Cognex vs Vontier
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The short version
- Vontier is the larger business, with $3.1B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $994M for Cognex, about 3.1 times as much.
- Cognex grew revenue faster (8.7%, against 3.2%).
- Vontier kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (18.3% operating margin, against 16.4%).
- Cognex turned more of its sales into free cash flow (23.8% FCF margin, against 14.3%).
- Vontier earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (15.8%, against 8.4%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Cognex’s earnings: a P/E of 53.4x against 14.2x for Vontier.
| Latest fiscal year | CGNX · FY25 | VNT · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $9.4B | $4.8B |
| Revenue | $994M | $3.1B |
| Free cash flow | $237M | $441M |
| Net income | $114M | $406M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 8.7% | 3.2% |
| 5-year growth | 4.2% | 2.6% |
| Share count change | −1.9% | −4.2% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 66.9% | — |
| Operating margin | 16.4% | 18.3% |
| Net margin | 11.5% | 13.2% |
| FCF margin | 23.8% | 14.3% |
| Return on capital | 8.4% | 15.8% |
| Return on equity | 7.6% | 35.4% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$337M | $1.6B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −1.7x | 2.6x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $206M | $315M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 53.4x | 14.2x |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 | 6 |
Revenue
FY16
CGNX $530M
VNT —
FY17
CGNX $766M
VNT —
FY18
CGNX $806M
VNT $2.7B
FY19
CGNX $726M
VNT $2.8B
FY20
CGNX $811M
VNT $2.7B
FY21
CGNX $1.0B
VNT $3.0B
FY22
CGNX $1.0B
VNT $3.2B
FY23
CGNX $838M
VNT $3.1B
FY24
CGNX $915M
VNT $3.0B
FY25
CGNX $994M
VNT $3.1B
CGNX
VNT
Operating margin
FY16
CGNX 29.1%
VNT —
FY17
CGNX 33.8%
VNT —
FY18
CGNX 27.4%
VNT 18.7%
FY19
CGNX 19.7%
VNT 20.3%
FY20
CGNX 21.0%
VNT 17.3%
FY21
CGNX 30.4%
VNT 19.5%
FY22
CGNX 24.5%
VNT 18.2%
FY23
CGNX 15.6%
VNT 17.6%
FY24
CGNX 12.6%
VNT 18.0%
FY25
CGNX 16.4%
VNT 18.3%
CGNX
VNT
Free cash flow
FY16
CGNX $169M
VNT —
FY17
CGNX $196M
VNT —
FY18
CGNX $186M
VNT $379M
FY19
CGNX $232M
VNT $507M
FY20
CGNX $229M
VNT $656M
FY21
CGNX $299M
VNT $433M
FY22
CGNX $224M
VNT $261M
FY23
CGNX $89.8M
VNT $395M
FY24
CGNX $134M
VNT $345M
FY25
CGNX $237M
VNT $441M
CGNX
VNT
Return on capital
FY16
CGNX 26.7%
VNT —
FY17
CGNX 27.8%
VNT —
FY18
CGNX 32.0%
VNT —
FY19
CGNX 18.5%
VNT —
FY20
CGNX 17.5%
VNT 20.1%
FY21
CGNX 27.7%
VNT 21.4%
FY22
CGNX 19.7%
VNT 15.8%
FY23
CGNX 9.9%
VNT 14.6%
FY24
CGNX 7.6%
VNT 16.0%
FY25
CGNX 8.4%
VNT 15.8%
CGNX
VNT
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.