The short version

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

  • Garmin is the larger company, worth $51.0B, about 4.8 times Cognex.
  • Cognex grew revenue faster over the last year (+16.9% vs +14.2%).
  • Garmin keeps more of each dollar of revenue as operating profit (26.5% vs 21.9%).
  • On earnings, Garmin is the cheaper stock (29.5x vs 74.7x).
  • Cognex's price assumes faster free cash flow growth: about 16% a year, against 13% for Garmin (reverse DCF).

Side by side

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

MeasureCGNXGRMN
Market cap$10.6B$51.0B
Share price$62.92$268.36
Revenue (last fiscal year)$994M$7.2B
Free cash flow (last fiscal year)$237M$1.4B
Revenue growth, last year+16.9%+14.2%
Revenue growth per year, last 5 fiscal years-1.0%+9.8%
Operating margin21.9%26.5%
Net margin16.1%23.3%
Return on equity10.7%18.7%
P/E (trailing)74.7x29.5x
Price / free cash flow44.7x37.4x
EV / EBITDA36.9x22.5x
FCF growth the price implies15.5%13.2%
Dividend yield0.51%1.6%
Debt / equity0.34x0.18x
Fundamental gradeBB
Superinvestors holding it43
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%

Garmin

YearRevenueFree cash flowOp. margin
2021$5.0B$705M24.5%
2022$4.9B$544M21.1%
2023$5.2B$1.2B20.9%
2024$6.3B$1.2B25.3%
2025$7.2B$1.4B25.9%

Where the revenue comes from

Cognex · by products, 2025

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

Garmin · by segments, 2025

Fitness Segment$2.4B33%
Outdoor Segment$2.1B28%
Marine Segment$1.2B16%
Aviation Segment$987M14%
Auto OEM Segment$665M9%
Compare them in fullFifteen years of statements, quarterly results, DCF and IRR models, and any number of peers side by side.
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Questions

Which is bigger, Cognex or Garmin?

Garmin (GRMN), at $51.0B against $10.6B.

Is CGNX or GRMN cheaper?

By trailing P/E, Garmin (29.5x) is cheaper than Cognex (74.7x). A lower multiple can also mean the market expects less growth.

Which grows faster, CGNX or GRMN?

Cognex: revenue grew +16.9% over the last year, against +14.2%.

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