Gartner Raises 2026 Guidance as Q3 Adjusted EPS Rises 30.1% to $3.59
Gartner raised its full-year 2026 guidance on Tuesday after third-quarter adjusted earnings per share rose 30.1% to $3.59 and contract value growth accelerated for another quarter.
Diluted EPS climbed to $3.35 from $0.47 a year earlier, when results included $150 million of goodwill impairment tied to its Digital Markets business, according to the earnings release the research and advisory firm filed with an 8-K. Net income rose 506.4% to $214 million from $35 million.
Revenue slipped 1.3% to $1.51 billion from $1.52 billion as reported, reflecting the February 2026 sale of Digital Markets. Adjusted revenues, which exclude the divested operation, grew 2.4%.
"Contract Value growth accelerated again," Chairman and CEO Gene Hall said in the release. He said revenues, adjusted EBITDA excluding the divested operation, adjusted EPS and free cash flow were ahead of expectations, and that Gartner increased its full-year guidance for all four.
Contract value picks up
Contract value, measured on a foreign-currency-neutral basis, reached $5.3 billion, up 2.5% from a year earlier and 1.1% from the prior quarter. Global Technology Sales contract value was $4.0 billion, up 2.1%, and Global Business Sales contract value was $1.3 billion, up 3.7%.
Segments
Insights, Gartner's largest segment, grew revenue 1.7% to $1.29 billion, with a 77.6% contribution margin. Conferences revenue rose 15.4% to $86 million, and Consulting revenue increased 2.3% to $126 million, while Consulting gross contribution jumped 21.3%.
Adjusted EBITDA excluding the divested operation rose 7.5% to $364 million.
Cash and buybacks
Operating cash flow dipped 1.4% to $294 million, while free cash flow rose 2.2% to $275 million on lower capital spending.
Gartner repurchased 0.9 million shares for $138 million in the quarter. Hall said the company bought back $1.7 billion of stock over the last four quarters. Diluted shares used for adjusted EPS fell to 63.9 million from 75.0 million a year earlier.
Gartner said details of its updated 2026 outlook are in an earnings supplement on its investor relations website; the 8-K release itself does not list the new guidance figures.
By the numbers
- Revenue: $1.51 billion, down 1.3%
- Adjusted revenues: $1.51 billion, up 2.4%
- Diluted EPS: $3.35, up from $0.47
- Adjusted EPS: $3.59, up 30.1%
- Contract value: $5.3 billion, up 2.5%
- Quarterly buybacks: $138 million
Sources
- Gartner Form 8-K with third-quarter 2026 earnings release, filed Nov. 3, 2026 (accession 0000749251-26-000305)
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