As of 2:34 a.m. in New York (ET) on Saturday, December 27, 2025, U.S. stock markets are closed for the weekend, and Arista Networks’ latest available price reflects the most recent completed session and any residual after-hours prints.
Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE: ANET) last traded around $131.84, after closing Friday, Dec. 26, 2025 at $131.84 (session range roughly $130.45–$132.13) on about 2.3 million shares, according to Yahoo Finance historical data. [1]
With the market closed now, the next key moment for investors is Monday’s regular NYSE session, when the core trading window runs from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. [2]
Below is what’s driving ANET right now—company fundamentals, product catalysts, analyst forecasts, and the broader market context shaping how growth and AI infrastructure stocks are being priced into year-end.
The current market setup matters for ANET more than usual
Late December is notorious for lighter trading volumes, and that can amplify moves in individual stocks—especially large-cap growth names that investors actively rebalance into (or out of) at year-end.
On Friday, Dec. 26, Wall Street finished a quiet, post-holiday session near record levels, with the major indexes edging slightly lower and volume described as thin. Reuters quoted Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group, noting the market was “catching our breath” after a strong rally and that the “Santa Claus rally” period still had time to play out. [3]
Looking into the final stretch of 2025, Reuters also reported that investors are watching whether the S&P 500 approaches the 7,000 level, alongside macro catalysts like Federal Reserve minutes and ongoing debate about the path of rates in 2026. [4]
Why this matters for Arista: ANET is widely treated as a high-quality AI infrastructure and hyperscale data-center beneficiary—which means it can trade less like a “networking company” and more like a growth/AI proxy when sentiment swings.
ANET stock price and valuation snapshot heading into the weekend
From the latest market data, Arista Networks is priced at about $131.84, with a market cap shown around $183 billion and a trailing P/E in the mid-50s based on this data feed.
That valuation sensitivity is not just academic. Commentary on Nasdaq has flagged that a “rich valuation” can translate into above-average volatility if investors worry about any slowdown in AI-related spending. [5]
Meanwhile, a separate Nasdaq/Zacks write-up recently pointed to Arista trading at an elevated forward price-to-sales multiple versus its industry and noted upward revisions to earnings estimates (a bullish sign—until it isn’t). [6]
What’s driving Arista Networks right now: AI data centers, 800G, and hyperscaler demand
Arista sits in a sweet spot of the AI buildout: if GPUs are the “brains,” the network is the circulatory system—and AI clusters are thirsty for bandwidth, low latency, and reliability.
1) A big product catalyst: Arista’s next-generation 800G routing and AI portfolio
In late October, Arista announced its R4 Series platforms aimed at AI, data centers, and routed backbone deployments, including dense 800 Gbps systems and “HyperPorts” positioned to improve capacity and performance for AI fabrics. [7]
Arista’s announcement also included a quote from Seamus Crehan, president of Crehan Research, saying the 800GbE market is growing rapidly and that Arista led in branded market share for 800GbE and data center Ethernet switching—timed to a segment projected for strong multi-year growth driven by AI and data-center workloads. [8]
Industry trade coverage (Network World) similarly framed the R4 expansion as Arista “bulking up” high-performance gear aimed at large-scale AI and cloud data center customers. [9]
2) Strong recent financial execution, with growth still running hot
In its Q3 2025 report (for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2025), Arista posted:
- Revenue of $2.308 billion, up 27.5% year-over-year
- Non-GAAP EPS of $0.75 (vs. $0.60 a year earlier)
- GAAP net income of $853.0 million, or $0.67 per diluted share [10]
CEO Jayshree Ullal emphasized that Arista’s “centers of data” strategy is resonating across customers as organizations connect campus-to-cloud and AI centers. [11]
3) Guidance and longer-range targets keep the debate alive
An Investing.com transcript summary of the Q3 call highlighted Arista’s trajectory and reiterated management’s longer-range framing—FY2025 guidance and an FY2026 revenue ambition that investors keep benchmarking against. [12]
Separately, Investor’s Business Daily reported Arista has discussed 20% revenue growth for fiscal 2026 at an analyst event and highlighted AI networking revenue expectations and margin questions, while also pointing to intensifying competition in AI networking from large players. [13]
(Translation: the bull case is still alive and loud—but the market wants proof that growth can persist and margins won’t erode under competitive pressure.)
