Cognex Corp
Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control
Cognex Corp provides machine vision products that help automate manufacturing processes. The firm's products include vision software, vision systems, vision sensors, and ID products.
It is a $10.6B technology company. Revenue grew 17.1% over the last year, and it keeps 16¢ of every dollar of sales as profit. It trades at 60.6× earnings — around the middle of its own history.
- Website
- cognex.com
- Location
- Natick, MA
- Employees
- 2 745
- Sector
- Technology
- Founded
- 1981
Skills
Six independent scores, 0–100, built from reported numbers and valuation history. Click a row to see how it was scored.
Strong quality and moat; Valuation and Growth lag behind.
Valuation22
- P/E vs own history66th pct · 5/25
- FCF yield2.5% · 5/25
- P/S9.7x · 12/25
- EV/EBITDA53.5x · 0/25
Growth25
- Revenue CAGR-1.0% · 0/25
- Net income CAGR-20.0% · 0/25
- EPS CAGR ~5Y-7.5% · 0/25
- Fwd implied growth95.9% · 25/25
Profitability64
- ROIC9.9% · 12/25
- ROE8.0% · 12/25
- Net margin16.1% · 20/25
- Operating margin21.8% · 20/25
Health50
- Altman Zn/a · 0/25
- Current ratio3.93 · 25/25
- Interest coverage101.0x · 25/25
- Net cash / debtn/a · 0/25
Quality84
- Piotroski F7/9 · 22/25
- Beneish M-2.66 · 25/25
- FCF conversion153% · 25/25
- Margin stabilityσ 8.0% · 12/25
Moat88
- ROIC >12% years6/10 yrs · 13/25
- Median gross margin73.6% · 25/25
- FCF-positive years10/10 yrs · 25/25
- Worst-year net marginworst 11.5% · 25/25
Experience
The company's career so far — founding, the IPO, landmark products and acquisitions, plus revenue milestones and insider buying.
- FY2021FinancialRevenue crossed $1B$1.04B for the year
- FY2021FinancialBest year on record$280M net income
- 2020ProductCognex introduced the In-Sight D900 embedded vision system
- 2019AcquisitionCognex acquired Sualab, a Korean-based developer of vision software using deep learning for…
- 2017AcquisitionCognex acquired ViDi Systems, a Swiss-based provider of deep learning software for industrial machine…
- FY2016FinancialProfitable every year on record10 consecutive profitable years in our data
- FY2016FinancialPositive free cash flow every year since10-year streak
- 1995AcquisitionCognex purchased Acumen, a U.S. based developer of wafer identification systems
- 1982ProductCognex stands for "Cognition Experts." The company's first vision system, DataMan, was introduced in 1982
- 1981FoundedCognex Corporation was founded in 1981 by Robert J
Achievements
Verifiable track record, straight from the reported numbers.
Strengths & watch-outs
What a bull and a bear would each point to. Both lists come from the reported numbers, not opinions.
Strengths
- High gross margin (68.9%)
- Revenue growing 17.1% year over year
- Strong cash conversion — FCF is 24.6% of revenue
- Interest covered 101.0× by operating earnings
- Piotroski F-Score 7/9 — fundamentally strong checklist
Watch-outs
Nothing stands out as a concern in the available data.
Qualifications
The basics a company should meet before you research it further. Each check uses the reported numbers.
- Revenue growing — the company sells more than a year ago+17.1% YoY
- Profitable — makes more than it spends$175M TTM
- Profit growing — earnings are higher than last year-18.1% YoY
- Generates cash — cash left after running and investing$268M TTM
- Debt under control — could handle its obligationscurrent ratio 3.93
- Established company — not a micro-cap — lower blow-up risk$10.6B market cap
- Not printing shares — share count not ballooning — you keep your slice-4.1% shares over ~5y
- Proven track record — years of profitability behind it10/10 profitable years
- Financially stable — balance sheet not near distresshealth score 50/100
- Pays a dividend — returns cash to shareholdersyield 0.53%
- Valuation not extreme — price not wildly above earningsP/E 60.6
Peer comparisonCognex Corp vs 6 largest technology peers — cap, P/E, growth and margin side by sideOpen ▾Close ▴
| Company | Market cap | P/E | Revenue growth | Net margin | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CGNX this company | $10.6B | 60.6 | +17.1% | 16.1% | Mixed |
| NVDA Nvidia Corp | $5.5T | 28.6 | +83.4% | 63.7% | Mixed |
| AAPL Apple Inc. | $4.9T | 38.1 | +14.2% | 27.6% | Strong |
| GOOGL Alphabet Inc. | $4.3T | 17.6 | +20.1% | 54.8% | Mixed |
| MSFT Microsoft Corp | $4.0T | 29.7 | +17.8% | 40.3% | Strong |
| SPCX Space Exploration Technologies Corp. | $2.1T | — | +33.2% | -34.0% | Strained |
| META Meta Platforms, Inc. | $1.8T | 26.9 | +27.7% | 29.8% | Mixed |
Head-to-head: CGNX vs NVDA · CGNX vs AAPL · CGNX vs GOOGL
References
What covering analysts publish about the company — information only, not a recommendation.
Appendix · Financial records
The full statements behind this CV, FY2016–FY2025. For readers who want to check the numbers.
Live data and quarterly detail: stockcv.com/CGNX
Want the live picture — intraday moves, valuation history and full analysis?
Deeper analysis of CGNX on PreMarketPriceFigures are derived from company filings (quarterly values normalised from as-filed year-to-date data where applicable) and may be delayed, restated or incomplete. This page is information, not investment advice. Latest price $62.92 · market cap $10.6B.