ANET vs CSCO: Arista Networks vs Cisco Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Arista and Cisco serve different networking markets from different competitive positions. Arista is a high-growth cloud and AI networking specialist gaining share in the most important new data center infrastructure category; Cisco is the entrenched enterprise networking leader undergoing a software transition and major acquisition integration. Arista is the growth premium; Cisco is the quality value.
Use this ANET vs CSCO comparison to choose between a high-momentum AI and cloud networking beneficiary and an entrenched enterprise networking franchise transforming toward software and security. Arista offers growth and AI cluster networking exposure; Cisco offers income, scale, and Splunk's security platform at a lower multiple.
CSCO holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. CSCO leads on both 1-year return (+60.97%) and forward P/E quality (19.64x vs 38.68x for ANET), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. ANET leads on both revenue growth (37.70%) and operating margin (45.39%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for CSCO (+25.30%) than for ANET (+20.77%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Want the highest-quality way to invest in AI and cloud data center networking infrastructure
- Value Arista's dominant position with hyperscalers (Microsoft, Meta) as a durable competitive moat
- Believe AI cluster back-end networking is a large, multi-year spending category just beginning to ramp
- Are comfortable with a growth premium valuation in exchange for best-in-class revenue growth
- Want the world's most widely deployed enterprise networking franchise at a value-oriented multiple
- Value Splunk's security and observability platform as a major strategic asset gaining in a high-priority enterprise spending category
- Prefer a growing dividend yield from a profitable, cash-generative technology company
- Are comfortable with a slower-growth profile in exchange for enterprise networking market leadership and income
| Metric | ANET | CSCO |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 75.4 | 56.6 |
| AI ranki | #23 | #245 |
| Latest closei | $197.54 | $107.74 |
| 1M returni | -2.11% | -4.57% |
| 6M returni | +45.18% | +38.84% |
| 1Y returni | +38.96% | +60.97% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | ANET | CSCO |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $13.83K (+38.3%) started 2025-09-17 | $15.91K (+59.1%) started 2025-09-17 |
| 5Y ago | $89.29K (+792.9%) started 2021-09-20 | $24.35K (+143.5%) started 2021-09-20 |
| 10Y ago | $385.3K (+3753.0%) started 2016-09-19 | $62.01K (+520.1%) started 2016-09-19 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | ANET | CSCO |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $251.73B | $433.28B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 63.36 | 33.01 |
| Forward P/Ei | 38.68 | 19.64 |
| Price/Salesi | 16.42 | 4.70 |
| EV/Revenuei | 22.61 | 7.07 |
| Analyst targeti | $241.04 | $137.74 |
| Target upsidei | +20.77% | +25.30% |
| Metric | ANET | CSCO |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 37.70% | 17.60% |
| Earnings growthi | 35.70% | 52.00% |
| EPS growthi | +35.70% | +52.00% |
| FCF margini | +36.92% | +18.27% |
| Operating margini | 45.39% | 27.70% |
| Profit margini | 38.37% | 20.95% |
| ROIC proxyi | 31.48% | 27.32% |
| Return on equityi | 31.48% | 27.32% |
| Dividend yieldi | N/A | 1.50% |
| Payout ratioi | 0.00% | 49.85% |
| Dividend growth streaki | N/A | No increase yet |
| Betai | 1.62 | 1.00 |
| Debt/equityi | 0.73 | 58.73 |
| Current ratioi | 2.96 | 0.93 |
| Quick ratioi | 2.29 | 0.65 |
Over the past year, ANET and CSCO have moved moderately in the same direction (correlation of 0.46), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | ANET | CSCO |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +38.29% | +59.10% |
| CAGRi | +38.38% | +59.23% | |
| Volatilityi | 54.15% | 34.08% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.79 | 1.41 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.15 | 2.07 | |
| Max drawdowni | 28.33% | 17.35% | |
| Current drawdowni | 6.16% | 17.12% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 11.70% | 5.87% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 13.96% | 7.79% | |
| Max daily dropi | 13.61% | 12.32% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 20.97% | 11.44% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +792.91% | +115.90% |
| CAGRi | +55.05% | +16.67% | |
| Volatilityi | 48.84% | 25.83% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 1.05 | 0.56 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.58 | 0.78 | |
| Max drawdowni | 50.42% | 36.68% | |
| Current drawdowni | 6.16% | 17.12% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 11.59% | 12.60% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 15.68% | 15.65% | |
| Max daily dropi | 22.35% | 13.73% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 20.97% | 13.61% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +3753.03% | +355.18% |
| CAGRi | +44.10% | +16.37% | |
| Volatilityi | 45.58% | 26.32% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.93 | 0.54 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.36 | 0.76 | |
| Max drawdowni | 52.20% | 41.95% | |
| Current drawdowni | 6.16% | 17.12% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 13.50% | 11.02% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 18.30% | 14.50% | |
| Max daily dropi | 24.23% | 13.73% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 24.17% | 16.10% |
| Category | ANET | CSCO |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Arista Networks, Inc. | Cisco Systems, Inc. |
| Sector | Technology | Technology |
| Industry | Computer Hardware | Communication Equipment |
| Core business | High-performance cloud networking company providing switching and routing products for hyper-scale data centers, AI/ML compute clusters, and campus environments. Key customers include Microsoft, Meta, and major cloud providers. EOS software platform is a differentiating asset. | World's largest enterprise networking company. Transitioning from hardware-first to software and subscription revenue. Core businesses: Networking (switches, routers, wireless), Security (including Splunk post-acquisition), Collaboration (Webex), and Observability. Acquired Splunk in 2024 for $28B to accelerate security and AI-driven networking. |
| Investor focus | AI cluster networking revenue from hyperscaler back-end network build-outs, cloud titan spending durability, campus networking expansion, and gross margin sustainability. | Splunk integration and security revenue growth, software/subscription transition progress, AI networking demand in enterprise, operating margin, and dividend sustainability. |
- Dominant position in hyper-scale data center networking — the preferred choice for cloud and AI infrastructure at Microsoft, Meta, and others
- AI cluster back-end networking (connecting GPUs at scale) is a new, large, fast-growing demand category
- EOS software provides a programmable, unified operating system that differentiates Arista from commodity switching alternatives
- Unrivalled enterprise networking installed base — Cisco equipment is in millions of businesses globally, creating deep switching cost moats
- Splunk acquisition transforms Cisco into a top-tier security operations and AI-powered network management platform
- High and growing dividend yield with a consistent buyback program — a reliable income stock in technology
- Customer concentration — Microsoft and Meta account for a large share of revenue; any spending pause would be significant
- AI networking demand is real but timing of large orders creates revenue lumpiness
- Competition from NVIDIA (Quantum InfiniBand for AI clusters), Juniper, and merchant silicon vendors
- Splunk integration is a multi-year, multi-billion dollar execution challenge — the deal adds complexity and debt
- Core networking hardware faces competition from white-box and merchant silicon alternatives in data centers
- Enterprise IT budget sensitivity — Cisco's broad enterprise exposure means slowdowns impact both hardware and software renewal rates
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