BNP Paribas Downgrades Arista Networks Amid Rising Competition from Nvidia in AI Networking
BNP Paribas has downgraded Arista Networks (ANET) from Outperform to Neutral, citing intensifying competition from Nvidia (NVDA) and low-cost whitebox vendors like Celestica (CLS) and Accton. Analyst Karl Ackerman highlights a rapid market shift from InfiniBand to Ethernet in AI networking, where Nvidia''s upcoming Quantum-X switches—expected to launch in late 2025 with 1.6T speeds—could eclipse Arista''s growth prospects.
The transition to rack-scale GPU architectures further consolidates Nvidia''s dominance, pressuring Arista''s AI-related revenue outlook. This development underscores the broader trend of hyperscalers prioritizing vertically integrated solutions over traditional networking providers.