NATICK, Mass., Oct. 28, 2020 — Cognex reported third-quarter revenue of $251.1 million, surpassing analysts’ and internal estimates for the period ending Sept. 27. The reported revenue of the Natick, Mass.-based machine vision systems developer and manufacturer represents a year-over-year increase of 37%.
Cognex additionally reported quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of 49 cents, and non-GAAP EPS of 47 cents. The figures are year-over year increases of 104% and 96%, respectively. Zacks Equity Research had listed the consensus mark for non-GAAP earnings per share at 33 cents.
“Our results for [quarter three] were very good and above our expectations,” said Robert Shillman, founder and chairman of Cognex. “We reported the second-highest quarterly revenue, net income, and earnings per share from continuing operations in our company’s 39-year history. We were also highly profitable — reporting an operating margin of 38% in [quarter three] compared to 24% a year ago — due to the leverage in our business model.”
Cognex projected that its quarterly revenue total would be in the range of $200 million to $220 million. The projection was consistent with the Zacks consensus estimate (ZCE), which expected Cognex to report quarterly revenue of $213.7 million.
In a press release Wednesday, the company cited large-customer deployments in the consumer electronics industry, as well as strong performance in the e-commerce sector of logistics. Revenue from automotive and the broader factory automation market improved on a sequential basis despite an unfavorable business environment.
Zacks Equity Research had predicted strong showings in consumer electronics and the e-commerce market, countering decreased demand, particularly in Europe and the Americas, across the factory automation market.
Cognex on Wednesday also declared a quarterly cash dividend for the third quarter of 6 cents per share, payable to shareholders on Nov. 27. The dividend represents an increase of just over 9% over the dividend paid in the prior quarter.
At the conclusion of the quarter, Cognex reported, the company was positioned with approximately $1 billion in cash and investments and no debt. Cognex generated $159 million in cash from operations, and $91 million from the exercise of stock options through the first nine months of the year.
For quarter four 2020, Cognex expects revenue to be between $190 million and $210 million. That total would represent year-over-year growth, and, the company said, likely be attributable to higher expected revenue from consumer electronics and the e-commerce sector of logistics.
A full financial earnings report is available here.