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Cognex Corporation CGNX

Cognex Corporation scores good on business quality (6.1 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.

Last price$62.92Oct 10, 2026
Business qualityGood
Next earningsOct 29, 2026
Insiders, 90 daysQuiet

Why it matters

  1. What Cognex Corporation does

    Cognex makes machine vision systems, sensors, and software that guide automated factories and logistics centers. Manufacturers and warehouses pay Cognex to inspect defects, read codes, and guide robots.

  2. What it does best

    Cognex dominates high-end machine vision hardware and proprietary algorithms, printing a gross margin of 68.9% that comfortably beats peers like Zebra Technologies at 49.6%. This edge relies on decades of proprietary image-processing software libraries that take competitors years to replicate.

  3. The main risk

    Sluggish top-line expansion exposes the company to prolonged industrial capital spending freezes. With revenue growth stuck at an anemic 3.1st sector percentile, any delay in factory automation upgrades immediately starves the core business of volume.

Quality, check by check

Scored against its own industry, from company filings.

ProfitabilityFair

Operating margins sit at 21.8% and free cash flow conversion remains strong, though low return on equity of 8.0% shows moderate capital efficiency.

MoatFair

Cognex commands a switching-cost moat by embedding its vision software deep inside factory automation lines, reflected in a sector-matching gross margin.

GrowthSlow

Revenue grew 8.6% to reach $1.09 billion, showing mild recovery but lingering well below historical peak revenue years.

Financial healthStrong

Cognex carries zero debt and $337 million in cash, backed by $269 million in free cash flow: the balance sheet is exceptionally fortified.

Insiders

Executives and directors, from SEC Form 4 filings we read ourselves. Open market trades only; grants, option exercises and pre-planned sales left out.

No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.

Our sealed record on CGNX

Verdicts appear here 30 days after we publish them; members see today's. Each one is in the nightly ledger, fingerprinted the night it was made.

The first sealed verdicts appear here on Oct 11, 2026.

Questions

Is CGNX a good business?

Cognex Corporation scores good on the Cluenex quality check (6.1 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is fair, moat fair, growth slow and financial health strong.

Are insiders buying CGNX?

In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.

When does CGNX report earnings?

Oct 29, 2026.

For members

See CGNX today

  • Today's verdict on CGNX, and why
  • Fair value with cautious, base and optimistic cases
  • The exact price that would change the verdict
  • Which stocks each signal names, the night it fires
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Cite this page: Cluenex, “Cognex Corporation (CGNX)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/cgnx/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.