The short version

From the latest prices and each company's SEC filings. Who's ahead on each measure, not which to buy.

  • Coherent is the larger company, worth $54.4B, about 5.1 times Cognex.
  • Coherent grew revenue faster over the last year (+33.7% vs +16.9%).
  • Cognex keeps more of each dollar of revenue as operating profit (21.9% vs 11.9%).
  • On earnings, Cognex is the cheaper stock (74.7x vs 132.4x).

Side by side

The stronger figure is shaded where higher (or, for valuation multiples, lower) reads as better. How the implied growth works.

MeasureCGNXCOHR
Market cap$10.6B$54.4B
Share price$62.92$312.62
Revenue (last fiscal year)$994M$7.1B
Free cash flow (last fiscal year)$237M-$1.0B
Revenue growth, last year+16.9%+33.7%
Revenue growth per year, last 5 fiscal years-1.0%+21.0%
Operating margin21.9%11.9%
Net margin16.1%11.3%
Return on equity10.7%7.4%
P/E (trailing)74.7x132.4x
Price / free cash flow44.7x282.1x
EV / EBITDA36.9x43.8x
FCF growth the price implies15.5%—
Dividend yield0.51%—
Debt / equity0.34x0.65x
Fundamental gradeBC
Superinvestors holding it47
Insider purchases, last 12 months06

Results from SEC filings

Revenue and free cash flow by fiscal year, from each company's 10-K filings.

Cognex

YearRevenueFree cash flowOp. margin
2021$1.0B$299M30.4%
2022$1.0B$224M24.5%
2023$838M$90M15.6%
2024$915M$134M12.6%
2025$994M$237M16.3%

Coherent

YearRevenueFree cash flowOp. margin
2022$3.3B$99M12.5%
2023$5.2B$198M-0.72%
2024$4.7B$199M2.0%
2025$5.8B$193M1.6%
2026$7.1B-$1.0B11.9%

Where the revenue comes from

Cognex · by products, 2025

Standard products and services (1)$880M89%
Application-specific customer solutions$114M11%

Coherent · by segments, 2026

Datacenter & Communications$5.3B74%
Industrial$1.8B26%
Compare them in fullFifteen years of statements, quarterly results, DCF and IRR models, and any number of peers side by side.
Open CGNX in Investingly

Questions

Which is bigger, Cognex or Coherent?

Coherent (COHR), at $54.4B against $10.6B.

Is CGNX or COHR cheaper?

By trailing P/E, Cognex (74.7x) is cheaper than Coherent (132.4x). A lower multiple can also mean the market expects less growth.

Which grows faster, CGNX or COHR?

Coherent: revenue grew +33.7% over the last year, against +16.9%.

Prices and ratios as of the last daily update; statements from SEC filings. Information only, not investment advice.