Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) reported third-quarter earnings and revenue above analyst expectations on Tuesday, supported by improving contract value growth, higher adjusted profitability and increased free cash flow. The research and advisory company also raised its full-year financial guidance across several key metrics.
Adjusted earnings per share reached $3.59, exceeding the analyst consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.75. Revenue totaled $1.5 billion, slightly ahead of expectations of $1.49 billion, although reported sales declined 1.3% compared with the corresponding period last year.
On an adjusted basis, revenue increased 2.4% year over year to approximately $1.5 billion.
Despite the earnings and revenue beats, Gartner shares slipped 0.58% in premarket trading following the announcement.
Gartner’s adjusted earnings per share of $3.59 exceeded Wall Street forecasts by approximately 26.4%, reflecting stronger-than-expected quarterly profitability.
The company reported adjusted EBITDA excluding divested operations of $364 million, representing a 7.5% increase from the prior-year period.
The improvement came despite a 1.3% decline in reported revenue, while adjusted revenue growth remained positive at 2.4%.
Free cash flow also increased, reaching $275 million, up 2.2% compared with the third quarter of 2025.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gene Hall highlighted the company’s performance across several financial measures.
“Contract Value growth accelerated again,” Hall said.
“Revenues, Adjusted EBITDA excluding divested operation, Adjusted EPS, and free cash flow were ahead of expectations.”
The results demonstrated Gartner’s ability to generate higher adjusted operating earnings and cash flow while managing changes in its business portfolio.
Gartner reported contract value of $5.3 billion on a foreign exchange-neutral basis, representing growth of 1.1% sequentially and 2.5% compared with the previous year.
Contract value is an important indicator of the company’s research and advisory business, reflecting the value of customer agreements and providing insight into recurring revenue trends.
The sequential improvement indicates that contract value continued to expand during the third quarter.
Management also reported stronger growth across both its Global Technology Sales and Global Business Sales operations.
The acceleration in contract value growth was among the key developments highlighted by Gartner’s leadership.
Gartner’s Global Technology Sales business recorded contract value of $4.0 billion, representing a 2.1% increase year over year.
The business accounts for the majority of Gartner’s total contract value and remains a significant contributor to its recurring research and advisory operations.
Meanwhile, Global Business Sales contract value increased 3.7% to $1.3 billion.
The stronger percentage growth in Global Business Sales contributed to the overall improvement in contract value.
Together, the two businesses generated the company’s reported $5.3 billion contract value.
The results indicate continued demand for Gartner’s research and advisory services across technology and broader business functions.
Gartner’s Insights segment generated revenue of $1.29 billion during the third quarter, representing an increase of 1.7% compared with the same period last year.
The segment remained the company’s largest reported revenue contributor.
Conferences revenue increased 15.4% year over year to $86 million, delivering the strongest percentage growth among the reported business segments.
The increase reflected stronger revenue performance in Gartner’s events operations.
Consulting revenue also advanced, rising 2.3% to $126 million.
The growth across Insights, Conferences and Consulting provided support for Gartner’s adjusted revenue performance during the quarter.
The results also highlighted differences in growth rates across the company’s business activities, with Conferences expanding considerably faster than its other reported segments.
Gartner continued its share repurchase activities during the third quarter, buying back approximately 900,000 shares for a total of $138 million.
The purchases formed part of the company’s broader capital allocation programme.
Over the previous four quarters, Gartner repurchased approximately $1.7 billion of its shares.
The scale of these repurchases demonstrates the company’s continued emphasis on returning capital to shareholders.
Share repurchases reduce the number of outstanding shares and can support earnings per share, depending on their timing and size.
The company’s free cash flow generation of $275 million during the quarter provided additional financial flexibility for its capital allocation activities.
Following its third-quarter performance, Gartner announced increases to its full-year financial guidance across several measures.
The company raised its expectations for revenue, adjusted EBITDA excluding divested operations, adjusted earnings per share and free cash flow.
The revised outlook reflects management’s assessment of the company’s operating performance and financial prospects for the remainder of the year.
The announcement did not provide specific updated numerical guidance ranges for these measures.
However, the decision to increase the forecasts followed stronger-than-expected results across revenue, adjusted profitability and cash generation.
The improvement in contract value growth also provided a positive indicator for Gartner’s recurring research and advisory business.
Gartner’s third-quarter results demonstrated stronger adjusted profitability and cash generation, with adjusted earnings per share of $3.59 significantly exceeding analyst expectations.
Although reported revenue declined 1.3%, adjusted revenue increased 2.4%, while adjusted EBITDA excluding divested operations rose 7.5% to $364 million.
Contract value growth accelerated to 2.5% year over year, supported by expansion in both Global Technology Sales and Global Business Sales.
The company also maintained its capital return programme, repurchasing $138 million of shares during the quarter and $1.7 billion over the previous four quarters.
Gartner’s decision to raise its full-year guidance indicates confidence in its financial performance, although the specific revised targets were not included in the reported announcement.
Investors will be monitoring whether the company can sustain contract value growth, maintain adjusted profitability and deliver on its higher financial expectations.
Gartner is a global research and advisory company providing business and technology insights to organisations across multiple industries.
Its services include research subscriptions, advisory solutions, consulting and professional conferences, helping executives and business leaders make decisions relating to technology, strategy, operations and organisational performance.
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