By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Cognex stock (NASDAQ:CGNX) surged 7% Friday after the company beat fourth quarter estimates that helped its annual revenue cross the $1 billion mark.
Fourth quarter revenue rose 9% to $244 million as economies recovered and there was greater momentum toward automation at factories and distribution centers, places where its machine vision systems, sensors and barcode readers are most used.
Logistics and automotive contributed the most to fourth quarter revenue while consumer electronics was a drag. Gross margin eroded by 3 percentage points to 72% due to higher supply chain costs and a global shortage of components.
Gross margin in the current quarter is expected to be in the low-70% range, similar to the level in the same period last year.
CGNX forecasts current quarter revenue of $275 million to be the midpoint of the guidance range. According to the company, demand from the logistics market remains strong and delivery lead times are improving.
Net profit in the fourth quarter fell 23% to $53 million, owing to narrower margins, foreign currency loss and other income loss, compared to a large foreign currency gain and higher other income last year.