Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.03 EPS

Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The communications equipment provider reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.03, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $369.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $365.25 million. Viavi Solutions had a negative net margin of 3.38% and a positive return on equity of 13.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 36.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. Viavi Solutions updated its Q3 2026 guidance to 0.220-4.000 EPS.

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

• Viavi beat expectations in FQ2 with $369.3 million revenue (high end of guidance), operating margin of 19.3% above guidance, and EPS of $0.22, all showing strong sequential and year-over-year improvement.
• Data center and aerospace & defense drove NSE strength—NSE revenue of $291.5 million was at the high end of guidance and NSE grew ~46% YoY, with management saying data center momentum should continue through calendar 2026.
• Management approved a restructuring impacting ~5% of the workforce with estimated one-time charges of $32 million and expected annual run-rate savings of ~$30 million, a portion of which will be reinvested in higher-growth areas.
• Balance sheet actions include cash and short-term investments of $772.1 million, a $100 million convertible-note exchange, a $100 million Term Loan B prepayment and an expected $75 million earnout payment in Q3, while diluted share count has risen (233.4M current, ~245M expected), mixing positive liquidity with dilution and near-term cash outflows.
• Q3 guidance is for sequentially higher revenue of $386–$400 million, operating margin ~19.7%, EPS of $0.22–$0.24, incorporates a full 13 weeks of Spirent product lines, and management now expects a go?forward tax rate in the mid?teens.

Viavi Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VIAV traded down $0.30 on Friday, hitting $24.40. The stock had a trading volume of 1,186,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,665,249. The company has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -134.81 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $18.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.59. Viavi Solutions has a twelve month low of $8.10 and a twelve month high of $24.99.

Trending Headlines about Viavi Solutions

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results beat expectations — EPS $0.22 vs. consensus $0.19 and revenue $369.3M (+36.4% YoY); management emphasized strength in data center, 5G and defense end markets. VIAVI Announces Second Quarter Fiscal 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Company issued materially higher Q3 revenue guidance ($386M–$400M) and raised EPS guidance well above consensus — guidance is the primary catalyst for the rally. Viavi anticipates $386M–$400M Q3 revenue
• Positive Sentiment: Restructuring and workforce reduction (?5% cut) announced; market viewed this as margin?accretive cost control that helped push shares to multi?year highs. Viavi Shares Climb on Layoffs, Restructuring
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are upgrading targets and ratings (Needham to $28, Susquehanna to $25, Stifel to $24), signaling increased sell?side conviction after results and guidance. Analyst PT Raises
• Positive Sentiment: Product/market expansion: Inertial Labs (a VIAVI company) launched IRINS, a LEO?aided inertial navigation system for GNSS?denied environments — expands defense/aerospace TAM. Inertial Labs Launches IRINS
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings call transcript and slide deck are available for detail on product mix, segment trends and capital allocation — useful for modeling forward margins. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Press and analyst commentary highlight that the quarter’s upside was led by NSE/OSP and data?center demand — this could be cyclical or the start of a structural shift. Fool: Why VIAV Soared
• Negative Sentiment: Despite top?line strength, Viavi reported a negative net margin (~?3.4%) and a negative trailing P/E, meaning profitability remains a risk and valuation could be volatile until margins sustainably improve. MarketBeat Earnings Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Short?term price action may be choppy: the stock recently retraced after the initial rally and volume has been below recent averages, so expect swings as the market digests execution on guidance and cost cuts.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on VIAV. B. Riley increased their target price on shares of Viavi Solutions from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Viavi Solutions in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Viavi Solutions from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Viavi Solutions from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Viavi Solutions from $12.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viavi Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.22.

Insider Transactions at Viavi Solutions

In other Viavi Solutions news, Director Donald A. Colvin sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.09, for a total transaction of $683,600.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 148,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,538,275.16. This represents a 21.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ilan Daskal sold 170,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.49, for a total value of $2,973,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 10,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $177,208.68. This trade represents a 94.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 606,226 shares of company stock valued at $10,714,820. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viavi Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VIAV. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Viavi Solutions by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 183,320 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,051,000 after buying an additional 18,910 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Viavi Solutions by 110.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 33,663 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 17,673 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Viavi Solutions by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 131,061 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,467,000 after purchasing an additional 5,775 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viavi Solutions by 205.4% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 476,767 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,335,000 after purchasing an additional 320,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in Viavi Solutions in the 1st quarter worth approximately $165,000. 95.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viavi Solutions Company Profile

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.