Cognex Corporation (CGNX) vs Trimble Inc. (TRMB)

Cognex Corporation and Trimble Inc. are both Scientific & Technical Instruments companies. Trimble Inc. is the larger, with a market value of $14.2B against $9.4B — 1.5× the size. Trimble Inc. has negative trailing earnings, so its P/E is not meaningful; Cognex Corporation trades at 51.5×. Cognex Corporation grew revenue faster over the last twelve months: 17.2% against 5.80%. Cognex Corporation has the higher net margin (16.1% vs −2.77%) and the higher return on invested capital (12.2% vs 6.32%). Across the 21 metrics below, Cognex Corporation leads on 13 and Trimble Inc. on 8.

Valuation

Metric CGNX TRMB Scientific & Technical Instruments median
P/E 51.53 n/m 33.25
P/S 8.32 3.66 4.50
P/B 5.56 2.71 2.90
Price to free cash flow 34.23 18.12 24.81
EV/EBITDA 32.44 17.88 17.92
EV/Sales 7.94 3.99 4.71
Earnings yield 1.94% (0.79%) 0.60%
Free cash flow yield 2.92% 5.52% 1.27%

Profitability

Metric CGNX TRMB Scientific & Technical Instruments median
Gross margin 68.87% 69.80% 45.75%
Operating margin 21.90% 16.99% 7.34%
Net margin 16.05% (2.77%) 1.56%
Free cash flow margin 25.25% 20.44% 5.84%
Return on equity 11.15% (1.94%) 2.87%
Return on assets 8.36% (1.19%) 0.99%
Return on invested capital 12.16% 6.32% 3.88%

Growth

Metric CGNX TRMB Scientific & Technical Instruments median
Revenue growth (TTM) 17.15% 5.80% 11.15%
EPS growth (last fiscal year) 9.68% (71.10%) 11.47%
Revenue growth, 5-year CAGR 4.16% 2.65% 7.89%
Net income growth, 5-year CAGR (8.27%) 1.69% 0.00%

Health

Metric CGNX TRMB Scientific & Technical Instruments median
Debt to equity 0.00 0.29 0.00
Current ratio 3.93 0.95 2.24
Net debt to EBITDA (1.75) 1.44 0.44

Dividend

Metric CGNX TRMB Scientific & Technical Instruments median
Dividend yield 0.63% — 0.58%
Payout ratio 0.33 — 0.36

Size

Metric CGNX TRMB Scientific & Technical Instruments median
Market cap 9.37b 14.22b 444.25m

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