ANET
Arista Networks, Inc.
ANET has the edge over BABA overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
BABA
Alibaba Group Holding Limited
BABA offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
ANET Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
ANET's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
BABA Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Under pressure | |
| Weak | |
| Healthy |
BABA's balance sheet is currently healthy, and its revenue is stable, but its profitability and cash flow are under pressure.
ANET PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 31x | $115 | -44% |
| Forward | 36x | $207 | — |
| Fair | 40x | $147 | -29% |
| Expensive | 52x | $194 | -6% |
| Current | 56x | $207 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
ANET's PE is in its expensive range at 56x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 36x next year's earnings, in its fair range.
BABA PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 16x | $69.66 | -26% |
| Fair | 20x | $86.59 | -8.2% |
| Current | 21x | $94.36 | — |
| Expensive | 26x | $115 | +22% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
BABA has the edge over ANET in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
ANET Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for ANET, with profitability improving.
BABA Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for BABA, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
ANET Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $5.67 | +53% |
| Q3 2026 | $3.71 | +41% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.16 | +24% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.91 | +23% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.75 | +23% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.64 | +27% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.55 | +32% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.37 | +32% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.23 | +35% |
ANET has the edge over BABA on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
BABA Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $4.42 | -52% |
| Q1 2026 | $6.57 | -18% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.79 | -22% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.85 | +49% |
| Q2 2025 | $9.27 | +116% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.06 | +71% |
| Q4 2024 | $7.47 | +24% |
| Q3 2024 | $5.26 | -35% |
BABA's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $4.42 over the past year, against $9.27 in mid-2025. Its recent earnings include one-off gains.
ANET Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.7B | +58% |
| Q2 2026 | $3B | +38% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.7B | +35% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.5B | +29% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.3B | +27% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.2B | +30% |
| Q1 2025 | $2B | +28% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.9B | +25% |
ANET has the edge over BABA on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 45% | +2.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 45% | +0.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 43% | -0.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 42% | +0.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 42% | -1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 45% | +3.3 points |
| Q1 2025 | 43% | +0.8 points |
| Q4 2024 | 41% | -0.1 points |
ANET has the edge over BABA on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
BABA Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $40.2B | +8.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $36.5B | +2.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $42.7B | +1.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $37.2B | +4.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $37.2B | +1.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $35.5B | +6.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $42B | +7.6% |
| Q3 2024 | $35.5B | +5.2% |
BABA's revenue has grown year over year for 16 quarters in a row: $40.2B last quarter, up 8.3% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 7.2% | -6.9 points |
| Q1 2026 | -0.3% | -12 points |
| Q4 2025 | 7.1% | -7.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 2.2% | -13 points |
| Q2 2025 | 14% | -0.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 12% | +5.4 points |
| Q4 2024 | 15% | +6.1 points |
| Q3 2024 | 15% | 0 points |
BABA's operating margin was 7.2% last quarter, down 6.9 points from the same quarter a year ago.
ANET Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.1B | -11% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.1B | -10% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.6B | +167% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.2B | +20% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.2B | +6.1% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.2B | +19% |
| Q1 2025 | $613.3M | +22% |
| Q4 2024 | $1B | +96% |
ANET has the edge over BABA on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
BABA Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -$6.7B | -$4.1B |
| Q1 2026 | -$2.7B | +$1.5B |
| Q4 2025 | $1B | -90% |
| Q3 2025 | -$3.2B | -254% |
| Q2 2025 | -$2.7B | -182% |
| Q1 2025 | -$4.2B | -12231% |
| Q4 2024 | $10.4B | -4.8% |
| Q3 2024 | $2.1B | -62% |
BABA's free cash flow has turned negative after years in the green: −$11.6B over the past year.
ANET Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.2% | +2.2M shares |
| 1 year | +0.1% | +1.6M shares |
| 3 years | +0.6% | +7.7M shares |
| 5 years | 0% | -344K shares |
| Available history | -1.2% | -15.9M shares |
ANET has the edge over BABA on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | $620.1M |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | $195.9M |
| Q1 2025 | $787.1M |
| Q4 2024 | $123.8M |
ANET spent $620M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 44% from the year before.
BABA Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.5% | +11.1M shares |
| 1 year | +0.9% | +21.4M shares |
| 3 years | -6.2% | -161M shares |
| 5 years | -12% | -339M shares |
| Available history | -8.4% | -221M shares |
BABA has 2.4B diluted shares, up 0.9% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | $269.8M |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
BABA spent $270M buying back its own shares over the past year, after none the year before.
ANET Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.9x | Net Cash |
ANET has the edge over BABA on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
BABA Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q3 2024 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
BABA's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
ANET Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 59.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 40.9 | Neutral |
ANET's weekly RSI is 60 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 41 (neutral).
BABA Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 38.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 12.7 | Oversold |
BABA's weekly RSI is 38 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 13 (oversold).
ANET PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | ANET | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 56x | 28x | 100% above |
| PE % | 91 | 35 | 56 pts above |
ANET is trading at 56x earnings, a 100% premium to the Technology sector's median of 28x.
BABA PE vs Consumer Cyclical Sector
| Metric | BABA | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 21x | 18x | 19% above |
| PE % | 60 | 47 | 13 pts above |
BABA has the edge over ANET on valuation relative to its sector.
ANET Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $190.8 | 8.3% above |
| 20 week MA | $188.0 | 9.9% above |
| 50 week MA | $160.7 | 29% above |
| 100 week MA | $136.6 | 51% above |
| 200 week MA | $99.6 | 107% above |
ANET has the edge over BABA on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
BABA Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $104.7 | 9.9% below |
| 20 week MA | $111.1 | 15% below |
| 50 week MA | $128.0 | 26% below |
| 100 week MA | $127.7 | 26% below |
| 200 week MA | $106.4 | 11% below |
BABA is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 11% below its 200-week average.
ANET Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $12.8 | $18.1 | +41% |
| 2021 | $18.1 | $35.5 | +96% |
| 2022 | $35.5 | $29.9 | -16% |
| 2023 | $29.9 | $58.9 | +97% |
| 2024 | $58.9 | $113.0 | +92% |
| 2025 | $113.0 | $131.8 | +17% |
| 2026 YTD | $131.8 | $206.6 | +57% |
ANET has the edge over BABA on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
BABA Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $215.5 | $222.0 | +3% |
| 2021 | $222.0 | $118.7 | -47% |
| 2022 | $118.7 | $85.7 | -28% |
| 2023 | $85.7 | $77.5 | -9.5% |
| 2024 | $77.5 | $85.1 | +9.7% |
| 2025 | $85.1 | $152.2 | +79% |
| 2026 YTD | $152.2 | $94.4 | -38% |
BABA has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's down 38% so far in 2026.