Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) is one of the 11 best computer hardware stocks to buy for the long term.

On February 25, Chief Platform Officer John McCool spoke at the Bernstein Insights, reflecting on Ethernet’s potential across the broader artificial intelligence opportunity. He also highlighted significant progress over the last couple of years around the standardization of the back-end network, which has led to the expansion of the front-end network as well. McCool stated:

“So I think, clearly, Ethernet has a place in this AI opportunity. I think if we went back a couple of years ago, there was a question, what role does Ethernet have connecting what we call the back-end network, connecting GPUs and clusters. We’ve made substantial progress, not just as Arista, but as an industry in the standardization and development of that back-end network. And then the interconnect of these clusters, we call the front-end network also grows tremendously along with the challenges of power consumption. People want to connect multiple clusters across large numbers of physical locations to get power effectively. So that’s kind of the framework that we think about the Ethernet opportunity.”

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On February 13, Ryan Koontz from Needham also raised his target price on Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) from $165 to $185. The analyst maintained a Buy rating on the stock, with a revised upside potential of more than 39%. Koontz highlighted the company’s impressive fourth quarter outperformance, along with a 6% rise in 2026 guidance.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) develops and sells high-performance, software- and data-driven client-to-cloud networking solutions. It predominantly facilitates AI, data center, and routing architectures. The company focuses heavily on low latency, automation, high-speed, and scalability, serving various market segments such as cloud service providers, financial services firms, government clients, healthcare, education, energy, and others.

While we acknowledge the potential of ANET as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

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