Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The communications equipment provider reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.03, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $406.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $393.80 million. Viavi Solutions had a positive return on equity of 17.16% and a negative net margin of 4.03%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 42.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.15 earnings per share. Viavi Solutions updated its Q4 2026 guidance to 0.290-0.310 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Viavi Solutions’ conference call:

• Q3 beat expectations — revenue of $406.8M, operating margin of 21%, and EPS of $0.27 all came in above the high end of guidance with strong sequential (+10.2%) and YoY (+42.8%) growth.
• NSE momentum — NSE revenue was $321.5M (+54.4% YoY) driven by the Spirent product-line acquisition and strong lab, production and field demand from the AI/data-center and aerospace & defense markets, with management expecting data-center strength to continue.
• Q4 outlook — company guides revenue of $427M–$437M, operating margin ~22.7% and EPS $0.29–$0.31, expecting sequential growth across both NSE and OSP.
• Liquidity and dilution — cash and short-term investments fell to $508M (from $772.1M), operating cash used $26.3M, the company paid earn-outs and prepaid $150M of Term Loan B, issued ~1.8M shares on convertible conversion and did not repurchase stock, raising the fully diluted share count to ~249.5M (guidance ~256M).
• OSP results were mixed — revenue rose 11.4% to $85.3M and operating margin improved to 35.3%, but gross margin declined 130 bps due to unfavorable product mix, which could pressure margins if the mix persists.

Viavi Solutions Price Performance

Viavi Solutions stock traded up $2.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $55.31. 2,737,712 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,794,477. The stock has a market cap of $12.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -230.38 and a beta of 0.85. Viavi Solutions has a 12 month low of $8.10 and a 12 month high of $60.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $36.28 and its 200-day moving average is $24.81. The company has a quick ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on VIAV shares. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Viavi Solutions from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. UBS Group upped their price target on Viavi Solutions from $25.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viavi Solutions in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Viavi Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Viavi Solutions from $27.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Viavi Solutions currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.25.

More Viavi Solutions News

Here are the key news stories impacting Viavi Solutions this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Beats and revenue growth — VIAV reported Q3 results that beat consensus on EPS and revenue, with revenue up ~43% YoY and improved margins; management also issued Q4 EPS and revenue guidance above Street expectations. PR Newswire: VIAVI Announces Third Quarter Fiscal 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Raised guidance — Company set Q4 FY26 EPS guidance of $0.290–$0.310 and revenue guidance meaningfully above consensus, signaling continued demand momentum. MarketBeat: VIAV earnings/guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst reassessments — Several firms lifted price targets (Susquehanna to $65 with a positive rating; UBS raised its target to $60), helping momentum and validating the earnings/growth story. TickerReport / analyst moves
• Positive Sentiment: Shares and market reaction — Coverage noted a strong intraday rally and a move to 52‑week highs as investors bought into top-line strength and guidance. MarketWatch: Shares hit 52-week high
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector/market context — Commentaries link VIAV’s performance to a broader data‑center and AI-related demand cycle that’s lifting multiple vendors, which could be cyclical or sustainable depending on capex trends. MSN: Data-center demand context
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings materials/transcript — Full call transcript and slide deck are available for investors who want management detail on order trends, product mix and margin drivers. Seeking Alpha: Earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: GAAP/net-income nuance and data-provider flags — Some aggregators flagged much weaker GAAP net income/ diluted EPS metrics in the release or supplemental tables versus adjusted metrics; investors should check GAAP vs. adjusted reconciliation. QuiverQuant: GAAP vs adjusted and metrics
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy insider selling noted — Data aggregators show substantial insider sales in recent months, which some investors view as a red flag even if the company fundamentals are improving. QuiverQuant: Insider transactions

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Oleg Khaykin sold 42,767 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total value of $1,176,092.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,592,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,803,485. This trade represents a 2.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Paul Mcnab sold 3,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.89, for a total value of $116,792.39. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $598,532.22. The trade was a 16.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 485,772 shares of company stock worth $12,736,803. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viavi Solutions

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VIAV. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Viavi Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $218,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Viavi Solutions by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,400 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Viavi Solutions by 116.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,809,513 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $67,886,000 after purchasing an additional 2,045,702 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Viavi Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at $410,000. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its position in Viavi Solutions by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 86,904 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,549,000 after purchasing an additional 3,340 shares in the last quarter. 95.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Viavi Solutions

Viavi Solutions Inc is a provider of network test, monitoring and assurance solutions for communications service providers, cable operators, enterprises and government agencies. The company offers an extensive portfolio of fiber optic and copper cable test and measurement instruments, wireless network testing equipment and network performance monitoring software. Its products are designed to support the deployment, maintenance and optimization of high-speed broadband, 5G wireless, data center and enterprise networks.

Viavi’s product offerings are organized into two primary segments: Network & Service Enablement and Optical Security & Performance.