Contract value growth expected to accelerate in 2026
Gartner's Q1 2026 results were better than expected, with management raising full-year EBITDA, EPS, and free cash flow guidance. The company is seeing expected impacts from the U.S. federal government business, but believes it has re-baselined that segment. While new business was strong in Jan/Feb, decisions slowed in March due to geopolitical turmoil; however, many of those delayed deals closed in April, suggesting the weakness was temporary. Raised full-year 2026 guidance: EBITDA to ≥$1.545B (from ≥$1.515B), EPS to ≥$13.25, record FCF to ≥$1.16B; revenue guide at or above $6.405B.
Buzzberg readContract value growth expected to accelerate in 2026Gartner's Q1 2026 results were better than expected, with management raising full-year EBITDA, EPS, and free cash flow guidance. The company is seeing expected impacts from the U.S. federal government business, but believes it has re-baselined that segment. While new business was strong in Jan/Feb, decisions slowed in March due to geopolitical turmoil; however, many of those delayed deals closed in April, suggesting the weakness was temporary. Raised full-year 2026 guidance: EBITDA to ≥$1.545B (from ≥$1.515B), EPS to ≥$13.25, record FCF to ≥$1.16B; revenue guide at or above $6.405B.Read full analysisCollapse analysis
Gartner's Q1 2026 results were better than expected, with management raising full-year EBITDA, EPS, and free cash flow guidance. The company is seeing expected impacts from the U.S. federal government business, but believes it has re-baselined that segment. While new business was strong in Jan/Feb, decisions slowed in March due to geopolitical turmoil; however, many of those delayed deals closed in April, suggesting the weakness was temporary. Raised full-year 2026 guidance: EBITDA to ≥$1.545B (from ≥$1.515B), EPS to ≥$13.25, record FCF to ≥$1.16B; revenue guide at or above $6.405B.
Q1 CV growth was 1% YoY, accelerating from Q4; ex-fed CV growth was 3.5%, with a 250bp headwind from the U.S. government segment.
U.S. federal CV exited Q1 at ~$114M; management expects this to be flat in 2026, opening the door for an easier comp in H2.
Management expects total CV growth to accelerate through the remainder of 2026, driven by both recovery in the U.S. fed segment and a reacceleration of the ex-fed base.
CONFERENCES revenue78
reported
CONSULTING revenue119
reported
INSIGHTS revenue$1.5B
reported
Revenue$1.511B
-14% QoQ
What changed this quarter
01
Guidance
Contract value growth expected to accelerate in 2026
Guidance · revenue to $6.405B
02
Demand
March slowdown in client decisions due to geopolitical environment
Management expressed confidence in long-term growth but acknowledged current geopolitical and macroeconomic challenges, balancing optimism with cautious commentary on the selling environment.
03
Demand
US federal government is a 250 basis point CV headwind
March slowdown in client decisions due to geopolitical environment. Management expressed confidence in long-term growth but acknowledged current geopolitical and macroeconomic challenges, balancing optimism with cautious commentary on the selling environment.
04
Guidance
Gartner commits to 12%+ adjusted EPS CAGR over three years
Guidance · revenue to $6.405B
AI, capex & demand read
AI
Platform & monetization
Management discussed AI as one of the most requested topics across all roles served, with Gartner positioning itself as the best source for AI guidance, including strategy, ROI, ethics, and governance. They also highlighted their use of AI internally and enhancements to Ask Gartner, such as new features and regular updates.
Demand
Bookings & conversion
March slowdown in client decisions due to geopolitical environment. Management expressed confidence in long-term growth but acknowledged current geopolitical and macroeconomic challenges, balancing optimism with cautious commentary on the selling environment.
Capex
Investment and capacity
Management did not provide specific details on capital expenditure beyond general statements about investing in the business, such as hiring in key areas and driving operational efficiencies. No explicit capex guidance or infrastructure investment discussion was provided.
Tone · Measured
Management expressed confidence in long-term growth but acknowledged current geopolitical and macroeconomic challenges, balancing optimism with cautious commentary on the selling environment.
Supply-chain alpha
A1
The U.S. federal government business contract value (CV) is down to $114M and is a 250 basis point headwind to total CV growth, but management now expects it to be flat in 2026, implying the headwind will ease as tougher comps are lapped.
“We exited Q1 with about $114 million worth of U.S. federal CV... Our current assumptions are for it to be flat in 2026 and there's a 250 basis point headwind in the corridor alone.”
Gartner is deliberately shifting its sales hiring mix towards new business developers (BDs) and away from account executives, aiming to capture more of the large addressable market of 140,000 enterprises, a move that signals a strategic bet on expansion over retention.
“We are hiring more incremental new business developers than AEs. It's not one or the other, but we definitely have a bias towards hiring incremental BDs right now as opposed to hiring incremental account managers going forward.”
Client decision-making slowed in March due to geopolitical events (specifically impacting airlines, transportation, and other energy-intensive industries, with a concentration in the GCC), but many of those delayed deals closed in April, and management does not see a structural deterioration in demand.
“By and large, clients and prospects told us, we still want to buy from you, but we can't make a decision today... we're seeing many of those deals actually close, where clients delayed in March but actually then came through and closed in…”
RaisedGuidance · revenue to $6.405B · was IN LINE last Q
Forward guidance
Metric
Period
Range
Midpoint
Status
EPS
FY2026
$13.25
$13.25
RAISED
Free cash flow
FY2026
$1.16B
$1.16B
MAINTAINED
Op margin
FY2026
24.1%
24.1%
RAISED
Revenue
FY2026
$6.405B
$6.405B
RAISED
Company read-throughs
ANTHROPIC
Private company
Supply chain
Gartner saw the need for immediate guidance to clients following a security event, illustrating its role in providing timely, forward-looking recommendations regarding third-party technology risks.
“A recent example includes recommendations for heads of software engineering in response to the dramatic change in the security landscape posed by Anthropix mythos.”
… always on the topics our clients care about most right now. We've increased the number of high impact documents by 22%. The second dimension is volume. The number of documents in our insights library is up 19%. The third dimension is timeliness. With the accelerating rate of change in the world, we've introduced insights that are published the same day important events occur. The number of these documents has more than doubled. A recent example includes recommendations for heads of software engineering in response to the dramatic change in the security landscape posed by Anthropix mythos. And of course, we continue to make improvements on the user experience. For example, we've added the ability to create downloadable PowerPoint presentations directly from within Ask Gartner. Clients can ask questions in 25 languages, and we continue to integrate additional proprietary data sources. The programs we have underway are driving increased client engagement, which should result in higher retention and additional new business. AI continues to be one of the most requested topics across all the roles we serve. Gartner sits at the nexus of CIOs and IT organizations, business leaders, and …
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