AANETArista Networks, Inc.

Arista sells data-centre switches, and its revenue grows with the build-out of compute capacity for artificial intelligence.

The company grew on cloud operators: its equipment was designed for data-centre networks rather than office ones and so proved more convenient than classic enterprise gear. A substantial share of revenue sits with a few of the largest customers — both a strength and a vulnerability, since their investment plans move a whole year.

Its distinguishing feature is a single operating system across the range and a bet on network programmability. For the buyer that means fewer differences between models and the ability to automate configuration; for Arista it means recurring software subscription revenue on top of hardware sales.

Networks for model training are a separate, fast-growing market: linking thousands of accelerators demands particular bandwidth and latency. Competition here comes from both Cisco and Nvidia's own offerings. The company pays no dividend, directing cash into development and buybacks.