Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Updates Q2 2026 Earnings Guidance

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) issued an update on its second quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 0.880-0.880 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 0.840. The company issued revenue guidance of $2.8 billion-$2.8 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $2.8 billion.

Arista Networks Trading Down 3.6%

Arista Networks stock traded down $5.31 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $141.75. The stock had a trading volume of 18,204,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,065,913. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $142.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.88. The company has a market capitalization of $178.48 billion, a PE ratio of 48.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.67. Arista Networks has a 52-week low of $83.86 and a 52-week high of $179.80.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The technology company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.06. Arista Networks had a net margin of 38.32% and a return on equity of 30.10%. The company had revenue of $2.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 35.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Arista Networks has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.880 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Arista Networks will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ANET. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $188.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Arista Networks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (up from $184.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arista Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 428,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.44, for a total value of $75,944,320.00. Following the completion of 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 document filed 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.14, for a total value of $4,292,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 12,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,740,600.64. This represents a 71.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,502,729 shares of company stock valued at $246,707,719. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Arista Networks News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat: Arista reported $0.87 EPS and $2.71B revenue (+~35% YoY), confirming strong AI and cloud demand — this supports the company’s growth narrative. Zacks: Arista Q1 Beats
• Positive Sentiment: Q2 guidance: Management set Q2 EPS at $0.88, which is modestly ahead of consensus and underscores near‑term profitability expectations. Business Wire: Q1 Results & Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support — Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $180 (Overweight) and other firms (Needham, Rosenblatt, Evercore, JP Morgan cited by coverage) have reiterated or lifted targets, signaling continued conviction from Wall Street. Yahoo: Morgan Stanley Raises PT
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader coverage and AI narrative — multiple outlets highlight Arista as a key AI‑infrastructure play, keeping investor interest elevated but also expectations high. KalkineMedia: AI Buzz
• Neutral Sentiment: IBD/sector momentum — Arista appears in sector‑leader screens and pullback watchlists, so technical traders may treat current weakness as a buying opportunity. Yahoo: IBD Sector Leaders
• Negative Sentiment: Margin/guidance nuance and after‑hours selling — coverage noted gross margin landed slightly below some expectations and the forward commentary wasn’t an unambiguous upside surprise, triggering profit‑taking and a sharp after‑hours move. Yahoo: Shares Slide After Beats
• Negative Sentiment: Supply / inventory questions — some analysts flagged possible supply constraints and softer upgrade cadence as risks that could temper near‑term upside. Seeking Alpha: Supply Constraints
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale noted — Director Charles Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares under a pre‑arranged 10b5‑1 plan; while routine, some investors view insider selling as a short‑term negative signal. SEC Filing: Insider Sale

Institutional Trading of Arista Networks

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new stake in Arista Networks in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Arista Networks in the third quarter worth $33,000. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Arista Networks in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Quattro Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Arista Networks in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in Arista Networks in the fourth quarter worth $50,000. 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.