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Cognex
(NASDAQ:CGNX)
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Rating:71Outperform
Price Target:
$73.00
▲(22.03% Upside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:09/22/26
CGNX scores well on fundamentals, driven by a very strong balance sheet, solid cash generation, and improving operating performance, reinforced by upbeat guidance and margin expansion commentary from the latest earnings call. Offsetting these strengths are a premium valuation (high P/E with a modest yield) and only neutral-to-soft intermediate technical momentum, which together limit upside unless execution continues to beat expectations.
Positive Factors
Sustained Revenue Growth and Customer Expansion
Repeated year-over-year growth across eight quarters, together with thousands of new customers, indicates expanding adoption of Cognex automation solutions. Broader customer reach can diversify demand, deepen market penetration, and support continued revenue growth beyond a single strong reporting period.
Negative Factors
Automotive and European Weakness
Weak European and automotive demand remains a fundamental exposure because Cognex serves manufacturers whose automation spending can vary with production conditions. Continued softness could restrain growth in an important end market and offset strength elsewhere over the next several quarters.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Sustained Revenue Growth and Customer Expansion
Repeated year-over-year growth across eight quarters, together with thousands of new customers, indicates expanding adoption of Cognex automation solutions. Broader customer reach can diversify demand, deepen market penetration, and support continued revenue growth beyond a single strong reporting period.
Read all positive factors
Cognex Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Any
Revenue by Geography
Shows how sales are split across regions such as North America, Europe, and Asia (including China), highlighting where Cognex earns most of its revenue. Useful for spotting dependence on specific markets, exposure to regional manufacturing slowdowns or trade risks, and opportunities in faster-growing geographies.
Shows how sales are split across regions such as North America, Europe, and Asia (including China), highlighting where Cognex earns most of its revenue. Useful for spotting dependence on specific markets, exposure to regional manufacturing slowdowns or trade risks, and opportunities in faster-growing geographies.
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The Fly
The FlyCognex (CGNX) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$10.40B
Dividend Yield0.55%
Average Volume (3M)1.60M
Price to Earnings (P/E)58.9
Beta (1Y)1.10
Revenue Growth17.15%
EPS Growth45.49%
CountryUS
Employees2,745
SectorTechnology
Sector Strength88
IndustryHardware, Equipment & Parts
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)1.05
Shares Outstanding168,223,850
10 Day Avg. Volume1,873,897
30 Day Avg. Volume1,597,140
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio5.47
Price to Book (P/B)4.05
Price to Sales (P/S)6.08
P/FCF Ratio25.54
Enterprise Value/Market Cap1.08
Enterprise Value/Revenue10.28
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit14.93
Enterprise Value/Ebitda40.06
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$78.07Price Target Upside30.51% Upside
Rating ConsensusModerate Buy
Number of Analyst Covering14
EPS Forecast (FY)1.68
Revenue Forecast (FY)$1.15B
Cognex Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Cognex Corporation specializes in machine vision technology, offering solutions that interpret and process visual data to streamline and automate production and logistics operations globally. Their advanced vision systems enable the automated manu...
How the Company Makes Money
Cognex makes money primarily by selling machine vision and identification hardware and associated software that customers integrate into production lines and logistics workflows. Key revenue streams include: (1) Machine vision products (e.g., visi...
Cognex Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Aug 05, 2026
(Q2-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Oct 29, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call conveyed a strongly positive operational and financial performance: record revenue, large margin expansion, substantial EPS and free-cash-flow gains, product innovation, customer additions, and raised guidance for key end markets. Headwinds were noted (Europe and automotive softness, memory-price-driven gross margin pressure, portfolio-driven revenue reductions, and some timing/comp comparability items), but management provided mitigation plans (pricing, cost reductions, channel and product actions) and retained confidence in the demand environment. Overall, positives materially outweigh the contained and manageable lowlights.Positive Updates
Record Quarterly Revenue and Strong Top-Line Growth
Revenue reached a record quarterly level, increasing 17% year-over-year (16% in constant currency). Q2 marked the eighth consecutive quarter of year-over-year revenue growth, and management raised full-year 2026 revenue guidance to $1.13–1.15 billion (~15% growth midpoint; ~16% excluding a prior one-time benefit).
Negative Updates
Europe Revenue Decline
Europe revenue declined 15% YoY in Q2. Excluding a procurement ordering-entity change, Europe declined low single-digits, with automotive weakness contributing to the regional weakness.
Read all updates
Q2-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Record Quarterly Revenue and Strong Top-Line Growth
Revenue reached a record quarterly level, increasing 17% year-over-year (16% in constant currency). Q2 marked the eighth consecutive quarter of year-over-year revenue growth, and management raised full-year 2026 revenue guidance to $1.13–1.15 billion (~15% growth midpoint; ~16% excluding a prior one-time benefit).
