Arista Networks builds the high-speed switches, routers, network operating software, and management tools that connect servers, GPUs, storage systems, and, most importantly, data centers.

A modern AI data center contains thousands of servers. Each server may contain several GPUs or other accelerators. These systems constantly send model parameters, activations, training data, and storage traffic back and forth. The switches decide where each packet goes and move it through the network.

As AI clusters become larger, networking becomes a major challenge and accounts for a growing share of the total infrastructure budget.

One of Arista’s biggest advantages is its software architecture.

Its core operating system is called EOS, or Extensible Operating System. EOS runs across Arista’s entire product portfolio, giving customers one consistent software environment across different generations and types of equipment.

EOS uses a modular design, meaning different networking functions run as separate processes. If one process fails, it can restart without forcing the entire switch to reboot. This helps improve uptime and makes software changes less disruptive. It becomes especially valuable in large data centers, where a hyperscaler may operate hundreds of thousands of network ports.

That is why the world’s largest cloud companies work with Arista. Microsoft and Meta are among its biggest customers. They have accounted for about 10% of revenue each.

Its growth has also remained surprisingly consistent. Arista generated annual revenue growth of at least 19.5% every year from 2021 through 2025. At the same time, its margins and profitability continued to improve.

The stock has also held up incredibly well over the last few weeks and just broke out again ahead of its earnings report today.