Risk Intelligence
Core Model
C
63 / 100
Insufficient Data
How strong and defensively sound is the company?
Around the middle of the covered universe.
Suggestions
CGNX · NASDAQ
COGNEX CORP
Private betaSector unavailable · Industry unavailable
$64.22
+4.10%
Close on Sep 11, 2026
Insufficient Data
Updated 12/22/2023
Long-term research evidence only. No price targets, no trading signals, no recommendations.
Investment Report Card
COGNEX CORP
Sector unavailable · Data confidence partial
50 / 100
Rank #347 of 1,152 qualified companies
Top 50% · Not Currently Suggested
Long-Term Potential
Research Model
C−
55 / 100
Insufficient Data
Does the business have the characteristics needed to create value over many years?
Around the middle of the covered universe.
Fundamental Momentum
Research Model
C
61 / 100
Insufficient Data
Is the underlying business getting stronger or weaker?
Around the middle of the covered universe.
Ownership Intelligence
Supplemental Intelligence
B−
70 / 100
Positive disclosed activity
What are important owners actually doing?
Above average on this measure.
Valuation Intelligence
Research Model
D
47 / 100
Reasonable
Is today's price reasonable?
Weaker than most covered companies on this measure — and valuation is researched separately from the Suggested Investment Score.
Capital Returns Intelligence
Research Model
C
63 / 100
Favorable Capital Returns
How effectively does the company reward shareholders?
Around the middle of the covered universe — and capital returns are researched separately from the Suggested Investment Score.
Why it stands out
- More disclosed holders are new or increasing than reducing or exiting.
What holds it back
No weakening evidence is recorded in today's readings.
Long-term view
COGNEX CORP scores 55 on Long-Term Potential (C−), described by the research model as insufficient data. This describes business characteristics only — it is not a forecast of future returns.
Ownership view
Disclosed ownership evidence reads 70 (B−): Positive disclosed activity. 3 tracked managers disclosed a position in the latest reporting period. Ownership filings are historical disclosures, not signals.
Valuation view
COGNEX CORP reads 47 out of 100 on Valuation Intelligence, recorded as Reasonable. The stock currently trades above most of its own recent valuation history and above comparable companies. This describes the price being paid relative to the company's financials — it is not a forecast and not a fair value. Valuation Intelligence is a research model and contributes nothing to the Suggested Investment Score or the daily ranking.
Capital returns view
COGNEX CORP reads 63 out of 100 on Capital Returns Intelligence (Favorable Capital Returns), reflecting a dividend that has grown about 12.0% a year and a share count falling about 1.1% a year. Capital Returns Intelligence is a research model and contributes nothing to the Suggested Investment Score or the daily ranking.
What changed
No meaningful recorded changes in the stored history.
Risk Intelligence is a core model, Long-Term Potential, Fundamental Momentum, Valuation Intelligence and Capital Returns Intelligence are research models, and Ownership Intelligence is supplemental descriptive evidence. Valuation Intelligence and Capital Returns Intelligence each contribute 0% to the Suggested Investment Score. Nothing here is a recommendation.
Compare CGNX with other companiesResearch Collections
This company does not currently satisfy any collection rule. That is a stored research result, not a judgement about the business.
Browse collectionsAbout a minute to read
The 60-Second Investment Brief
Written from stored research readings only. No hype. No trading signals. Just better evidence.
Why it's interesting
COGNEX CORP (CGNX) scores 50 out of 100 and ranks #347 of 1,152 qualified companies today. That places it in the top 50% of ranked companies. The stored tier for that score is not currently suggested.
Business strength
Risk Intelligence reads 63 out of 100 (C), recorded as insufficient data. Around the middle of the covered universe.
Long-term opportunity
Long-Term Potential reads 55 out of 100 (C−), recorded as insufficient data. Around the middle of the covered universe.
What's improving or weakening
Fundamental Momentum reads 61 out of 100 (C), recorded as insufficient data. Around the middle of the covered universe.
What important owners are doing
Ownership Intelligence reads 70 out of 100 (B−), recorded as positive disclosed activity. Above average on this measure.
