Cognex Q3 2026: Six Straight EPS Beats, But Shares Sold Off
As seen on the 24/7 Wall St. homepage on November 4, 2026.
Shares sold off after hours despite a sixth straight bottom-line beat, with revenue landing a hair under consensus. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 1,060 basis points year over year, and full-year adjusted EPS guidance went up to $1.68 to $1.72 with the RealSense deal set to close this quarter.
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Cognex posted adjusted diluted EPS of $0.53 for the third quarter of 2026, edging past the $0.52 consensus estimate by roughly 2% and extending its streak of bottom-line beats to six consecutive quarters. Revenue of $313.39 million came in just shy of the $313.59 million consensus, missing expectations by a rounding error that nonetheless appeared to unsettle investors in after-hours trading.
Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 1,060 basis points year over year to 35.5%, with management pointing to favorable product mix, higher volume, and faster-than-expected pricing execution as the main drivers. GAAP gross margin widened to 70.8% from 67.6% a year earlier, and operating income surged 74.5% year over year to $100.82 million.
The year-over-year revenue growth rate of 13.2% also carries an asterisk worth understanding. Cognex noted that stripping out a one-time benefit from a medical lab automation partnership in the prior-year period, underlying growth ran closer to 19%. GAAP net income jumped to $84.82 million from $17.66 million a year ago, a comparison made easier by a $33.65 million discrete tax charge that weighed on the year-ago quarter.
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Looking ahead, Cognex raised its full-year 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $1.68 to $1.72, up from the prior range of $1.64 to $1.68. For Q4 2026, the company guided revenue of $270 to $290 million alongside an adjusted EBITDA margin of 29% to 32%. The quarter also brought a dividend increase, with the board declaring a quarterly cash dividend of $0.09 per share, up from $0.085 the prior quarter.
The pending all-cash acquisition of depth-sensing camera maker RealSense is expected to close before year-end, in Q4 2026. CEO Matt Moschner framed the deal as central to the company's ambitions in AI-powered machine vision, saying Cognex is positioning itself to benefit from what he described as powerful trends in automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence. Cognex also launched the In-Sight 1750, a next-generation wafer and panel identification system aimed at the semiconductor industry, during the quarter.
Mentioned: CGNX