ANET vs CIEN vs CSCO Stock Comparison

Arista Networks, Ciena and Cisco Systems Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ANET Arista Networks, Inc.
$186.85 -8.8% 1M +19.2% 1Y
Market cap
$233.45B
P/E
57.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$10.54B
Div. yield
–
Server and Storage Hardware Technology
4 wins
CIEN Ciena Corp
$363.26 +5.6% 1M +98.5% 1Y
Market cap
$50.20B
P/E
76.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.02B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
2 wins
CSCO Cisco Systems, Inc.
$110.29 +3.3% 1M +51.9% 1Y
Market cap
$431.19B
P/E
32.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$63.33B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Cisco Systems leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Cisco Systems 5, Arista Networks 4, Ciena 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionANETCIENCSCOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $233.45B $50.20B $431.19B CSCO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 57.7x 76.7x 32.5x CSCO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 46.8x 47.8x 23.3x CSCO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +32.6% +32.6% +11.8% ANET
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 38.4% 10.9% 21.0% ANET
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 12.4% 15.9% CSCO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.7x 0.8x CIEN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +19.2% +98.5% +51.9% CIEN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +48.8%/yr +46.3%/yr +14.5%/yr ANET
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 55.0% 77.9% 35.5% CSCO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 67/100 56/100 55/100 ANET

Percentile Scorecard

ANETCIENCSCO

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisANETCIENCSCO
Valuation 20 #89 of 111 21 #88 of 111 33 #75 of 111
Growth 85 #17 of 108 94 #7 of 108 40 #65 of 108
Profitability 92 #9 of 104 84 #18 of 104 88 #13 of 104
Financial Health 77 #27 of 115 43 #66 of 115 31 #80 of 115
Shareholder Returns 60 #32 of 78 36 #50 of 78 82 #15 of 78
Overall 67 56 55
  • ANET ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • CIEN ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • CSCO ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodANETCIENCSCOSPY
1 month -8.8%+5.6%+3.3% +0.9%
3 months +18.4%+9.9%-1.9% +5.9%
6 months +10.8%-23.6%+23.1% +8.5%
Year to date +42.6%+55.3%+43.2% +13.3%
1 year +19.2%+98.5%+51.9% +12.4%
3 years +324.2%+785.6%+113.9% +88.1%
3 years, per year +61.9%+107.0%+28.9% +23.5%
5 years +629.6%+569.1%+97.1% +68.2%
5 years, per year +48.8%+46.3%+14.5% +11.0%
10 years +3,412.2%+1,761.9%+260.5% +263.4%
10 years, per year +42.8%+34.0%+13.7% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureANETCIENCSCOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 55.0%77.9%35.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 56.7%82.8%37.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.272.791.10 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.351.261.46 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -50.4%-49.7%-38.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -13.7%-42.1%-15.2% -0.9%
52-week high $216.61$627.00$130.00 $779.14
52-week low $116.13$176.45$71.04 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleANETCIENCSCO
P/E now vs peer median 58.2xmedian 33.5x 78.9xmedian 33.5x 32.9xmedian 33.5x
P/S now vs peer median 22.4xmedian 2.8x 8.6xmedian 2.8x 6.9xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 47.9xmedian 19.6x 58.1xmedian 19.6x 25.1xmedian 19.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 45.7xmedian 29.8x 63.3xmedian 29.8x 34.1xmedian 29.8x
P/B now vs peer median 15.9xmedian 2.9x 16.9xmedian 2.9x 8.7xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median 1.77median 1.10 1.76median 1.10 12.20median 1.10

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsANETCIENCSCO
Revenue $10.54B $6.02B $63.33B
Gross profit $6.64B $2.65B $40.86B
Operating income $4.55B $738.95M $15.37B
Net income $4.04B $654.41M $13.27B
Free cash flow $5.16B $814.36M $12.77B
R&D $1.37B $924.94M $9.56B
EPS (diluted) $3.17 $4.48 $3.33
Cash & equivalents $2.29B $2.45B $7.22B
Total debt – $3.23B $29.53B
Shares (diluted) 1.28B 145.97M 3.99B
Enterprise value $186.91B $43.76B $367.12B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricANETCIENCSCO
P/E 58.2x 78.9x 32.9x
P/FCF 45.7x 63.3x 34.1x
P/Operating cash flow 44.4x 48.9x 30.7x
P/S 22.4x 8.6x 6.9x
P/B 15.9x 16.9x 8.7x
P/Tangible book 15.9x 18.0x 10.2x
EV/EBITDA 47.9x 58.1x 25.1x
EV/EBIT 48.9x 70.6x 29.2x
EV/Revenue 21.1x 8.7x 7.1x
EV/FCF 43.1x 64.0x 35.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 41.9x 49.4x 31.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.77 1.76 12.20