What kind of price you'd be paying
Valuation currently appears reasonable: Valuation Intelligence reads 47 out of 100 (D), recorded as Reasonable. COGNEX CORP reads 47 out of 100 on Valuation Intelligence, recorded as Reasonable. The stock currently trades above most of its own recent valuation history and above comparable companies. This describes the price being paid relative to the company's financials — it is not a forecast and not a fair value. Valuation Intelligence is a research model and contributes nothing to the Suggested Investment Score or the daily ranking.
How the company rewards shareholders
Capital Returns Intelligence reads 63 out of 100 (C), recorded as Favorable Capital Returns. COGNEX CORP reads 63 out of 100 on Capital Returns Intelligence (Favorable Capital Returns), reflecting a dividend that has grown about 12.0% a year and a share count falling about 1.1% a year. Capital Returns Intelligence is a research model and contributes nothing to the Suggested Investment Score or the daily ranking.
What could go wrong
No weakening factors are recorded in today's stored readings, and data confidence is partial. Absence of a recorded weakness is not evidence of safety.
Bottom line
No individual layer reaches the strongest band today. Long-Term Potential remains the main area to watch. Separately from the score, valuation reads reasonable at today's price.
Composite discovery model
Suggested Investment Score
Suggested Investment Score
50 / 100
Not Currently Suggested
A 0–100 composite discovery score combining Risk Intelligence, Long-Term Potential, Fundamental Momentum, and Ownership Intelligence. It helps rank qualified companies for further research and does not predict future returns.
- Rank
- #347 of 694
- Percentile
- Top 50%
- Ranking updated
- September 12, 2026
—Rank unchanged. Rank unchanged.
- Risk Intelligence
- 63
- Long-Term Potential
- 55
- Fundamental Momentum
- 61
- Ownership Intelligence
- 70
30% contribution
30% contribution
20% contribution
20% contribution
Ownership Intelligence
70 / 100 · Positive · 20% of the Suggested Investment Score
SUPPLEMENTAL / DESCRIPTIVE INTELLIGENCE
Coverage: Good
- Elite Investor Activity
- 67 · Positive
- Institutional Activity
- 79 · Positive
- Insider Activity
- Insufficient Data
- Strategic Ownership
- Insufficient Data
50% of Ownership Intelligence · 10% of the total score
Tracked professional-manager activity is positive.
20% of Ownership Intelligence · 4% of the total score
Broad institutional evidence from resolved filings is positive.
15% of Ownership Intelligence · 3% of the total score
No discretionary insider transactions are stored for this company, so this evidence is unavailable rather than neutral.
15% of Ownership Intelligence · 3% of the total score
No qualifying major-holder filings are stored, so this evidence is unavailable rather than neutral.
Ownership Intelligence summarizes publicly disclosed activity among professional investment managers, broader institutions, company insiders, and significant strategic owners. It adds context to investment research but is not a validated predictor of future performance. Ownership information is publicly reported with a delay; the latest applicable reporting period is 2026-06-30, publicly disclosed 9/11/2026. Congressional activity is unavailable pending legal review and contributes nothing to this reading.
Why it ranks here
No component ranks in the top quartile of the qualified universe.
What holds it back
Risk Intelligence is less favourable
Defensive characteristics rank below the middle of the qualified universe.
Ownership evidence is not uniformly supportive
The combined disclosed ownership evidence ranks below the qualified median.
Price Risk is less favourable
Price Risk sits in the higher category relative to other qualified companies.
COMPOSITE DISCOVERY MODEL — RESEARCH STAGE · Data coverage Excellent. Rankings are recalculated daily using the latest available information. Individual components may update at different frequencies based on when new financial and ownership data becomes available.
Researched separately
Valuation Intelligence 47 · Reasonable
RESEARCH MODEL
Valuation Intelligence is currently researched separately and does not affect the Suggested Investment Score or daily ranking.
Researched separately
Capital Returns Intelligence 63 · Favorable Capital Returns
RESEARCH MODEL
Capital Returns Intelligence is researched separately and contributes 0% to the Suggested Investment Score, the daily rank or any ranking event.
