20 Industrial Stocks Already Riding the AI Wave

10. Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 32

YTD Return as of August 1: 23%

Approximate Percentage Revenue from AI: 20%

Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) provides machine vision products that capture and analyze visual information to automate manufacturing and distribution tasks worldwide. The company is at the forefront of AI incorporation into machine vision products. Earlier this year, the firm launched Insight L38, the first AI-enabled 3D industrial vision system in the world. The firm claims this product is already proving to be twice as popular with customers as the previous iteration of this offering. The firm also sells AI-backed modular tunnel vision and has incorporated AI into barcode readers for faster scanning.

Robert Willett, the CEO of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX), said during the second quarter earnings call that the company expected growth in semis as well as memory as AI made customers invest in chips and related offerings for growth in the latest tech domain. Willett noted that efforts to localize chip production bode well for the long term future of the company, which is also boosted by heavy investments in AI.

In its Q4 2023 investor letter, Conestoga Capital Advisors, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX): CGNX is a leading provider of machine vision solutions used in factories and warehouses to measure, inspect, and identify items to ensure accuracy. Revenue is largely dependent on customers’ capital spending, which remains challenged across most of its end markets, namely consumer electronics and logistics. One of our smaller portfolio holdings, we exited our position during the quarter to redeploy proceeds into several existing portfolio holdings. We continue to hold Cognex (CGNX) shares in our SMid Cap portfolio.”