Cognex Corporation (CGNX) Stock Price & How to Invest

Cognex makes machine vision systems: cameras, sensors and software that let automated equipment inspect parts, read codes and guide robots on production lines. Its customers are factories, logistics and distribution centres, consumer electronics makers, automakers and semiconductor fabs, and recent launches include an AI-based wafer ID reader for chipmakers.

Cognex is a high-margin components business whose results swing with automation capital cycles in a few concentrated end markets. After revenue fell from about $1.01 billion in 2022 to about $838 million in 2023, it has climbed back each year, to about $994 million in 2025 and about $1.09 billion over the trailing twelve months. The latest reported quarter, ended July 5, 2026, brought revenue of about $291 million, up roughly 17% year over year, and net income of about $73 million, with earnings per share of $0.45 against a $0.42 consensus. That was the fourth straight quarter above estimates.

The shares closed at $54.86 on October 16, 2026, up about 49% year to date and about 18% over one year, but down about 13% over the past three months from a 52-week high of $72.88 after an early-October selloff and a Truist price-target cut (to $74, Hold). Cognex reports third-quarter results on November 4, 2026, where analysts expect revenue of about $314 million and EPS of $0.52.

Revenue is closely tied to customer capital spending on automation, which is cyclical and can pause abruptly. Cognex has meaningful exposure to a small number of large end markets, including consumer electronics manufacturing, where a single customer's investment cycle moves results. Competition from lower-cost vision suppliers is increasing, and general-purpose AI vision models could erode the value of specialised algorithms. Valuation is now a risk too: at about 53 times trailing and 27 times forward earnings, and about 8.5 times sales, the shares price in continued growth, and the stock dropped sharply in early October 2026 when sentiment on the group turned.

19 analysts publish price targets on CGNX, averaging $79.37 against a $57.37 price as of November 2026, or +38.3%. The published targets run from $60.00 to $92.00, a moderate spread, and the ratings split 14 buy, 6 hold, 0 sell. Over the last six months there have been 7 raises and 3 cuts among the published actions. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a prediction, and sell-side ratings skew positive across the whole market.

Read the full CGNX forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.

We give no verdict on Cognex Corporation. Both cases are real, which is why the question is contested at all, so here is the strongest version of each.

The case for buying. Vision is the enabling layer for automation. A robot without vision repeats a fixed motion; with vision it can locate parts, verify quality and adapt. The most optimistic published target, $92.00, assumes this works close to its best case.

The case against. Revenue is closely tied to customer capital spending on automation, which is cyclical and can pause abruptly. The most pessimistic target, $60.00, is roughly what CGNX is worth if this bites instead.

Read the full bull and bear case on CGNX, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Yes. Cognex Corporation (CGNX) has had one share split in the last 10 years:

• 2:1 on December 4, 2017, so every share held became 2 shares.

A split changes the share count and the price per share and leaves the value of a holding unchanged. Someone holding $1,000 of CGNX the day before the 2:1 split held $1,000 the day after, in more shares at a proportionally lower price. Historical prices from before the date are normally shown split-adjusted, which is why a long-run chart shows no cliff.

Splits matter mainly because they make older price figures confusing to compare by hand, and because a board choosing to split is usually signalling that the price has run up far enough to feel awkward for smaller buyers. Neither is a reason to buy or sell.

A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Cognex Corporation's investor relations page or your broker.

• Revenue (TTM): ~$1.09 billion; latest quarter ~$291 million, up ~17% YoY
• Margins: Gross ~69%; operating ~29%; net ~16%
• Net income (TTM): ~$175 million; trailing EPS ~$1.04
• Latest quarter EPS (to Jul 5, 2026): $0.45 vs $0.42 expected
• P/E: ~53x trailing; ~27x forward
• Dividend yield: ~0.6% ($0.34 a year)
• Market cap: ~$9.2 billion at $54.86 (Oct 16, 2026)

Cognex trades at a premium multiple because earnings are recovering fast from a depressed base: trailing P/E is high, but the forward multiple of about 27 assumes EPS roughly doubles. The stock has given back part of its 2026 gain since a $72.88 high, and the November 4, 2026 report (consensus EPS $0.52 on ~$314 million revenue) is the next checkpoint for whether the automation upcycle holds.

If you want CGNX exposure as part of a larger bundle rather than directly, these ETFs hold it meaningfully. Weights are approximate and refresh quarterly.

These are the investment theses CGNX naturally fits into. Each links to a full theme guide listing every other stock that belongs and the ETFs commonly used as a passive proxy.

Other names that sit close to CGNX: same theme, named as a direct competitor, or held beside it in the same funds. Each entry says which. Worth a look if you are thinking about diversification within a thesis rather than concentration on one ticker.

There are three common ways to get CGNX exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it (BOTZ), which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so CGNX sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.

Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where CGNX fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.

New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.

Cognex (CGNX) is best understood through the automation theme it belongs to. Cognex is a high-margin components business (gross margin near 69%) whose results swing with automation capital cycles in a few concentrated end markets. 2026 has been a recovery year: revenue is growing in the mid-teens, earnings have beaten estimates four quarters running, and the stock is up about 49% year to date, though at roughly 27 times forward earnings much of that recovery is already in the price. The next test is the November 4, 2026 report.

Whether CGNX is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is CGNX a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the CGNX stock forecast.

For income investors, whether CGNX pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does CGNX pay a dividend? And to weigh CGNX against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: CGNX vs ROK and CGNX vs EMR.