Enterprise expansion: Arista’s VeloCloud move and the “second act” beyond hyperscalers
One underappreciated theme in Arista’s story is that it’s not trying to be “only” a hyperscaler supplier forever.
In July 2025, Arista announced enterprise campus and branch networking expansions and disclosed it acquired Broadcom’s VeloCloud SD-WAN portfolio, positioning it as part of a broader client-to-cloud architecture spanning campus and branch environments. [14]
Network World’s year-end networking M&A roundup described the VeloCloud deal as filling a gap and boosting Arista’s SD-WAN/SASE and branch networking ambitions, while citing Ullal’s expectation that campus and WAN business could expand materially by 2026. [15]
For investors, this matters because:
- It can reduce reliance on a small number of hyperscalers over time.
- It can create a more diversified growth profile—but also introduces integration and competitive execution risk.
Current news flow around ANET: technicals, AI narrative, and filings
Technical and trading chatter
Investor’s Business Daily noted Arista’s Relative Strength Rating sitting above an “80” threshold and pointed to a potential breakout area near prior highs—language that tends to attract growth and momentum traders watching year-end positioning. [16]
Insider/filing headlines
A Refinitiv item distributed via TradingView reported that an Arista director filed a Form 4 disclosing a planned sale of shares in early December. Insider transactions can be routine (taxes, diversification), but they often show up on investor radar in low-news periods. [17]
Broader AI networking narrative
On the “why Arista exists” front, Nasdaq commentary has continued to frame Arista’s 400G/800G switching as a go-to choice for hyperscalers and AI data center builders, while warning that valuation can amplify swings if AI capex expectations wobble. [18]
Analyst forecasts and price targets for Arista Networks stock
Here’s where consensus currently clusters—bearing in mind that different platforms track different analyst sets and update schedules.
- MarketBeat: average 12‑month price target about $163.56, with a rating profile leaning positive (majority buys, some holds) [19]
- TipRanks: average target around $169.22 (in its tracked set), with targets spanning roughly the $140–$183 area [20]
- MarketWatch snapshot data has shown an average target around the mid‑$160s range in its coverage module [21]
If ANET is around $131–$132, those consensus targets imply a double-digit percentage upside—but investors should treat that as a sentiment gauge, not a promise. Targets can move fast around earnings, customer capex signals, and macro shifts.
A color detail from a Yahoo Finance-hosted item noted Rosenblatt Securities analyst Michael Genovese reiterating a Hold rating with a $140 price target earlier in December—useful as a reminder that not every analyst is pounding the table even in an AI infrastructure bull market. [22]
The next earnings date: what investors should know now
Earnings dates matter more than usual for high-multiple growth stocks because they reset the narrative—guidance, backlog tone, margin trajectory, and hyperscaler demand.
Nasdaq’s earnings page notes its earnings-date fields can be unavailable at times, and many third-party calendars show estimated dates. [23]
Based on commonly referenced calendars:
- Zacks projects Arista’s next report around February 17, 2026 (estimate). [24]
- MarketBeat similarly lists February 17, 2026 as an estimated date, noting the company has not confirmed. [25]
- Nasdaq’s listing has also shown an algorithm-based estimate around 02/17/2026. [26]
Takeaway: treat the February window as “earnings season risk zone” until Arista confirms the date on its IR calendar.
