Cognex vs Daktronics
Cognex reported revenue of $994 million in fiscal 2025, 1.2 times Daktronics' $839 million in fiscal 2026. Cognex's revenue grew 8.7% in its latest year, and Daktronics' grew 10.9%. Cognex had an operating margin of 16.4%, against 7.2% at Daktronics. Free cash flow was $237 million at Cognex and $34 million at Daktronics. Their fiscal years end in different months (December 31 and May 2), so the periods don't line up exactly.
Side by side
| Cognex | Daktronics | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 | FY2026, May 2, 2026 |
| Revenue | $994M | $839M |
| Revenue growth | 8.7% | 10.9% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 4.2% | 11.7% |
| Gross margin | 66.9% | 27.3% |
| Operating margin | 16.4% | 7.2% |
| Net margin | 11.5% | 5.4% |
| Free cash flow | $237M | $34M |
| Free cash flow margin | 23.8% | 4.1% |
| Return on capital | 8.4% | 28.1% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | −1.7x | −1.5x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $206M | $26M |
| Change in diluted share count | −1.9% | 3.8% |
| Last close | $47.78 | $19.41 |
| P/E at the last close | 33.2× | 19.8× |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | sold $34.8 million | bought $1,565, sold $149,636 |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 of 9 | 8 of 9 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ 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
CognexDaktronics
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
CognexDaktronics
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
CognexDaktronics
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 Cognex and Daktronics pages.