Growth

14 metrics
MetricANETCIENCSCO
Revenue growth (1Y) 32.6% 32.6% 11.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 26.1% 12.5% 3.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 30.0% 40.6% 11.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 28.0% 13.3% 4.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 32.6% 200.1% 30.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 33.7% 29.1% 0.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 24.4% 364.5% 30.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 33.3% 43.5% 1.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 23.9% 359.9% 30.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 32.9% 44.8% 2.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 31.1% 34.5% -0.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 75.4% 201.2% -10.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 29.7% 34.5% -3.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 76.0% 95.4% -12.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricANETCIENCSCO
Gross margin 63.0% 44.1% 64.5%
EBITDA margin 44.0% 14.9% 28.3%
Operating margin 43.1% 12.3% 24.3%
Pretax margin 47.3% 12.1% 25.3%
Net margin 38.4% 10.9% 21.0%
FCF margin 48.9% 13.5% 20.2%
Operating cash flow margin 50.3% 17.5% 22.4%
Return on equity 28.6% 22.0% 26.8%
Return on assets 17.8% 9.3% 10.4%
Return on invested capital – 12.4% 15.9%
Return on capital employed 28.7% 13.1% 17.9%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.9x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.6x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 4.8% 3.5% 6.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricANETCIENCSCO
Debt / assets – 40.4% 22.8%
Debt / equity – 1.1x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.7x 0.8x
Debt / FCF – 4.0x 2.3x
Liabilities / assets 37.6% 61.8% 61.2%
Equity / assets 62.4% 38.2% 38.8%
Interest coverage – 10.6x 10.5x
Current ratio 3.0x 3.8x 0.9x
Quick ratio 2.3x 2.8x 0.6x
Cash ratio 2.0x 1.9x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 18.29 7.46 4.16

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricANETCIENCSCO
Dividend yield – – 1.5%
Net buyback yield 0.2% -0.9% 1.3%
Shareholder yield 0.2% -0.9% 2.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusANETCIENCSCO
Forward P/E 46.8xFY2026 47.8xFY2026 23.3xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $3.99FY2026 $7.60FY2026 $4.74FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +33.9%FY2026 +187.9%FY2026 +9.5%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +36.1% +64.7% +20.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $13.21BFY2026 $6.86BFY2026 $74.93BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +46.6%FY2026 +43.8%FY2026 +18.3%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +22.3% +18.0% +0.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersANETCIENCSCO
Held by institutions 71.2% 92.9% 80.1%
Institutions holding 2,254 1,220 4,046
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.4% -1.7% +5.0%
Institutions buying 1,328 729 1,847
Institutions selling 732 379 1,817
Buyers to sellers 1.81 1.92 1.02

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ANETCIENCSCO
ANET 1.00 0.52 0.50
CIEN 0.52 1.00 0.36
CSCO 0.50 0.36 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ANET, CIEN and CSCO?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Arista Networks (ANET) $233.45B, Ciena (CIEN) $50.20B, Cisco Systems (CSCO) $431.19B.

Which stock is cheaper, ANET, CIEN and CSCO?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Arista Networks (ANET) 57.7x, Ciena (CIEN) 76.7x, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 32.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Cisco Systems (CSCO) is cheapest (Arista Networks (ANET) 46.8x, Ciena (CIEN) 47.8x, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 23.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Arista Networks (ANET) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Arista Networks (ANET) +32.6%, Ciena (CIEN) +32.6%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +11.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Arista Networks (ANET) has the highest net margin (Arista Networks (ANET) 38.4%, Ciena (CIEN) 10.9%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 21.0%). On return on invested capital, Cisco Systems (CSCO) leads (Ciena (CIEN) 12.4%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 15.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ciena (CIEN) returned the most: Arista Networks (ANET) +19.2%, Ciena (CIEN) +98.5%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +51.9%. Over five years, Arista Networks (ANET) compounded fastest (Arista Networks (ANET) +48.8%/yr, Ciena (CIEN) +46.3%/yr, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +14.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cisco Systems (CSCO) has been the steadiest (Arista Networks (ANET) 55.0%, Ciena (CIEN) 77.9%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 35.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ANET, CIEN and CSCO?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Cisco Systems (CSCO) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.