Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. ANET scored 71.7, WDC scored 71.9 — WDC leads.
Compare another set
ANET
Arista Networks, Inc.
Computer Hardware · Quality-Growth
71.7
$216.74 · $273.4B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
0.2
WDC leads
WDC
Western Digital Corporation
Computer Hardware · Quality-Growth
71.9
$397.28 · $148.7B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestWDC14.6x
Fastest growthWDC+35.7%
Strongest balance sheetANET0.00
Highest qualityANET93 / 100
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
ANET
stronger →← stronger
WDC
93
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
70
96
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
78
41
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
68
ANET is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
ANET
WDC
$5.2bB+
FCF
$3.5bB
+28.6%A-
Rev
+35.7%A
0.00A
D/E
0.13B+
68.4xC
P/E
14.6xA-
1.58C+
PEG
0.75A-
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
ANET
WDC
241% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
197% above
~50%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~47%/yr
-77%
1-yr DCF upside
-74%
-71%
5-yr DCF upside
-66%
-58%
10-yr DCF upside
-53%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
ANET
Why this score
Durable high returns
WDC
Why this score
Diluting shareholders
Earnings outpace cash
The companies
ANETArista Networks, Inc.
Computer Hardware · $216.74 · beta 1.60
Why now
Computer Hardware · market cap $273.4b. Trading near 52-week high of $217.41 — momentum setup, limited technical margin of safety. Revenue growing +29% — in hypergrowth territory. 29 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $243.69 (implying +12% upside).
Moat
Net margin 38% is exceptional — pricing-power territory rare outside premium software, branded staples, and specialty pharma. ROE 31% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. FCF converts 127% of net income, helped by cash released from working capital ($871m) that doesn't repeat every year.
Risk
Trailing P/E 68.4x prices in sustained high growth — any quarter that disappoints triggers sharp re-rating. Trading within 0% of the 52-week high — limited technical margin of safety; a momentum reversal would test conviction. Beta 1.60 implies above-market volatility — position-size to the drawdowns this name will produce in a market correction, not to its bull-case return.
WDCWestern Digital Corporation
Computer Hardware · $397.28 · beta 2.17
Why now
Computer Hardware · market cap $148.7b. Down 50% from 52-week high of $799.87 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +36% — in hypergrowth territory. PEG 0.75 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 24 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $670.79 (implying +69% upside).
Moat
Net margin 73% is exceptional — pricing-power territory rare outside premium software, branded staples, and specialty pharma. $148.7b market cap gives the company enough scale to absorb fixed costs that subscale competitors can't, without yet being so large that growth has to come from acquisition.
Risk
Down 50% from the 52-week high — the market is pricing in something the screen can't see; verify the bear case before sizing up. Beta 2.17 implies above-market volatility — position-size to the drawdowns this name will produce in a market correction, not to its bull-case return. P/S 11.5x embeds aggressive forward growth — disappointing top-line guidance would compress the multiple hard.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
ANET leads WDC by 2.2 points (68.9 to 66.7), its sharpest advantage coming in FCF (grade B+). A contrarian could still prefer WDC for its stronger P/E (grade A-). Note they play different roles — ANET screens as growth, WDC screens as value — so the model rewards different traits for each.
Our AI analyst is busy right now, so this verdict is drawn directly from the pillars, grades and DCF above.
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where ANET and WDC diverge
The two are effectively level on the headline score. They get there differently, though — each leads on a different pillar, so the better pick depends on which you weight.
ValueANET 41.4 · WDC 67.8WDC +26.4
QualityANET 93.1 · WDC 69.9ANET +23.2
GrowthANET 95.5 · WDC 78.3ANET +17.2
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is WDC or ANET the better stock?
WDC scores higher: WDC 71.9, ANET 71.7 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do WDC and ANET differ most?
The widest gap is value, where WDC leads by 26 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. Neither name sweeps: they trade the lead across the three pillars, so the comparison is a trade-off rather than one being better on every measure.
How are WDC and ANET scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.