ANET
Arista Networks, Inc.
ANET has the edge over IBM overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation
IBM has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
ANET Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
ANET's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
IBM Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Under pressure |
IBM's profitability and cash flow are currently strong, and its revenue is stable, but its balance sheet is 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.
IBM PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 17x | $194 | -21% |
| Forward | 19x | $245 | — |
| Current | 21x | $245 | — |
| Fair | 23x | $274 | +12% |
| Expensive | 46x | $538 | +120% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
IBM 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 |
ANET has the edge over IBM on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
IBM Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect IBM's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady.
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's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $3.71 over the past year, up 41% from the year before, and higher year over year for 21 quarters in a row.
IBM Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $13.06 | +11% |
| Q3 2026 | $11.75 | +40% |
| Q2 2026 | $11.29 | +83% |
| Q1 2026 | $11.33 | +94% |
| Q4 2025 | $11.17 | +74% |
| Q3 2025 | $8.38 | +22% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.18 | -32% |
| Q1 2025 | $5.83 | -34% |
| Q4 2024 | $6.43 | -21% |
IBM earned $11.75 per share over the past year, up 40% from the year before.
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 IBM 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 IBM on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
IBM Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $17.1B | +4.7% |
| Q2 2026 | $17.2B | +1.1% |
| Q1 2026 | $15.9B | +9.5% |
| Q4 2025 | $19.7B | +12% |
| Q3 2025 | $16.3B | +9.1% |
| Q2 2025 | $17B | +7.7% |
| Q1 2025 | $14.5B | +0.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $17.6B | +1% |
IBM's revenue has grown year over year for 13 quarters in a row: $17.1B last quarter, up 4.7% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 15% | -0.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 14% | -0.9 points |
| Q1 2026 | 8.7% | +0.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 21% | +2.2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 15% | +20 points |
| Q2 2025 | 15% | +1.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 8% | +0.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 19% | -2.8 points |
IBM's operating margin was 15% last quarter, about level with 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 IBM on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
IBM Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.7B | +31% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.4B | +59% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.9B | +20% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.7B | -9.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.8B | +8.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.5B | -19% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.1B | +5% |
| Q4 2024 | $4B | -3.3% |
IBM's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $14.7B over the past year, up 18% from the year before.
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 IBM 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.
IBM Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | +260K shares |
| 1 year | +0.5% | +4.6M shares |
| 3 years | +3.2% | +29.9M shares |
| 5 years | +5.3% | +47.6M shares |
| Available history | +2.1% | +19.6M shares |
IBM has 954M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2019 | — |
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 IBM on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
IBM Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 3.9x | Elevated |
| Q2 2026 | 3.9x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 4.0x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 3.5x | Elevated |
| Q3 2025 | 4.2x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 5.5x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 5.6x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 4.4x | High |
IBM's net debt is about 3.9 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 4.2 years a year ago.
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).
IBM Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 50.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 74.8 | Neutral |
IBM's weekly RSI is 50 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 75 (neutral).
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.
IBM PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | IBM | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 21x | 28x | 25% below |
| PE % | 31 | 35 | 4 pts below |
IBM 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 IBM on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
IBM Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $238.6 | 2.6% above |
| 20 week MA | $239.3 | 2.2% above |
| 50 week MA | $256.6 | 4.6% below |
| 100 week MA | $258.5 | 5.3% below |
| 200 week MA | $212.3 | 15% above |
IBM's trend is mixed: it's above three of its five weekly moving averages, and 15% above 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 IBM on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
IBM Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $129.3 | $119.2 | -7.8% |
| 2021 | $119.2 | $130.6 | +9.6% |
| 2022 | $130.6 | $141.7 | +8.4% |
| 2023 | $141.7 | $163.6 | +15% |
| 2024 | $163.6 | $222.8 | +36% |
| 2025 | $222.8 | $305.1 | +37% |
| 2026 YTD | $305.1 | $244.7 | -20% |
IBM has finished higher in five of the last six years. It's down 20% so far in 2026.