The Open Question Under Arista Networks Stock’s Price
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Arista Networks (ANET) has already told investors how much it expects to sell in 2027, more than a year before that year ends. Yet management has also said it only sees about two quarters ahead, and that the company has not placed every supply order for 2027. Arista’s ability to deliver the year it has already promised is not settled yet.
What Has Arista Networks Promised For 2027?
Management expects revenue to grow 38% to 40% in 2027, reaching about $18.5 billion at the midpoint. This would follow a 2026 that management now expects to end at about $13.3 billion, after raising its forecast for 2026 four times. Management expects Arista’s AI networking business to grow fastest, doubling to about $7 billion, while its campus business is expected to reach about $2 billion.
Analysts asked about Arista’s outlook more than any other subject on its November 3, 2026 call: 8 of the 18 analyst questions touched on it, from 8 different analysts. One asked how management could be so confident this early. Others asked whether all the chips for the 2027 forecast were planned for, and about deferred revenue.
What You Pay For Arista Networks’ Growth
You are paying for a company that is already growing fast: Arista’s revenue grew 40.7% in the twelve months to September 30, 2026, up from 27.7% in the twelve months before.
The stock traded at 52.2 times its past twelve months of earnings at the November 11, 2026 close, compared with 21.9 for the S&P 500. At that multiple, you pay more than twice what the S&P 500 costs for each dollar of earnings, so whether Arista delivers its 2027 outlook is much of what you are paying for.
Why Is Arista Networks Confident So Early?
Management has said that its forecast, despite its limited view ahead, is backed by two years of work with customers, and that these moves to new networks take several years. It has also signed long-term agreements to secure chips, circuit board capacity and memory, and says it has very high confidence it can get the parts the forecast needs.
Arista’s purchase commitments, what it has agreed to buy from suppliers, rose to $11.4 billion at the end of September from $9.7 billion at the end of June. Much of what management has said is about whether Arista can build enough. As for demand, management called it “great demand” but added it does not forecast deferred revenue. That is sales already billed but not yet counted as revenue. Management says this balance can move a lot from quarter to quarter, apart from how the business is doing. It slipped to $6.8 billion from $6.9 billion over the same three months.
The figure to watch is the 2027 revenue outlook Arista gives with its fourth-quarter results, expected in February 2027.
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