.3% in the third quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 662,139 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $96,480,000 after acquiring an additional 183,515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its holdings in Arista Networks by 433.3% in the third quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 58,631 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $8,543,000 after acquiring an additional 47,636 shares in the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Arista Networks

In other Arista Networks news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 428,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.44, for a total transaction of $75,944,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,209,207 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $924,321,690.08. This trade represents a 7.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Kenneth Duda sold 32,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.44, for a total transaction of $4,558,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,976 shares in the company, valued at $1,848,301.44. This trade represents a 71.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 1,502,729 shares of company stock worth $246,427,959 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.54% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Arista Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group raised its FY2027 EPS forecast to $3.86 (from $3.80) and nudged FY2026 to $3.13, signaling incremental confidence in Arista’s multi-year earnings trajectory (analyst note).
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional investors and “smart money” lists continue to add Arista as an AI-infrastructure pick, supporting demand for shares tied to hyperscale/data-center networking growth. 5 AI Infrastructure Stocks Smart Money Is Buying Before the Next Surge
• Positive Sentiment: Pre-earnings previews from outlets including Zacks and Yahoo highlight that Wall Street expects revenue/EPS growth next week, implying upside potential if Arista meets or exceeds the high bar set by consensus. Arista Networks (ANET) Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces that include Arista in broader lists (e.g., women-run companies, tech picks) keep the name visible to investors but are not direct catalysts. 5 Women-Run Company Stocks to Buy for Strong Market Returns
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader semiconductor/tech headlines and earnings stories across the supply chain are moving sentiment in the group; these create background noise that can amplify moves in high-beta names like ANET. Semiconductor Sell-Off Pushes S&P 500, Nasdaq Lower in Midday Trading
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst previews note a very high bar for the coming quarter: strong AI-driven demand is priced in and valuation metrics (forward P/E, PEG) are stretched, increasing downside risk if execution or guidance stumbles. Arista Networks Q1 2026 Earnings Preview: AI Momentum Meets A High Bar
• Negative Sentiment: Recent headlines documenting a short-term dip while broader markets gained highlight profit-taking and rotation away from richly valued AI names, a direct reason for today’s weaker price action. Arista Networks (ANET) Stock Dips While Market Gains: Key Facts

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.