Sifting through countless of stocks in the Communications Equipment industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Cisco Systems, Inc., Arista Networks or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Cisco Systems, Inc., Arista Networks and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Cisco Systems, Inc., Arista Networks and Inc.

Cisco Systems, Inc. designs, develops, and sells technologies to power, help, secure, and draw insights from the internet in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, Japan, and China. The company provides data center switching; network security, identity and access management, and secure access service edge; identity and agentic security solutions; interconnects public and private wireline and mobile networks, delivering connectivity to campus, data center, and branch networks; WEBEX suite, collaboration devices, and contact center; communication platform as a service software, including perpetual licenses, subscription arrangements, and hardware solutions; network assurance and observability suite; accelerated issue resolution, software support, and hardware replacement; professional services, such as planning, design, implementation, and high-value consulting; service and support packages, financing, and managed network services; and regional, national, and international wireline carriers, webscale products, internet, and cable. It also provides wireless products, including indoor and outdoor coverage designed for seamless roaming use of voice, video, and data applications; end-to-end collaboration solutions through cloud, on-premise, or within hybrid cloud environments. In addition, it offers technical support services. The company serves businesses, public institutions, governments, and service providers. It sells its products and services directly, through systems integrators, service providers, and other thirdy-party resellers, and distributors. Cisco Systems, Inc. was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.

Arista Networks, Inc. engages in the development, marketing, and sale of data-driven, client to cloud networking solutions for AI, data center, campus, and routing environments in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. Its cloud networking solutions consist of Extensible Operating System (EOS), a publish-subscribe state-sharing networking operating system offered in combination with a set of network applications. The company offers data center, cloud and AI networking, cognitive adjacencies, and cognitive network software and services. It also provides post contract customer support services, such as technical support, hardware repair and replacement parts beyond standard warranty, bug fixes, patches, and upgrade services. The company serves a range of industries comprising internet companies, cloud service providers, financial services organizations, government agencies, media and entertainment, healthcare, oil and gas, education, manufacturing, industrial, and others. It markets and sells its products through distributors, system integrators, value-added resellers, and original equipment manufacturer partners, as well as through its direct sales force. Arista Networks, Inc. was formerly known as Arastra, Inc. and changed its name to Arista Networks, Inc. in October 2008. The company was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.

Latest Communications Equipment and Cisco Systems, Inc., Arista Networks, Inc. Stock News

As of September 11, 2026, Cisco Systems, Inc. had a $442.0 billion market capitalization, compared to the Communications Equipment median of $355.9 million. Cisco Systems, Inc.’s stock is up 45.6% in 2026, up 3.2% in the previous five trading days and up 64.56% in the past year.

Currently, Cisco Systems, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 33.7. Cisco Systems, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $63.3 billion with a 21.0% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 17.6%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $5.143 per share for the current fiscal year. Cisco Systems, Inc. currently has a 1.5% dividend yield.

As of September 11, 2026, Arista Networks, Inc. had a $251.7 billion market cap, putting it in the 99th percentile of all stocks. Arista Networks, Inc.’s stock is up 52.3% in 2026, up 4.3% in the previous five trading days and up 32.42% in the past year.

Currently, Arista Networks, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 63.2. Arista Networks, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $10.5 billion with a 38.4% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 37.7%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $4.113 per share for the current fiscal year. Arista Networks, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare Cisco Systems, Inc., Arista Networks and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Cisco Systems, Inc., Arista Networks and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Cisco Systems, Inc., Arista Networks and Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Cisco Systems, Inc.	CSCO	B
Arista Networks, Inc.	ANET	B

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Cisco Systems, Inc. has a Growth Score of 73, which is Strong. Arista Networks, Inc. has a Growth Score of 69, which is Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Growth Grade breakdown above, both Cisco Systems, Inc., Arista Networks and Inc. have a grade of B. For investors who focus solely on a company’s upward growth, further research should be conducted into both companies’ other financial metrics before deciding whether to invest.

Cisco Systems, Inc., Arista Networks and Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Cisco Systems, Inc.	CSCO	A
Arista Networks, Inc.	ANET	B

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Cisco Systems, Inc. has a Quality Score of 85, which is Very Strong. Arista Networks, Inc. has a Quality Score of 72, which is Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: Cisco Systems, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, Cisco Systems, Inc. has a better overall quality grade than Arista Networks, Inc.. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, Cisco Systems, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Cisco Systems, Inc., Arista Networks and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Cisco Systems, Inc.	CSCO	B
Arista Networks, Inc.	ANET	B

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Cisco Systems, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 79, which is Positive. Arista Networks, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 72, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, both Cisco Systems, Inc., Arista Networks and Inc. have a grade of B. For those focusing solely on a company’s estimate revisions, other financial metrics will need to be evaluated to determine whether Cisco Systems, Inc., Arista Networks or Inc. is a better fit.

Other Cisco Systems, Inc., Arista Networks and Inc. Grades

In addition to Estimate Revisions, Growth and Quality, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Momentum.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Cisco Systems, Inc., Arista Networks and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Cisco Systems, Inc., Arista Networks or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Cisco Systems, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 73, Estimate Revisions Score of 79 and Quality Score of 85.

Arista Networks, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 69, Estimate Revisions Score of 72 and Quality Score of 72.

Comparing Cisco Systems, Inc., Arista Networks and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.