Gartner (NYSE:IT) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.75 EPS

Gartner (NYSE:IT) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The information technology services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.75, Zacks reports. Gartner had a net margin of 11.99% and a return on equity of 525.46%. The business had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.76 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Here are the key takeaways from Gartner’s conference call:

• Positive Sentiment: Gartner raised its full-year 2026 guidance across revenue, EBITDA, adjusted EPS, and free cash flow after Q3 results exceeded expectations. New targets are at least $6.405 billion in revenue, $1.615 billion in EBITDA, $14.65 in adjusted EPS, and $1.235 billion in free cash flow.
• Positive Sentiment: Contract value growth accelerated for the third consecutive quarter to 2.5% year over year, while wallet retention improved to 98% in GTS and 99% in GBS. Management also reported sequential improvement in net contract value additions and continued strength in GBS subscriptions, software and services, and mid-sized enterprises.
• Positive Sentiment: AI remains the most-requested topic across Gartner’s client base and is creating demand for guidance on business cases, implementation, cost management, and governance. Management said clients that initially purchased broad AI tools are increasingly seeking Gartner’s help after struggling to realize tangible benefits.
• Negative Sentiment: The selling environment remains challenging, with longer sales cycles, renewed technology-sector layoffs, geopolitical tensions affecting the Middle East, and continued pressure from tariffs and other macro factors. Management no longer expects ex-U.S. federal contract value growth to reach 4% by the end of 2026, although total growth is still expected to accelerate.
• Neutral Sentiment: Gartner plans to increase analyst hiring as part of its BTI transformation, adding costs over the next several quarters. The company remains focused on balancing these investments with expense discipline, while continuing price-sensitive stock repurchases and evaluating strategic tuck-in acquisitions.

Gartner Stock Down 16.5%

IT stock opened at $196.44 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 46.98, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Gartner has a 1-year low of $124.25 and a 1-year high of $256.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $197.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.19. The firm has a market cap of $12.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.32, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.92.

Gartner News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Gartner this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Gartner reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $3.59 per share, well above analysts’ consensus estimates of approximately $2.84–$2.86 and up from $2.76 a year earlier. The earnings outperformance suggests stronger-than-expected profitability and was the primary catalyst for the stock’s increase. Gartner Q3 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly revenue of approximately $1.50 billion modestly exceeded the $1.49 billion consensus forecast. Gartner also reported strong profit growth and provided an updated full-year 2026 outlook, giving investors additional visibility into its performance. Gartner Reports Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Several reports focused on the earnings release and conference call, with analysts highlighting the earnings beat relative to expectations. The reports did not identify a major change to Gartner’s longer-term outlook beyond the company’s updated 2026 guidance. Gartner Earnings Report and Conference Call
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue declined approximately 1.2%–1.3% year over year to $1.5 billion, making the quarter mixed despite the earnings beat. Continued top-line pressure could limit further upside if investors become concerned about demand or growth prospects. Gartner Reports Mixed Third-Quarter Results with Strong Profit Growth

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research cut Gartner from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Gartner from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Gartner from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered Gartner from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Gartner from $162.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $198.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gartner

In other news, EVP Robin Kranich sold 3,278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.50, for a total value of $644,127.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,000,347. This trade represents a 13.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yvonne Genovese sold 1,205 shares of Gartner stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.06, for a total transaction of $229,022.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,179,892.48. This trade represents a 16.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 6,043 shares of company stock valued at $1,172,858 over the last three months. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Gartner

Gartner, Inc is a global research and advisory company that provides information, analysis and guidance to business leaders, technology professionals and public-sector organizations. Its work focuses on helping clients evaluate technology markets, develop business strategies, manage risk and make decisions about digital transformation and other organizational priorities.

The company delivers its services through research and advisory programs, consulting engagements, executive guidance and conferences.