Is CGNX a high-quality business?

AlphaMadera's AlphaQuality grade scores Cognex Corporation on six pillars — profitability, capital efficiency, balance-sheet strength, growth durability, cash generation, and shareholder yield. The composite letter grade reflects how CGNX compares to a Buffett-style quality bar.

What is Cognex Corporation's AlphaQuality grade?

AlphaQuality assigns a letter grade (A through F) to CGNX based on a six-pillar quantitative model. The live page shows the composite grade plus each pillar's individual score with the underlying metrics.

What makes CGNX a quality stock?

AlphaQuality looks at return on capital, free-cash-flow margins, debt-to-equity, revenue stability, dividend and buyback policy, and operating-margin trend. Stocks scoring well across all six pillars earn higher grades — the methodology favors compounders over cyclicals.

CGNX - Cognex Corporation

Price: -- -- | CONSENSUS: Hold DETAILS | PRICE TARGET: $70.09 DETAILS

AlphaQuality

Quantitative six-pillar business-quality grade

Stable Earnings Power

AlphaQuality — archetype-weighted quantitative grade

B- 64.8 / 100 composite

Composite Grade

Composite of six pillars weighted for stable earnings power businesses. Purely quantitative — no stock price or analyst input.

Profitability

Weight: 20%

D 34.5

5yr Avg ROIC 7.9% 49/100
Operating Margin Trend -4.00 pp/yr 0/100

Capital Efficiency

Weight: 15%

B 71.9

5yr Avg ROE 11.1% 66/100
5yr Share-Count CAGR -1.5% 84/100

Growth Quality

Weight: 15%

F 20.1

5yr Revenue CAGR -1.0% 18/100
5yr EPS CAGR -18.7% 0/100
Revenue-Growth Years (5) 3/5 60/100

Cash Generation

Weight: 15%

A 92.7

5yr FCF Margin 20.0% 90/100
5yr FCF/NI Conversion 1.25x 96/100

Balance Sheet

Weight: 20%

A+ 100.0

Net Debt / EBITDA -1.35x 100/100
Interest Coverage (EBIT/Int) 30.00x 100/100
Altman Z-Score 13.88 100/100

Stability

Weight: 15%

B- 67.8

EPS Volatility (σ/μ) 0.29 58/100
Piotroski F-Score 8 89/100
Negative-Revenue Years (5) 2/5 60/100

4 of 4 gurus held; 1 new buy; 1 added; 2 trimmed.

Holders: 4 +1
Avg Δ position: -21.2%
New buys: 1
Full exits: 0

Dalio new
Wood decreased -43%
Cooperman decreased -27%

How this is calculated

AlphaQuality grades six pillars from 0-100 and weights each by archetype:

Profitability (20%) — 5yr Avg ROIC, Operating Margin Trend
Capital Efficiency (15%) — 5yr Avg ROE, 5yr Share-Count CAGR
Growth Quality (15%) — 5yr Revenue CAGR, 5yr EPS CAGR, Revenue-Growth Years (5)
Cash Generation (15%) — 5yr FCF Margin, 5yr FCF/NI Conversion
Balance Sheet (20%) — Net Debt / EBITDA, Interest Coverage (EBIT/Int), Altman Z-Score
Stability (15%) — EPS Volatility (σ/μ), Piotroski F-Score, Negative-Revenue Years (5)

We deliberately ignore stock price, analyst targets, and consensus ratings so the grade is suitable for backtesting forward returns. A minimum of 5 fiscal years of audited statements is required; distressed and highly leveraged infrastructure businesses are declared ungradable rather than forced into a numeric score.