Network equipment statistics at a glance
Network equipment statistics in this dataset show a market that is not moving in one direction. Cisco still dominates the scale conversation, but its fiscal 2024 results show pressure in networking and total revenue at the same time that security and observability expanded. Arista, Nokia, and Ericsson point to a different story: specialized infrastructure players are still finding room to grow, but the growth profile is uneven and very segment-specific.
The best way to read these numbers is to treat them as a snapshot of where network infrastructure demand is being absorbed. Some vendors are benefiting from refresh cycles, software attachment, or cloud and enterprise spend. Others are working through product mix shifts, geography changes, or a narrower addressable market.
Table of contents
- Fast facts
- What the 2024 network equipment numbers say
- Cisco network equipment statistics
- Arista, Nokia, and Ericsson compared
- Segment trends that matter most
- Why these figures matter for network buyers
Fast facts
Big number: Cisco networking revenue was $29.229 billion in fiscal 2024, down 15% year over year (Cisco FY24 earnings release).
Growth pocket: Cisco security revenue reached $5.075 billion in fiscal 2024, up 32% year over year (Cisco FY24 earnings release).
Efficiency signal: Arista reported 64.1% GAAP gross margin in 2024, up from 61.9% in 2023 (Arista Q4 2024 earnings release).
Regional note: Arista non-Americas revenue fell from 20.6% of total revenue in 2023 to 18.2% in 2024 (Arista 2024 10-K).
Infrastructure depth: Nokia said it had 123 CSP customers of 5G Standalone Core at the end of 2024, the most in the industry (Nokia 2024 Form 20-F).
Margin rebound: Ericsson adjusted Networks gross margin was 49.1% in Q4 2024 versus 43.2% in Q4 2023 (Ericsson Q4 2024 earnings release).
What the 2024 network equipment numbers say
The headline pattern in these network equipment statistics is simple: scale leaders are not always growing fastest, and faster growers are not always the largest by revenue. That is visible immediately in Cisco?s 2024 results versus the performance of Arista, Nokia, and Ericsson.
Cisco posted $53.803 billion in total revenue in fiscal 2024, down 6% year over year (Cisco FY24 earnings release). Within that total, total product revenue was $39.253 billion, down 9% year over year, while services revenue was $14.550 billion, up 5% year over year (Cisco FY24 earnings release). Those numbers show a vendor leaning more heavily on recurring and service-oriented revenue even as its core product engine softened.
At the same time, the dataset shows that not every part of Cisco?s business moved lower. Security revenue rose to $5.075 billion in fiscal 2024, observability revenue reached $837 million, and both categories expanded year over year (Cisco FY24 earnings release). That matters because it suggests network equipment demand is increasingly bundled with software, security, monitoring, and operational tooling rather than hardware alone.
A useful reading of the data is that network equipment is no longer just about ports, routers, and switches. It is also about security, telemetry, cloud connectivity, and long-tail contracts. The vendors that can sell across those layers appear better positioned than those that rely on a single hardware cycle.
At a glance comparison
| Company | Metric | 2024 result | Year-over-year change | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cisco | Networking revenue | $29.229B | -15% | Cisco FY24 earnings release |
| Cisco | Total revenue | $53.803B | -6% | Cisco FY24 earnings release |
| Cisco | Security revenue | $5.075B | +32% | Cisco FY24 earnings release |
| Arista | Revenue | $7.003B | +19.5% | Arista Q4 2024 earnings release |
| Nokia | Network Infrastructure net sales | EUR 6,518M | -6% | Nokia 2024 Form 20-F |
| Ericsson | 2024 net sales | SEK 247.880B | -6% | Ericsson Annual Report 2024 |
The comparison is not meant to flatten each company into a single trend line. It shows how differentiated the network equipment market remains even when all of the firms compete around infrastructure.
Cisco network equipment statistics
Cisco remains the anchor point for understanding network equipment statistics because its numbers touch the broadest slice of the category. The fiscal 2024 results show both the scale of the business and the pressure in its traditional networking base.