Key risks investors are watching in ANET
Even the best networking wizardry lives inside the laws of economics (tragic, but true). The main swing factors:
Customer concentration and hyperscaler capex cycles
Investopedia has previously highlighted that major customers like Meta and Microsoft have represented a large share of Arista’s sales—great when capex is rising, painful when spend pauses. [27]
AI spending narrative whiplash
Reuters reported that earlier tech weakness in December was linked to worries about AI spending—exactly the kind of macro narrative that can tug ANET around even without company-specific news. [28]
Competition in AI fabrics and Ethernet
Arista is competing in an ecosystem where giants and fast-moving specialists are investing heavily in Ethernet-based AI scale-out and scale-up networking. This can pressure pricing and margins over time, even if overall demand remains strong. [29]
Valuation and multiple compression risk
When a stock is priced for sustained high growth, “good” results can still trigger sell-offs if guidance is merely less great than hoped. Nasdaq commentary has explicitly warned that valuation can drive volatility. [30]
If the market is closed now, what should ANET investors do before Monday’s session
Because it’s Saturday in New York, you can’t react through regular trading until Monday’s open. Here’s the practical checklist for the next session:
- Know the next open and the liquidity reality
NYSE core hours are 9:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m. ET, with additional sessions depending on venue—important because late-December liquidity can be thin. [31] - Watch the macro calendar that can move growth stocks quickly
Reuters flagged upcoming Fed minutes and rate-path uncertainty as key near-term market drivers. Growth/AI infrastructure names tend to be highly sensitive to yields and rate expectations. [32] - Separate “AI narrative” from “Arista execution”
Arista’s Q3 showed strong revenue growth and profitability metrics. The market’s next question is whether demand remains durable and whether competition changes the margin shape. [33] - Track catalysts that can hit wires outside market hours
Over weekends, investors often see:
- SEC filings (insider transactions, 8‑Ks, governance updates)
- unexpected customer capex headlines
- sector news in semis/networking/AI infrastructure
(Recent examples include the director sale filing coverage that circulated in early December.) [34]
- Have a plan for volatility around year-end positioning
Reuters described year-end portfolio adjustments as a volatility source, especially in light trading. That can mean bigger-than-expected moves on “normal” headlines. [35]
Bottom line: Arista stock remains an AI networking bellwether into year-end
Arista Networks enters the final trading days of 2025 with:
- a stock price near $132 and a valuation that makes it sensitive to expectations, [36]
- clear product momentum in 800G and AI data center networking, [37]
- strong recent financial performance in Q3, [38]
- and a market backdrop that’s constructive overall, but heavily influenced by rate expectations and year-end flows. [39]
For Monday’s session, the “investor-grade” move isn’t to guess a single day’s direction—it’s to watch whether the market rewards AI infrastructure again as the S&P 500 flirts with milestones, and whether ANET continues to trade like a high-conviction compounder or a high-multiple mood ring.
References
1. finance.yahoo.com, 2. www.nyse.com, 3. www.reuters.com, 4. www.reuters.com, 5. www.nasdaq.com, 6. www.nasdaq.com, 7. www.arista.com, 8. www.arista.com, 9. www.networkworld.com, 10. investors.arista.com, 11. investors.arista.com, 12. www.investing.com, 13. www.investors.com, 14. www.arista.com, 15. www.networkworld.com, 16. www.investors.com, 17. www.tradingview.com, 18. www.nasdaq.com, 19. www.marketbeat.com, 20. www.tipranks.com, 21. www.marketwatch.com, 22. finance.yahoo.com, 23. www.nasdaq.com, 24. www.zacks.com, 25. www.marketbeat.com, 26. www.nasdaq.com, 27. www.investopedia.com, 28. www.reuters.com, 29. www.investors.com, 30. www.nasdaq.com, 31. www.nyse.com, 32. www.reuters.com, 33. investors.arista.com, 34. www.tradingview.com, 35. www.reuters.com, 36. www.nasdaq.com, 37. www.arista.com, 38. investors.arista.com, 39. www.reuters.com