Score explanation
Why this company scores the way it does
Four research areas carry fixed weights. Each area is compared against every other eligible company, then weighted. The four contributions below add to 49.9 of the stored score (49.9).
Risk Intelligence
30% of the score · contributes 13.0 points
How strong and defensively sound is the company?
Stands at the 43 percentile of eligible companies · stored reading 63 · 26% of this company’s total score
How financially sturdy the company has been when conditions turned against it.
How this area is measured
Risk Intelligence reads stored balance-sheet strength, historical downside behaviour and the company's price-risk grouping. A stronger reading describes past resilience; it does not protect against future losses.
Full methodologyLong-Term Potential
30% of the score · contributes 16.0 points
Does the business have the characteristics needed to create value over many years?
Stands at the 53 percentile of eligible companies · stored reading 55 · 32% of this company’s total score
Whether the business has the durable characteristics long-term owners look for.
How this area is measured
Long-Term Potential reads durability characteristics such as profitability consistency, cash generation and reinvestment capability over multiple reported periods.
Full methodologyFundamental Momentum
20% of the score · contributes 13.7 points
Is the underlying business getting stronger or weaker?
Stands at the 69 percentile of eligible companies · stored reading 61 · 28% of this company’s total score
Whether the reported business results have been getting stronger or weaker.
How this area is measured
Fundamental Momentum compares recent reported fundamentals with the company's own earlier periods, so improvement or deterioration is measured against its history rather than against a forecast.
Full methodologyOwnership Intelligence
20% of the score · contributes 7.2 points
What are important owners actually doing?
Stands at the 36 percentile of eligible companies · stored reading 70 · 14% of this company’s total score
What large reporting owners have actually been doing with their positions.
How this area is measured
Ownership Intelligence reads public ownership filings: how many tracked reporting owners hold the company, and whether they were adding, holding, reducing or exiting in the latest disclosed period.
Full methodology
What is helping the score
- Fundamental Momentum — 69 percentile, adding 13.7 points.
What deserves attention
- Ownership Intelligence — 36 percentile, adding only 7.2 of a possible 20 points.
- Risk Intelligence — 43 percentile, adding only 13.0 of a possible 30 points.
Outside the score
Additional research — not currently included in the primary Suggested Investment Score.
- Valuation Intelligence — COGNEX CORP reads 47 out of 100 on Valuation Intelligence, recorded as Reasonable. The stock currently trades above most of its own recent valuation history and above comparable companies. This describes the price being paid relative to the company's financials — it is not a forecast and not a fair value.
- Capital Returns Intelligence — COGNEX CORP reads 63 out of 100 on Capital Returns Intelligence (Favorable Capital Returns), reflecting a dividend that has grown about 12.0% a year and a share count falling about 1.1% a year.
Stored snapshots only
What changed
Research-score history available since September 2026.
Stored research history does not yet cover a full 30 days comparison for this company.
A change is reported as meaningful at 8 score points, 5 rank places, or any change of research classification. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell.
Learn the metrics on this page
Plain-English definitions, with the formula and the limitations of each measure.
Fifth research lens · outside the score
Valuation Intelligence
Valuation Intelligence
Is today's price reasonable?
Valuation Intelligence is currently researched separately and does not affect the Suggested Investment Score or daily ranking.
47/ 100
Reasonable
RESEARCH MODEL
Excellent coverage
Compared with its history
49
Reasonable
Is this company expensive or inexpensive compared with its own history?
Compared with peers
21
Expensive
How expensive is this stock compared with similar companies?
Earnings & cash flow
37
Elevated
How much financial output does an investor receive relative to the price paid?
Growth-adjusted
90
Very Attractive
Does the company's growth help justify the valuation investors are paying?
COGNEX CORP reads 47 out of 100 on Valuation Intelligence, recorded as Reasonable. The stock currently trades above most of its own recent valuation history and above comparable companies. This describes the price being paid relative to the company's financials — it is not a forecast and not a fair value.
