Cognex Corporation Declares Cash Dividend for Q4 2008

Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ: CGNX) announced today that the company’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.15 per share. This dividend is payable on March 20, 2009, to all shareholders of record at the close of business on March 6, 2009. This is Cognex’s twenty-third consecutive quarterly cash dividend.

About Cognex Corporation

Cognex Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and markets machine vision sensors and systems, or devices that can "see." Cognex vision sensors are used in factories around the world to automate the manufacture of a wide range of items and to assure their quality. Cognex is the world's leader in the machine vision industry, having shipped more than 450,000 machine vision systems, representing over $2.5 billion in cumulative revenue, since the company's founding in 1981. In addition to its corporate headquarters in Natick, Massachusetts, Cognex also has regional offices and distributors located throughout North America, Japan, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Visit Cognex on-line at http://www.cognex.com/.

Forward-Looking Statement

Certain statements made in this press release, which do not relate solely to historical matters, are forward-looking statements. These statements can be identified by use of the words “expects,” “anticipates,” ”estimates,” “believes,” “projects,” “intends,” “plans,” “will,” “may,” “shall,” “could,” and similar words. These forward-looking statements, which include statements regarding business and market trends, the company’s curtailment of spending, and the company’s financial outlook, involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Such risks and uncertainties include: (1) current and future conditions in the global economy; (2) the cyclicality of the semiconductor and electronics industries; (3) the inability to achieve significant international revenue; (4) fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; (5) the loss of a large customer; (6) the reliance upon key suppliers to manufacture and deliver critical components for Cognex products; (7) the inability to attract and retain skilled employees; (8) the inability to design and manufacture high-quality products; (9) the technological obsolescence of current products and the inability to develop new products; (10) the failure to effectively manage product transitions or accurately forecast customer demand; (11) the failure to properly manage the distribution of products and services; (12) the inability to protect Cognex proprietary technology and intellectual property; (13) the company’s involvement in time-consuming and costly litigation; (14) the impact of competitive pressures; (15) the challenges in integrating and achieving expected results from acquired businesses; (16) potential impairment charges with respect to our investments or for acquired intangible assets or goodwill; (17) exposure to additional tax liabilities; and (18) the other risks detailed in the company’s reports filed with the SEC, including the company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year 2008. You should not place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Cognex disclaims any obligation to update forward-looking statements after the date of such statements.