For the first time in the company's history, the manufacturer of cameras, barcode readers and other machine vision products surpasses the billion US dollar sales mark. In the first Corona year 2020, Cognex achieved a turnover of 811 million US dollars, which already meant an increase of almost 12 percent compared to 2019. Before that, in turn, i.e. in 2018, sales had already topped $800 million, or more precisely a good $806 million.

Net profit rose even more sharply than sales in fiscal year 2021: an increase of 59 percent brought this key figure to just under 280 million U.S. dollars.

Robert J. Willett, Chief Executive Officer of Cognex, commented, "We celebrate our success while staying focused on the long term". “We believe the trends driving the adoption of machine vision technology are stronger than ever as manufacturers look to automate a broadening range of industrial tasks."

Revenue performance by industry

The company performed well in several end markets, including logistics, which grew approximately 65 percent year over year and became the company's largest end market for the first time in 2021. Cognex also felt the impact of a business revival in the broader factory automation market, particularly in the automotive industry. The exception was consumer electronics, where sales declined slightly in 2020 following a substantial year of investment.

Learn more about the Cognex In-Sight 3D-L4000 smart camera