Arista(US:ANET)2025-11-04 22:30Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Total revenues for Q3 2025 were $2.3 billion, up 27.5% year-over-year, exceeding guidance of $2.25 billion [19] - Non-GAAP gross margin was 65.2%, down from 65.6% last quarter but up from 64.6% in the prior year [19] - Operating income for the quarter was $1.12 billion, representing 48.6% of revenue [20] - Net income for the quarter was $962.3 million, or 41.7% of revenue, with diluted earnings per share of $0.75, up 25% from the prior year [20] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Software and services contributed approximately 18.7% of total revenue [5] - International revenues were $468.3 million, accounting for 20.2% of total revenue, down from 21.8% in the prior quarter [19] - R&D spending was $251.4 million, or 10.9% of revenue, up from $243.3 million in the last quarter [20] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The Americas accounted for almost 80% of total revenue, while international markets contributed approximately 20% [5] - The company is experiencing momentum across cloud and AI titans, near cloud providers, and campus enterprises [6] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company aims for $1.5 billion in AI aggregate revenue for 2025, with a new target of $10.65 billion in revenue for 2026, representing 20% growth [6][25] - The focus is on building a modern AI stack that includes compute, memory storage, and a solid network foundation [6] - The company is committed to partnerships with major players in the AI ecosystem, including NVIDIA, AMD, and OpenAI [6] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in demand despite shipment variability due to supply constraints [31] - The outlook for Q4 2025 is revenue guidance of $2.3-$2.4 billion, with continued growth expected across cloud, AI, enterprise, and provider markets [25] - The effective tax rate is expected to be approximately 21.5% for Q4 [25] Other Important Information - Cash, cash equivalents, and investments totaled $10.1 billion at the end of the quarter [21] - The company has a $1.5 billion repurchase program, with $1.4 billion remaining for future repurchases [21] - The total deferred revenue balance was $4.7 billion, up from $4.1 billion in Q2 [23] Q&A Session Summary Question: What are the underlying drivers for the deceleration in growth? - Management indicated that there is no concern regarding demand, attributing shipment variability to supply constraints rather than a decrease in demand [31] Question: Can you unpack the gross margin drivers for this quarter? - Management explained that a mix of product margins, particularly with cloud and AI customers, is influencing gross margins, which may be under 60% for products [34] Question: How is Arista positioned as it moves into more full rack solutions? - Management noted that Arista is involved in multiple projects with different accelerator options and is being sought for its expertise in networking solutions [36] Question: What is the status of partnerships with large language model providers? - Management confirmed that their market share remains stable and that decisions on networking hardware are a joint responsibility between software and cloud titans [40] Question: What is driving the variability in shipments? - Management stated that variability is largely supply-driven, with long lead times on components affecting shipment capabilities [43] Question: How does the convergence of front-end and back-end networks impact Arista? - Management believes that the convergence is advantageous, as it allows Arista to offer a consistent solution across infrastructure [64]