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01 May 2025
Machine vision firm has appointed current COO Matt Moschner to succeed the retiring Robert Willett.
Cognex, the Massachusetts-based machine vision firm, has posted sales revenues of $216 million for the opening quarter of the year, up slightly on the equivalent period last year.
And while the company says that it can do little about the macroeconomic effect of US import tariffs and retaliatory actions, it stressed that any direct impact will be largely mitigated.
Cognex’s latest figures showed a $27.8 million pre-tax income for the three months ending March 30, up from $17.6 million a year ago and thanks in part to lower spending on research and development, and sales and administrative costs.
CEO Robert Willett, who is set to retire next month after 14 years in the lead executive role, commented: "We delivered revenue growth of 5 per cent on a constant-currency basis, driven by continued strength in our logistics and semiconductor businesses.
“Despite increasing economic uncertainty, we maintained momentum as we concluded the first quarter, a trend that has persisted through April. However, the automotive market continues to experience a downturn.”
Tariff impact mitigation
Willett is set to be succeeded by Matt Moschner, who joined Cognex in 2017 and is currently in the COO role. Moschner is credited with leading the recent integration of Moritex, the Japanese provider of high-end optical components that Cognex bought in 2023 for around $270 million - its largest acquisition to date.
That additional Japanese presence is coupled with further manufacturing capacity for lenses and lighting at in-house production plants located in China and Vietnam, while figures from Cognex’s most recent annual report show that 18 per cent of its 2024 sales were to customers in China.
Despite that international footprint, Cognex says that it is expecting very little direct impact from new tariffs as they are currently designed, including the 125 per cent tariffs on goods shipping from the US to China.
Company CFO Dennis Fehr added: “While the tariff situation remains fluid and uncertain, we anticipate substantially mitigating the direct cost impact of the tariffs currently in effect, with no material impact to earnings per share throughout the remainder of 2025.”
The Cognex management team also views efforts to “re-shore” US manufacturing and any re-engineering of supply chains as a potentially positive trend for the firm in the longer term.
Revenue ramp
In their outlook for the current quarter ending in June, Fehr and Willett forecast sales revenues to tick up to somewhere between $235 million and $255 million.
Looking back on his 17-year tenure at Cognex, Willett added: “I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished as a team, increasing revenue five-fold to over $900 million in 2024, driven by an unwavering dedication to innovation and excellence.
“This transition is the product of a thoughtful, multi-year succession planning process with our Board of Directors to prepare for my retirement.
“Since joining Cognex in 2017, Matt has successfully navigated a range of challenges and growth opportunities, which proved his readiness to assume the CEO role. Matt is absolutely the right person to lead our company through the next phase of growth."
• The Cognex stock price has seen more volatility during Willett’s time as CEO, rising from around $8 in mid-2011 to hit an all-time high of just over $90 in July 2021 as annual sales topped $1 billion, before ticking down to the current Nasdaq-listed price of around $27.
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