Badger Meter vs Cognex
Cognex reported revenue of $994 million in fiscal 2025, about the same as Badger Meter's $917 million in fiscal 2025. Badger Meter's revenue grew 10.9% in its latest year, and Cognex's grew 8.7%. Badger Meter had an operating margin of 20.0%, against 16.4% at Cognex. Free cash flow was $170 million at Badger Meter and $237 million at Cognex.
Side by side
| Badger Meter | Cognex | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 |
| Revenue | $917M | $994M |
| Revenue growth | 10.9% | 8.7% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 16.6% | 4.2% |
| Gross margin | 41.7% | 66.9% |
| Operating margin | 20.0% | 16.4% |
| Net margin | 15.4% | 11.5% |
| Free cash flow | $170M | $237M |
| Free cash flow margin | 18.5% | 23.8% |
| Return on capital | — | 8.4% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | — | −1.7x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $58M | $206M |
| Change in diluted share count | 0.1% | −1.9% |
| Last close | $158.18 | $47.78 |
| P/E at the last close | 37.4× | 33.2× |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | bought $1.6 million, sold $596,002 | sold $34.8 million |
| Piotroski F-score | — | 7 of 9 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
Badger MeterCognex
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
Badger MeterCognex
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
Badger MeterCognex
Source: the companies' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR, and the last close. For information only, not investment advice: the figures describe results, not which company is the better investment. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with either company. Full figures on the Badger Meter and Cognex pages.