Arista Networks (ANET) shares jumped more than 9% in after-hours trading on Tuesday after the networking company reported third-quarter results that beat Wall Street expectations on both revenue and profit, and issued its first revenue forecast for 2027 well above consensus estimates. Arista's high-speed switches carry the traffic between servers inside large data centers — the infrastructure layer that AI computing clusters depend on.

The stock had already closed up 3.52% in the regular session before the numbers were released. Investing.com reported a 9.6% gain in pre-market trading on Wednesday.

Fastest Growth Since the 2014 IPO

Third-quarter revenue hit $3.66 billion, up 58.5% from a year earlier, ahead of the roughly $3.33 billion analysts had expected. Arista said the year-over-year jump was its biggest since its 2014 initial public offering. Adjusted earnings came in at $1.20 per share, topping the $1.08 forecast and marking a 56% increase from the year-ago period.

The results drew wide attention, including a post from market commentary account Wall St Engine on X:

ARISTA NETWORKS $ANET Q3'26 EARNINGS HIGHLIGHTS
🔹 Revenue: $3.66B (Est. $3.33B) 🟢; +58.5% YoY
🔹 Adj. EPS: $1.20 (Est. $1.08) 🟢; +56% YoY

Q4 Guide:
🔹 Revenue: ~$3.9B-$4.0B (Est. $3.6B) 🟢
🔹 Adj. EPS: $1.26-$1.30 (Est. $1.15) 🟢
🔹 Non-GAAP Operating Margin: 48%-49%… pic.twitter.com/GYsu3F9QsJ

— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) November 3, 2026

The 2027 Forecast Steals the Show

Arista also gave investors its first look at 2027, projecting revenue of about $18.5 billion. That implies growth of 38% to 40% and puts the company's number roughly $2.1 billion above the $16.4 billion Wall Street had penciled in. Publishing a target for 2027 this early hands investors a concrete, multi-year yardstick against which each coming quarter can be measured.

Within that plan, AI networking revenue is set to double to about $7 billion — more than a third of the projected 2027 total — while the cognitive campus business is expected to grow about 60% to roughly $2 billion.

Management simultaneously raised its 2026 revenue outlook to $13.3 billion, equal to 48% annual growth and the fourth consecutive raise.

For the fourth quarter, Arista guided to revenue of $3.9 billion to $4 billion, above the $3.6 billion estimate, with adjusted earnings of $1.26 to $1.30 per share versus the $1.15 forecast. The guidance implies a non-GAAP operating margin of 48% to 49%.

What the CEO and Analysts Said

Chief Executive Jayshree Ullal called the period “another memorable quarter,” saying results topped even her high expectations, and tied the strength to demand for artificial intelligence.

“This strong momentum across customer sectors highlights our increased relevance for the generative and agentic AI era,” she said.

JPMorgan raised its price target on the stock to $270 from $250, and Rosenblatt reiterated its buy rating with a $280 target.

Arista is working with AMD, Arm, Broadcom and Qualcomm on equipment for AI networks, with Meta and Microsoft also partners on that work.

Market Context

The broader market was calm by comparison. In pre-market trading, the S&P 500 was up 0.3% and the Nasdaq was up 0.2%.

Arista was recently added to the S&P 100. The pre-market jump pushed the stock back into the upper half of its 52-week range of $114.52 to $217.41.

The company's fourth-quarter report will be the next scheduled checkpoint, when progress toward the raised $13.3 billion outlook for 2026 — and toward the $18.5 billion marker set for 2027 — can be measured against the guidance issued Tuesday.