Cognex (Nasdaq: CGNX) reported earnings on April 30. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended April 1 (Q1), Cognex beat expectations on revenue and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue improved and GAAP earnings per share grew.

Gross margin increased, operating margin contracted, and net margin grew.

Revenue details
Cognex logged revenue of $77.7 million. The five analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $76.0 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 4.5% higher than the prior-year quarter's $74.4 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.33. The two earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.31 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.33 for Q1 were 3.1% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.32 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 75.5%, 20 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 22.8%, 50 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 18.4%, 10 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $85.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.42.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $348.2 million. The average EPS estimate is $1.72.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 284 members out of 313 rating the stock outperform, and 29 members rating it underperform. Among 89 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 78 give Cognex a green thumbs-up, and 11 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Cognex is hold, with an average price target of $44.50.

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