Key Cisco figures from the dataset:
- Networking revenue: $29.229 billion, down 15% year over year (Cisco FY24 earnings release)
- Networking revenue in Q4 fiscal 2024: $6.804 billion, down 28% year over year (Cisco FY24 earnings release)
- Total revenue: $53.803 billion, down 6% year over year (Cisco FY24 earnings release)
- Q4 fiscal 2024 total revenue: $13.642 billion, down 10% year over year (Cisco FY24 earnings release)
- Security revenue: $5.075 billion, up 32% year over year (Cisco FY24 earnings release)
- Observability revenue: $837 million, up 27% year over year (Cisco FY24 earnings release)
- Services revenue: $14.550 billion, up 5% year over year (Cisco FY24 earnings release)
- Collaboration revenue: $4.113 billion, up 2% year over year (Cisco FY24 earnings release)
- Total product revenue: $39.253 billion, down 9% year over year (Cisco FY24 earnings release)
The split between product and services revenue is especially important. Cisco?s $14.550 billion in services revenue suggests a revenue stream that can cushion product weakness, while the $39.253 billion product line shows where the larger decline still sits (Cisco FY24 earnings release). That creates a more resilient overall profile than a pure hardware vendor would have, even if the networking core is under pressure.
Cisco?s security and observability growth also suggest that buyers are spending around the network, not only on the network. A 32% increase in security revenue and a 27% increase in observability revenue point to stronger demand for tools that make infrastructure safer and easier to manage (Cisco FY24 earnings release). In a market where network complexity keeps rising, those adjacent categories are no longer side stories.
Another useful Cisco signal is the company?s remaining performance obligation note: 51% of total RPO at July 27, 2024 would be recognized as revenue over the next 12 months (Cisco FY24 earnings release). That indicates meaningful near-term revenue visibility, even if the mix of what gets recognized is changing.
What Cisco?s mix shift implies
Cisco?s mix suggests three things:
- Large installed bases still matter, because service and recurring revenue help absorb volatility.
- Security and observability are not optional add-ons; they are part of the buying decision.
- Networking hardware is still important, but it is no longer the only growth engine the market rewards.
Arista, Nokia, and Ericsson compared
If Cisco defines the scale of the market, Arista, Nokia, and Ericsson show where more focused network equipment businesses are finding their edge.
Arista delivered the clearest growth profile in the dataset. It reported $7.003 billion in record revenue for 2024, up 19.5% from 2023 (Arista Q4 2024 earnings release). It also improved gross margin and net income at the same time. GAAP gross margin reached 64.1% in 2024, up from 61.9% in 2023, and GAAP net income rose to $2.852 billion from $2.087 billion (Arista Q4 2024 earnings release). That combination of growth and margin expansion is the kind of result investors often look for in a network infrastructure supplier.
Nokia?s network infrastructure story is more mixed. Network Infrastructure net sales were EUR 6,518 million in 2024, down 6% year over year (Nokia 2024 Form 20-F). But the Q4 2024 rebound was stronger, with net sales of EUR 2,031 million, up 19% year over year (Nokia Q4 2024 financial report). The company also showed better profitability in Q4, with gross margin at 45.4% versus 44.7% in Q4 2023 and operating profit at EUR 398 million versus EUR 264 million (Nokia Q4 2024 financial report).
Ericsson?s 2024 results show a similar combination of annual softness and quarterly improvement. Full-year net sales were SEK 247.880 billion, down 6% from SEK 263.351 billion in 2023 (Ericsson Annual Report 2024). Yet in Q4 2024, reported sales reached SEK 72.9 billion, up 1% year over year, while adjusted Networks gross margin improved to 49.1% from 43.2% (Ericsson Q4 2024 earnings release).
Side-by-side view
| Company | 2024 revenue or sales | Change | Margin or profit signal | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arista | $7.003B revenue | +19.5% | 64.1% GAAP gross margin | Arista Q4 2024 earnings release |
| Nokia | EUR 6,518M Network Infrastructure net sales | -6% | 45.4% Q4 gross margin | Nokia 2024 Form 20-F; Nokia Q4 2024 financial report |
| Ericsson | SEK 247.880B net sales | -6% | 49.1% adjusted Networks gross margin in Q4 | Ericsson Annual Report 2024; Ericsson Q4 2024 earnings release |
The table shows a useful reality: network equipment statistics often look stronger when the lens is narrower. Arista?s momentum is easier to see in revenue and margin expansion. Nokia and Ericsson look better when you focus on quarterly improvements, operational leverage, or segment-specific gains.
