Cognex (CGNX) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $7.09B
• Dividend Yield: 0.72%
• Average Volume (3M): 2.03M
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 59.1
• Beta (1Y): 1.24
• Revenue Growth: 10.14%
• EPS Growth: 57.53%
• Country: US
• Employees: 2,914
• Sector: Technology
• Sector Strength: 97
• Industry: Hardware, Equipment & Parts
• EPS (TTM): 0.25
• Shares Outstanding: 167,899,020
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 2,791,284
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 2,026,358
• PEG Ratio: -9.55
• Price to Book (P/B): 4.05
• Price to Sales (P/S): 6.72
• P/FCF Ratio: 45.87
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 0.73
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 5.55
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 8.19
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 31.05
• 1Y Price Target: $44.62
• Price Target Upside: 1.00% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Moderate Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 13

• Rating: 71 Outperform
• Price Target: $45.00 ▲(1.86% Upside)

Cognex's strong earnings guidance and solid financial health are key strengths, countered by its high valuation. Technical indicators show bullish trends but suggest caution due to overbought signals. The company's strategic initiatives and dividend policy bolster its outlook.

Positive Factors

Financial Performance

Shares strongly outperformed after posting a modest 2Q beat and stronger-than-expected 3Q25 guide ranges for both revenue and EBITDA.

Market Demand

Improving demand across most of CGNX’s served end markets could support a shift toward more normalized upcycle operating leverage into 2026.

Trade Deals

Recently completed trade deals with Malaysia and Vietnam could allow some breathing room toward returning to more historical averages.

Negative Factors

Competition

There are still more fundamental hurdles longer term that need to be considered - things like rising competition, AI making PC-based vision a more viable alternative, overall market penetration at the high end of the market.

Growth Projections

Some in the audience questioned whether the internal through-cycle framework was conservative, indicating potential skepticism about growth projections.

Cognex Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Cognex Corporation provides machine vision products that capture and analyze visual information in order to automate manufacturing and distribution tasks worldwide. Its machine vision products are used to automate the manufacturing and tracking of discrete items, including mobile phones, aspirin bottles, and automobile tires by locating, identifying, inspecting, and measuring them during the manufacturing or distribution process. The company offers VisionPro software, a suite of patented vision tools for advanced programming; QuickBuild that allows customers to build vision applications with a graphical, flowchart-based programming interface; and Cognex deep learning vision software. It also provides a range of inspection tasks, including part location, identification, measurement, assembly verification, and robotic guidance; vision sensors for vision applications, such as checking the presence and size of parts; and the In-Sight product line of vision systems and sensors. In addition, the company offers DataMan, an image-based barcode readers and barcode verifiers. It sells its products to consumer electronics, automotive, consumer products, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices industries, as well as through a network of distributors and integrators. Cognex Corporation was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts.

How the Company Makes Money

Cognex generates revenue primarily through the sale of its machine vision systems and software solutions. The company has a diverse revenue model that encompasses direct sales to customers, as well as sales through a network of distributors and integrators. Key revenue streams include the sale of vision systems and sensors, which account for a significant portion of their earnings, alongside software licenses and support services. Additionally, Cognex benefits from recurring revenue through maintenance contracts and software upgrades. The company also engages in strategic partnerships with equipment manufacturers and system integrators, which enhance its market reach and contribute to its earnings by expanding its customer base and providing integrated solutions.

Cognex Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Cognex demonstrates strong financial health with high profitability margins and minimal leverage. The balance sheet is robust, indicating strong equity standing, although cash flow growth shows some variability.

Income Statement

Cognex has demonstrated strong profitability with a high gross profit margin of 67.7% and a net profit margin of 13.1% in the TTM period. While revenue growth shows a modest upward trend of 1.6% compared to the previous year, the company has managed to maintain solid EBIT and EBITDA margins at 14.2% and 17.4%, respectively. This indicates stable operational efficiency despite slight fluctuations in revenue.

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet is robust with a low debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, signifying minimal leverage and strong equity standing. The return on equity stands at 8.1%, reflecting reasonable profitability relative to shareholder investment. An equity ratio of 75.2% further emphasizes Cognex's strong capital structure and financial stability.

Cash Flow

Cognex exhibits healthy cash flow management with a free cash flow to net income ratio of 1.47 in the TTM period, indicating efficient conversion of earnings into cash. Operating cash flow to net income remains strong at 1.56, though free cash flow growth is slightly tempered at 34.0%, suggesting some variability in capital expenditures.

Breakdown	TTM	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021	Dec 2020
Income Statement
Total Revenue	929.55M	914.51M	837.55M	1.01B	1.04B	811.02M
Gross Profit	629.46M	625.79M	601.24M	721.90M	759.83M	604.60M
EBITDA	166.13M	147.75M	144.58M	288.29M	335.38M	232.53M
Net Income	122.05M	106.17M	113.23M	215.53M	279.88M	176.19M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	2.00B	1.99B	2.02B	1.96B	2.00B	1.80B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	228.20M	246.05M	332.05M	854.25M	907.36M	372.31M
Total Debt	83.19M	70.22M	78.60M	48.21M	25.58M	26.23M
Total Liabilities	497.48M	475.35M	513.06M	519.75M	573.57M	538.50M
Stockholders Equity	1.51B	1.52B	1.50B	1.44B	1.43B	1.26B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	179.63M	134.04M	89.84M	223.74M	298.61M	229.10M
Operating Cash Flow	190.80M	149.08M	112.92M	243.41M	314.06M	242.40M
Investing Cash Flow	3.94M	-38.97M	32.27M	-4.45M	-252.54M	169.44M
Financing Cash Flow	-202.54M	-118.42M	-125.61M	-240.37M	-141.62M	-316.87M

Cognex Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 44.18
• 50DMA: Positive
• 100DMA: Positive
• 200DMA: Positive
• MACD: Negative
• RSI: Negative
• STOCH: Negative

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For CGNX, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 44.18 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 37.80, above the 50-day MA of 34.04, and above the 200-day MA of 34.12, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 2.61 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 77.45 is Negative, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 93.18 is Negative, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for CGNX.

Cognex Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
MKSI	75 Outperform	$6.95B	26.29	11.12%	0.84%	4.47%	2887.37%
VNT	74 Outperform	$6.17B	16.02	35.63%	0.23%	1.16%	0.98%
CGNX	71 Outperform	$7.09B	59.06	8.10%	0.72%	10.14%	57.53%
ITRI	71 Outperform	$5.76B	21.95	18.92%	―	3.90%	44.95%
ESE	69 Neutral	$5.15B	44.95	9.01%	0.16%	10.65%	15.22%
Sector *	63 Neutral	S$715.25M	16.84	1.51%	4.18%	1.18%	-38.35%
NOVT	61 Neutral	$4.36B	73.53	8.16%	―	6.34%	-1.57%

Cognex Corporate Events

Cognex Announces Dividend Amid Strong Q2 Growth

On July 30, 2025, Cognex Corporation announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.08 per share, payable on August 28, 2025. The company reported a 4% revenue growth year-over-year for the second quarter of 2025, with significant contributions from logistics and factory automation sectors. Operating expenses decreased by 3%, and the adjusted EBITDA margin exceeded 20% for the first time since 2023, reflecting strong financial discipline and cash flow generation. Cognex also launched OneVision, a cloud platform for AI-powered machine vision, and entered a commercial partnership to enhance its presence in medical lab automation.

The most recent analyst rating on (CGNX) stock is a Sell with a $35.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Cognex stock, see the CGNX Stock Forecast page.