• In early August 2026, Gartner reported second-quarter results showing revenue of US$1,675.94 million, net income of US$275.5 million, and diluted EPS of US$4.14 from continuing operations, while updating 2026 guidance to target at least US$6.38 billion in FX-neutral revenue.
• Gartner also intensified capital returns by repurchasing 3,600,000 shares for US$547 million in the quarter, bringing cumulative buybacks under its long-running program to 32,840,858 shares for US$7.39 billion, which could meaningfully reshape its earnings profile per share.
• With this backdrop of raised full-year guidance and substantial share repurchases, we’ll now assess how these developments influence Gartner’s investment narrative.

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Gartner Investment Narrative Recap

To own Gartner today, you need to believe its subscription research and advisory model can stay essential even as AI tools and tighter IT budgets challenge spending. The key near term catalyst is whether AI driven demand and improving client engagement keep supporting contract value growth, while the biggest risk is that cheaper AI and digital alternatives erode Gartner’s pricing power and renewals. The latest quarter’s raised guidance and earnings beat help, but do not remove that risk.

The most relevant recent development here is Gartner’s updated 2026 outlook, now targeting at least US$6.375 billion in FX neutral revenue. That guidance, paired with stronger than expected Q2 earnings, frames how much room the company has to keep investing in AI tools like AskGartner and still support heavy share repurchases. Together, these moves matter for how investors weigh the upside from AI enabled engagement against the threat from low cost research substitutes.

Yet, beneath the upgraded outlook and aggressive buybacks, there is still the underappreciated risk that cheaper AI research tools could quietly reshape Gartner’s renewal economics and...

Gartner's narrative projects $7.1 billion revenue and $985.7 million earnings by 2029. This requires 3.0% yearly revenue growth and about a $245 million earnings increase from $740.6 million today.

Uncover how Gartner's forecasts yield a $162.46 fair value, a 13% downside to its current price.

Exploring Other Perspectives

Some of the most optimistic analysts already expected revenue to reach about US$7.4 billion and earnings US$1.1 billion by 2029, but this new quarter may either support that AI driven upside story or highlight how vulnerable those forecasts are if cheaper digital tools really start to bite into Gartner’s premium subscriptions.

Explore 5 other fair value estimates on Gartner - why the stock might be worth 25% less than the current price!

Form Your Own Verdict

Disagree with existing narratives? Extraordinary investment returns rarely come from following the herd, so go with your instincts.

• A great starting point for your Gartner research is our analysis highlighting 3 key rewards and 2 important warning signs that could impact your investment decision.
• Our free Gartner research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate Gartner's overall financial health at a glance.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.