Cognex Corp at Stephens Investment Conference Summary

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Tommy Moll - Stephens Inc - Analyst : <_ALACRA_META_ABSTRACT>But just to kick us off, Dennis, Cognex is a machine vision competitor. Tell us what that is for those who may not have dug into your market before?

Question: Tommy Moll - Stephens Inc - Analyst : Let's think about how artificial intelligence factors in here, Dennis, first on the opportunity side. This is something that Cognex has talked about for a while now. Give us a sense of how AI can improve the ease of use and expand the use cases.

Question: Tommy Moll - Stephens Inc - Analyst : Now on the potential threats from AI in particular open source substitutes, how do you protect against what I would call a good enough solution that may cost a lot less than Cognex?

Question: Tommy Moll - Stephens Inc - Analyst : Thank you, Dennis. I want to move on to discuss some of the elements from your recent Investor Day, just starting at the top and working our way down the P&L. In terms of the multiyear sales outlook, you framed it in the low-double-digit range in terms of the REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. NOVEMBER 19, 2025 / 2:00PM, CGNX.OQ - Cognex Corp at Stephens Investment Conference compound rate. One of the key levers to enable that was doubling the customer count over roughly five years. What are the elements of the strategy that you're pulling together to achieve that?

Question: Tommy Moll - Stephens Inc - Analyst : Moving down the P&L here. I'll hit a couple of the elements in your expense lines, and then you can answer it in whichever order makes the most sense. But on the gross margin line, you moved away from an explicit target there. On the R&D line, you're emphasizing much more than previous the efficiency of that R&D spend. And more holistically at the OpEx line, you've talked about more dynamically managing those expenses through a cycle. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. NOVEMBER 19, 2025 / 2:00PM, CGNX.OQ - Cognex Corp at Stephens Investment Conference So I've thrown three different themes at you to hit on them in whatever order you choose.

Question: Tommy Moll - Stephens Inc - Analyst : Dennis, to compare what you've described in terms of margin others in the market is sometimes difficult because there aren't a whole lot of great direct comparisons. But Keyence is one that often comes up, in particular, in terms of the gross and operating margins there. Why would you say that your aspirations are perhaps more modest by comparison?

Question: Tommy Moll - Stephens Inc - Analyst : Last question for you, Dennis, on the Investor Day themes. If we pull all of this together, should we -- is it fair to say that if you achieve what you set out that the P&L will be less cyclical and more boring in the past? And I do want to get you on record here, can we still expect profligate spend on Halloween and annual reports?

Question: Tommy Moll - Stephens Inc - Analyst : Sacred cows.

Question: Tommy Moll - Stephens Inc - Analyst : Last question for you on the P&L, and then we'll pivot to Q&A. Early 2026 commentary you offered on your most recent earnings call, you basically said if we look at today's PMIs, the rough math would suggest mid-single-digit sales growth next year, but that with continued discipline on the OpEx line, you could feasibly achieve, call it, 20% EPS growth. How do these comments tie back to some of the themes you laid out at Investor Day in terms of managing through a cycle?

Question: Tommy Moll - Stephens Inc - Analyst : Thank you, Dennis. I want to pause here to take any questions members of the audience may have. Just raise your hand and fire away. Unidentified Participant If you think about the competitive environment in machine vision, are we seeing new competitors emerge beyond the existing competitive side, there are couple of Chinese players that continue to get more and shares (inaudible - microphone inaccessible)

Question: Tommy Moll - Stephens Inc - Analyst : Any follow-ups or anyone else want to jump in? Sure. We'll pivot to an end market discussion, but for those in the audience at any point, just raise a hand and we'll work in here. But Dennis, starting on automotive, during earnings, you mentioned that you're nearing a bottom there. Let's break up the discussion into two pieces. First, on the US, when would the recent announced -- big investment announcements from the OEMs theoretically be actionable for Cognex? And then we'll move to Europe second.

Question: Tommy Moll - Stephens Inc - Analyst : When is the pain going to end in Europe? For those of us not as close to the market as you, what's going on there that's driving all of this?

Question: Tommy Moll - Stephens Inc - Analyst : Moving on to consumer electronics. Trends improved year-to-date in 2025, I think you've mentioned it was the first growth year in three years. At the same time, investors have taken note of some recent form factor innovations. Expectations might have gotten a little bit elevated in terms of what that might mean for revenue opportunity to Cognex. So just situate us between those two data points, please.

Question: Tommy Moll - Stephens Inc - Analyst : Moving on to logistics. This is your second year of solid double-digit growth, albeit the base in 2023 was rather depressed because a lot of the key players there were digesting excess capacity. But walk us through the different customer types here within logistics and give us a sense of where they are in their adoption cycles and build cycles. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. NOVEMBER 19, 2025 / 2:00PM, CGNX.OQ - Cognex Corp at Stephens Investment Conference

Question: Tommy Moll - Stephens Inc - Analyst : Any questions from the audience before we wrap it up? I have just one more prepared, but jump in if you'd like to ask anything. All right. Well, I have one to wrap it up here, Dennis, and I want you to gaze deeply into the crystal ball here. Historically, Cognex has grown top line well above the market average. But if you look at the source of that growth, it's evolved over time. If you go back far enough, it was semiconductors, pre-pandemic it was consumer electronics. More recently, it's been logistics like we were just discussing. So if you gaze into the crystal ball and think about what are industries that could -- I'm talking 5, 10 years out, pop up as significant sources of growth, what comes to mind there? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. NOVEMBER 19, 2025 / 2:00PM, CGNX.OQ - Cognex Corp at Stephens Investment Conference

Question: Tommy Moll - Stephens Inc - Analyst : Thank you very much, Dennis, for all the insight. We appreciate you being here this week.