Segment trends that matter most
The strongest trends in the dataset sit inside business segments rather than in consolidated totals.
Security, observability, and services are gaining weight
Cisco?s security, observability, and services results are the clearest examples of a network equipment market broadening beyond core hardware.
- Security revenue: $5.075 billion, up 32% (Cisco FY24 earnings release)
- Observability revenue: $837 million, up 27% (Cisco FY24 earnings release)
- Services revenue: $14.550 billion, up 5% (Cisco FY24 earnings release)
- Collaboration revenue: $4.113 billion, up 2% (Cisco FY24 earnings release)
The pattern is that buyers are paying for more than transport capacity. They want visibility, defense, automation, and operational continuity. That shifts the economics of network equipment from one-time box sales toward layered revenue streams.
Infrastructure vendors are still tied to cycle timing
Nokia and Ericsson both show how timing affects the network business. Their annual numbers were down, but their Q4 results improved relative to prior-year quarters.
- Nokia Network Infrastructure Q4 2024 net sales: EUR 2,031 million, up 19% year over year (Nokia Q4 2024 financial report)
- Nokia Network Infrastructure Q4 2024 operating margin: 19.6% versus 15.4% in Q4 2023 (Nokia Q4 2024 financial report)
- Ericsson Q4 2024 sales: SEK 72.9 billion, up 1% year over year (Ericsson Q4 2024 earnings release)
- Ericsson adjusted Networks gross margin: 49.1% versus 43.2% (Ericsson Q4 2024 earnings release)
That matters because network equipment demand is rarely linear. Carrier spending, enterprise refresh cycles, and deployment timing can move results sharply from one quarter to the next.
Product mix and geography still reshape the story
Arista?s revenue growth is impressive, but its geographic mix also changed. Non-Americas revenue dropped from 20.6% of total revenue in 2023 to 18.2% in 2024 (Arista 2024 10-K). That does not erase the company?s growth, but it shows that not all expansion is balanced across regions.
Arista also improved product margins to 60.9% in 2024 from 59.0% in 2023 (Arista 2024 10-K). That suggests the company?s product mix or cost profile became more favorable over the year.
A compact read on the competitive picture
- Cisco has the broadest platform and the largest revenue base, but networking declined sharply in fiscal 2024 (Cisco FY24 earnings release).
- Arista has the strongest growth and margin trajectory in this dataset (Arista Q4 2024 earnings release).
- Nokia shows a business with improving quarter-to-quarter infrastructure performance and strong industry positioning in 5G standalone core (Nokia 2024 Form 20-F; Nokia Q4 2024 financial report).
- Ericsson shows quarterly margin improvement even as the full year remained softer (Ericsson Annual Report 2024; Ericsson Q4 2024 earnings release).
Why these figures matter for network buyers
For buyers, operators, and infrastructure planners, these network equipment statistics do more than rank vendors. They show what kinds of products and service layers the market is rewarding.
If you are evaluating the market, the data suggests four practical takeaways:
- Networking hardware alone is not the full story. Cisco?s security, observability, and services growth show that network purchases are increasingly bundled with software and support (Cisco FY24 earnings release).
- Margin quality matters as much as growth. Arista?s 2024 margin expansion indicates a stronger efficiency profile than a simple revenue comparison would reveal (Arista Q4 2024 earnings release).
- Quarterly momentum can differ from annual trends. Nokia and Ericsson both improved in Q4 even though their full-year totals were weaker (Nokia Q4 2024 financial report; Ericsson Q4 2024 earnings release).
- Industry leadership can mean different things. Nokia?s claim of 123 CSP customers of 5G Standalone Core shows that leadership may show up in deployment depth rather than top-line scale alone (Nokia 2024 Form 20-F).
Taken together, the data points to a network equipment market that is still large, still strategic, and still moving toward more software, more services, and more specialized infrastructure performance. The biggest companies are adapting in different ways, and the most useful statistics are the ones that reveal how each vendor is balancing growth, margin, and mix.