By Alex Sirois
Publication Date: 2026-10-21 11:15:00
Both Arista and Cisco just posted record AI-driven results, yet their stocks sold off hard. One company offers margin-rich focus while the other controls its own silicon, and the scale-across design wins separating them could define data center networking for…
Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET | ANET Price Prediction) and Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) both reported in August, and both said AI networking powered record results. Arista posted its first $3B quarter on Ethernet AI fabrics. Cisco closed a record year on hyperscaler orders and a campus upgrade. Both now compete for the same scale-across traffic between data centers.
AI Fabrics Lift Arista While a Supercycle Lifts All of Cisco
Arista’s revenue reached $3.04B, up 37.7% YoY and ahead of the $2.83B estimate. Arista’s focused product line benefited from strong AI demand. CEO Jayshree Ullal said EtherLink adoption “now exceeds 100 cumulative customers from the initial four to five customers I spoke of in 2024.” Management…