Price data through September 11, 2026 · Financial data through the quarter ended July 5, 2026
Valuation history
Stored readings only. The dashed line is this company's own median for the selected measure.
Only one stored valuation reading exists so far, so there is nothing to chart yet. Valuation history builds forward from activation rather than being reconstructed.
Current P/E 61.8x · own median 47.4x · peer median 35.0x
Valuation is inherently uncertain. A stock that appears inexpensive can continue falling, and a stock that appears expensive can continue rising. Valuation Intelligence provides context about the price investors are paying — it does not predict short-term market movements, and it never produces a fair value, a price target or a buy or sell range. Model VALUATION_INTELLIGENCE_V1.
Sixth research lens · outside the score
Capital Returns Intelligence
Capital Returns Intelligence
How effectively does the company reward shareholders?
Capital Returns Intelligence is researched separately and contributes 0% to the Suggested Investment Score, the daily rank or any ranking event.
63/ 100
Favorable Capital Returns
RESEARCH MODEL
Excellent coverage
Dividend Quality
81
Strong Capital Returns
Dividend reliability
Buyback Effectiveness
30
Limited Capital Returns
Do buybacks actually reduce shares?
Dilution Control
57
Favorable Capital Returns
Is your ownership share protected?
Capital Return Sustainability
93
Exceptional Capital Returns
Can the cash flow support it?
Shareholder Yield
47
Moderate Capital Returns
Cash returned versus company value
COGNEX CORP reads 63 out of 100 on Capital Returns Intelligence (Favorable Capital Returns), reflecting a dividend that has grown about 12.0% a year and a share count falling about 1.1% a year.
How returned cash was used
Dividends $56.10M · net repurchases $19.57M · total returned $75.67M · 28% of free cash flow
Price data through September 11, 2026 · Financial data through the quarter ended July 5, 2026
Capital returns history
Stored readings only. History builds forward from activation rather than being reconstructed.
Only one stored reading exists for this measure so far, so there is nothing to chart yet.
Why higher yield isn't always better
A very high dividend yield may reflect a falling share price or an unsustainable payout. Capital Returns Intelligence emphasizes consistency and sustainability rather than simply rewarding the highest yield.
Why buybacks can be misleading
Announced or gross buyback spending does not always mean shareholders are gaining ownership. Companies can simultaneously issue shares through employee compensation or acquisitions. Suggested Investments therefore considers actual share-count changes alongside repurchase spending.
What these terms mean
- Dividend Yield
- The annual dividend relative to the current share price.
- Payout Ratio
- The share of company earnings used to pay dividends.
- Free Cash Flow Payout
- How much of the company's available cash is being used for dividends.
- Share Repurchases
- When a company buys back its own stock.
- Dilution
- When the number of shares increases, reducing each existing share's percentage ownership of the company.
- Shareholder Yield
- A combined view of dividends and net share repurchases relative to the company's market value.
Capital Returns Intelligence describes how a company returns capital to shareholders. It is not a measure of stock-price performance, it does not predict future returns, and a strong reading is never a recommendation to buy. Dividends and repurchases can be reduced or stopped at any time. Model CAPITAL_RETURNS_INTELLIGENCE_V1, contributing 0% to the Suggested Investment Score.
Stored daily snapshots only
Ranking history
| Today | #347 | Score 50 |
|---|---|---|
| 30 days ago | Not ranked | No stored score |
| 90 days ago | Not ranked | No stored score |
| First suggested | Not yet suggested | |
| Highest rank | #347 | |
In the company’s own words
What this company does
Founded in 1981, Cognex Corporation (the "Company" or "Cognex") makes advanced machine vision easy, paving the way for manufacturing and distribution companies to become faster, smarter, and more efficient through automation. We are a global technology leader in industrial machine vision systems that seek to improve efficiency and help solve critical manufacturing and distribution challenges, providing support across a diverse set of industrial end markets. Our solutions blend hardware and software to capture and analyze visual information, aiding the automation of manufacturing and distribution tasks for customers worldwide. Machine vision products are used to automate the manufacturing and distribution of discrete items, such as mobile phones, automotive components, and consumer goods, by locating, identifying, inspecting, and measuring them. Machine vision can be particularly valuable for applications in which human vision is inadequate to meet requirements for size, accuracy, or speed, or in instances where substantial cost savings can be obtained through the reduction of labor costs or improved product quality.