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Cognex issued Q3 and full‑year 2026 guidance with many specifics: Q3 revenue $300–320M (midpoint ≈12% YoY; excl. a $13M one‑time commercial partnership benefit from Q3 2025 implies ~17% growth), adjusted EBITDA margin 32–35% (midpoint up ~860 bps YoY; excl. the partnership benefit midpoint implies ~1,140 bps expansion), and adjusted EPS $0.50–0.54 (midpoint ≈58% YoY; ≈86% excl. the partnership benefit). Full‑year 2026 revenue is guided to $1.13–1.15B (midpoint ≈15% YoY; ≈16% excl. the partnership benefit), adjusted EBITDA margin 29–31% (midpoint up ~850 bps YoY; ~930 bps excl. the partnership benefit), adjusted EPS $1.64–1.68 (midpoint ≈63% YoY; ≈71% excl. the partnership benefit) and includes about $0.11/share of investment income; the midpoint also implies ~87% flow‑through on incremental revenue versus 70% in 2025. Management noted headwinds baked into guidance including ~75 bps of gross‑margin pressure in Q3 from rising memory prices (potentially persisting into Q4), baseline effects of ≈$5M per quarter from portfolio exits, a ~$7M electronics order timing shift into Q2, a ~$30M commercial‑partnership headwind, and expected ~ $35M of annualized net cost reductions by end‑2026.Cognex Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
72
Positive
Balance Sheet
90
Very Positive
Cash Flow
78
Positive
| Breakdown | TTM | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 1.09B | 994.36M | 914.51M | 837.55M | 1.01B | 1.04B |
| Gross Profit | 749.91M | 665.39M | 625.79M | 601.24M | 721.90M | 759.83M |
| EBITDA | 279.41M | 213.59M | 164.18M | 144.58M | 288.29M | 339.18M |
| Net Income | 174.79M | 114.44M | 106.17M | 113.23M | 215.53M | 279.88M |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 2.18B | 2.02B | 1.99B | 2.02B | 1.96B | 2.00B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 404.37M | 336.96M | 246.05M | 332.05M | 400.13M | 323.62M |
| Total Debt | 72.48M | 76.59M | 70.22M | 78.60M | 39.75M | 25.58M |
| Total Liabilities | 549.10M | 524.65M | 475.35M | 513.06M | 519.75M | 573.57M |
| Stockholders Equity | 1.63B | 1.49B | 1.52B | 1.50B | 1.44B | 1.43B |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 268.30M | 236.77M | 134.04M | 89.84M | 223.74M | 298.61M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 276.63M | 245.51M | 149.08M | 112.92M | 243.41M | 314.06M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -70.80M | 28.02M | -38.97M | 32.27M | -4.45M | -252.54M |
| Financing Cash Flow | -77.20M | -206.69M | -118.42M | -125.61M | -240.37M | -141.62M |
Cognex Technical Analysis
Neutral
59.82
Price Trends
62.15
Negative
63.36
Negative
56.45
Positive
Market Momentum
0.33
Negative
50.38
Neutral
39.92
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For CGNX, the sentiment is Neutral. The current price of 59.82 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 61.05, below the 50-day MA of 62.15, and above the 200-day MA of 56.45, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of 0.33 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 50.38 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 39.92 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Neutral sentiment for CGNX.
Cognex Risk Analysis
Cognex disclosed 26 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Cognex reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Cognex Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (61)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
77 Outperform | $28.45B | 29.55 | 9.13% | ― | 7.70% | 13.95% | |
71 Outperform | $10.40B | 58.88 | 11.48% | 0.55% | 17.15% | 45.49% | |
69 Neutral | $5.48B | 91.21 | 4.90% | ― | 7.61% | -7.28% | |
68 Neutral | $3.11B | 21.14 | 17.59% | ― | 4.25% | 4.70% | |
66 Neutral | $13.87B | -126.57 | -1.87% | ― | 5.80% | -140.22% | |
61 Neutral | $37.18B | 12.37 | -10.20% | 1.83% | 8.50% | -7.62% | |
60 Neutral | $17.33B | 33.35 | 8.52% | 0.54% | -29.80% | -23.46% |
* Technology Sector Average
CGNX
Cognex
61.82
16.88
37.57%
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145.03
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37.66%
OSIS
OSI Systems
195.32
-54.93
-21.95%
TDY
Teledyne Technologies
613.66
41.73
7.30%
TRMB
Trimble
59.49
-18.55
-23.77%
FTV
Fortive
57.37
8.56
17.53%
Cognex Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyM&A Transactions
Cognex to Acquire RealSense, Expanding Robotic Perception Capabilities
Positive
Sep 22, 2026
On September 22, 2026, Cognex announced a definitive agreement to acquire RealSense, Inc., a market leader in depth-sensing cameras and robotic perception technology, in an all-cash transaction valued at about $500 million funded from Cognex’...
Business Operations and StrategyDividendsFinancial Disclosures
Cognex Delivers Record Q2 Results and Raises Dividend
Positive
Aug 5, 2026
On August 5, 2026, Cognex reported record second-quarter revenue of $291 million for the period ended July 5, 2026, up 17% year over year, with broad-based demand strength and an operating margin of 29.4%. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 32.2%,...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.