Cognex sells to customers in nearly all major industries in which discrete items are manufactured on an assembly line or moved through a distribution center or warehouse. Our largest end markets by revenue are the logistics, packaging, consumer electronics, and automotive industries, which combined represented approximately 85% of our total revenue in 2025.
Machine vision is used in a variety of industries where technology is widely recognized as an important component of automated production, distribution, and quality assurance. Virtually every manufacturer or logistics provider can achieve better quality and efficiency by using machine vision. This results in a broad base of customers across a variety of industries, including logistics, packaging, consumer electronics, automotive, and semiconductor.
The logistics industry demands high-speed, efficient throughput combined with end-to-end supply chain traceability. Consumers expect fast and cost-effective fulfillment. Our logistics customers, including e-commerce and parcel companies, are facing challenging labor market conditions, increased demand, and increased costs. To address these challenges, our customers are increasingly deploying automated traceability, dimensioning, and detection solutions featuring Cognex machine vision, including barcode reading and artificial intelligence ("AI")-enabled vision technology, either directly or with the help of partners, such as original equipment manufacturers ("OEM"), machine builders, and system integrators. We believe our e-commerce logistics business is differentiated by the high performance of our barcode reading and that potential growth will be driven by retailers investing in online fulfillment and their stated desire to reduce cost.
Quoted from the business section of this company’s 10-K filed February 12, 2026. Read the filing
Four distinct intelligence areas
The IA view
Risk Intelligence
Production core
63
Fundamentally Qualified
No prior period to compare
Business Quality qualification score from the locked IA Defensive Research Core. Price Risk stays a separate category and is never blended in.
As of Sep 11, 2026
Long-Term Potential
Research model
55
Ordinary Compounder
No prior period to compare
Durable business economics and reinvestment characteristics. Independent external validation is pending.
As of Sep 11, 2026
Fundamental Momentum
Research model
61
Accelerating
No prior period to compare
Direction and breadth of change in underlying business fundamentals. Not a price-momentum signal.
As of Sep 11, 2026
Elite Investor Activity
Supplemental
67
Mid range
No prior period to compare
Only 3 tracked managers disclosed a position — treat as limited coverage.
As of Sep 11, 2026
Intelligence history
Not enough stored history to chart CGNX yet. A company needs at least two published research or ownership periods before a trend can be shown.
Share price
CGNX price history
Closing prices adjusted for splits and dividends, through Sep 11, 2026. Past prices do not indicate future results.
- 6M change
- +32.0%
- 1Y change
- +43.8%
- 3Y change
- +52.2%
- 5Y change
- -27.0%
- Max change
- +21.1%
Last stored close $64.22 · +43.8% over the selected range · 52 sessions shown
Balanced evidence
Why IA likes it
- More disclosed holders are new or increasing than reducing or exiting.
Risk and uncertainty
What IA doesn’t like
- No specific negative evidence is available. This is not evidence of low risk.
What would change our view
- Business Quality falling below the frozen qualification threshold.
- Price Risk moving to a less favorable category.
- A sustained reversal in the Fundamental Momentum research evidence.
- New material public ownership disclosures.
Public filings · descriptive only
Elite Investor Activity
Reporting holders
1
New holders
1
Increasing
0
Reducing
0
Exiting
0
Coverage
Excellent
Positive disclosed activity · Report period 2018-06-30 · Public 12/22/2023
| Manager | Change | Portfolio weight | Rank | Disclosed |
|---|
Insufficient high-confidence manager coverage.
Objective stored changes
What changed
No qualifying changes are recorded for this company in the stored research and filing history.
Ownership timeline
No high-confidence public ownership events are available.
General research only. Not personalized advice. Public filings may be delayed, amended, incomplete, or reflect positions that have changed since the reporting date.