IT · Q2 2026 Earnings

Neutral

Gartner

Reported August 4, 2026

30-second summary

Gartner delivered Q2 FY2026 revenue of $1.676B (-0.6% as reported, -1.6% FX-neutral) with non-GAAP EPS of $4.37 (+23.8% YoY), and Adjusted EBITDA excluding divested operation of $466M landing $41M above the prior quarter's ≥$425M floor — +6.4% as reported / +4.4% FX-neutral above the Q2 FY2025 $438M ex-divested comparable, invalidating the "implied YoY decline" concern from last quarter's watch list. Management raised FY2026 guidance on EBITDA, EPS, and FCF "even with the stronger dollar" while leaving the revenue floor unchanged, and Consulting inflected sharply from Q1 to -8.8% in Q2 — still declining but no longer collapsing. Total CV grew +1.7% YoY FX-neutral to $5.3B (+0.3% sequentially), with GBS CV +3.3% YoY outpacing GTS CV +1.1% YoY — modest acceleration, not the "stuck" pattern the prior quarter feared.

Headline numbers

EPS

Q2 FY2026

$4.37

+17.2% vs est.

Revenue

Q2 FY2026

$1.68B

-0.6% YoY

+1.6% vs est.

Free cash flow

Q2 FY2026

$0.38B

Operating margin

Q2 FY2026

22.6%

Key financials

Q2 FY2026

Metric	Q2 FY2026	Q2 FY2025	YoY	Q1 FY2026	QoQ
Revenue	$1.68B	$1.69B	-0.6%	$1.51B	+10.9%
EPS	$4.37	$3.53	+23.8%	$3.32	+31.6%
Operating margin	22.6%	19.4%	+320bps	20.9%	+170bps
Free cash flow	$0.38B	$0.35B	+8.9%	$0.37B	+1.9%

Guidance

Strong Q2 beat on EPS and EBITDA leads to raised full-year guidance across all three key metrics despite FX headwinds.

Guidance is issued for both next quarter and the full year. Both may appear below.

Actuals vs prior guidance

Metric	Period	Prior guide	Actual	Δ	Result
Adjusted EBITDA excluding divested operation	Q2 FY2026	at or above $425 million	$466 million	+$41 million above guide	Beat
Revenue	Q2 FY2026	operationally unchanged from NCV performance	$1.676 billion	in-line	Met
Adjusted EPS	Q2 FY2026	not explicitly guided for Q2	$4.37	+17.2% above consensus estimate	Beat

Changes to prior guidance

Metric	Period	Prior guide	New guide	Δ	Result
Adjusted EBITDA excluding divested operation	FY2026	at or above $1.545 billion	guidance increased	increased from prior quarter	Raised
Adjusted EPS	FY2026	at or above $13.25	guidance increased	increased from prior quarter	Raised
Free Cash Flow	FY2026	at or above $1.16 billion	guidance increased	increased from prior quarter	Raised

Segment performance

Q2 FY2026

Segment	Q2 FY2026	Q2 FY2025	YoY
Insights	$1.29B	$1.32B	-2.2%
Conferences	$0.244B	$0.211B	+15.4%
Consulting	$0.142B	$0.156B	-8.7%

Platform metrics

Q2 FY2026

Segment	Q2 FY2026	Q2 FY2025	YoY
Contract Value (FX Neutral)	$5.3 billion	—	—
Global Technology Sales Contract Value (FX Neutral)	$4.0 billion	—	—
Global Business Sales Contract Value (FX Neutral)	$1.3 billion	—	—

Profitability

Q2 FY2026

Segment	Q2 FY2026	Q2 FY2025	YoY
Adjusted EBITDA excluding divested operation	$466 million	—	—
Adjusted EBITDA Margin excluding divested operation	27.8%	—	—
Operating Cash Flow	$398 million	$384 million	—
Insights Contribution Margin	77.5%	73.9%	—
Conferences Contribution Margin	59.5%	57.4%	—

Management tone

Tone analysis was not possible for this quarter — no transcript was available at press time and this brief is sourced from the press release only. The multi-quarter narrative arc from prior briefs (Q2 FY25 "five-bucket 2026 recovery math" → Q3 FY25 "high-single-digit re-acceleration" → Q4 FY25 "CV will accelerate throughout 2026" → Q1 FY26 "positioned to accelerate") will be extended in the next update once transcript commentary is available.

The one substantive tonal signal from the press release is the phrase "even with the stronger dollar" appended to the FY guidance raise — management is explicitly claiming the EBITDA/EPS/FCF raise absorbs an FX headwind that would otherwise have pulled numbers lower. That framing shifts the burden of proof from "operational momentum" to "operational momentum sufficient to offset FX" — a stronger, but also more fragile, claim.

Answers to last quarter's watch list

Q2 FY2026 EBITDA delivery vs. the ≥$425M guide and the implied YoY decline. Q2 Adjusted EBITDA ex-divested landed at $466M — $41M above the floor and +$28M above the Q2 FY2025 $438M ex-divested comparable (+6.4% reported / +4.4% FX-neutral YoY). The prior quarter's concern that the floor implied a YoY decline is invalidated; delivery cleared the prior-year comparable with room.

Resolved positively

Q2 CV growth rate, total and ex-US Fed. Total CV grew +1.7% YoY FX-neutral to $5.3B (+0.3% sequentially), with GTS CV +1.1% YoY and GBS CV +3.3% YoY. Headline CV growth was quantified this quarter — a disclosure improvement — though an ex-Fed breakout is still not provided, leaving the cleanest read of the underlying trajectory obscured. Status: Partially resolved (headline disclosed, ex-Fed still missing)

Consulting Q2 print — does the Q1 decline extend or inflect? Consulting revenue of $141.9M declined -8.8% YoY. The segment remains deeply negative and the FY guide of ≥$570M (+3% FX-neutral) implies H2 needs a sharp turn.

Continue monitoring

Buyback pace continuation. Gartner repurchased 3.6 million shares for $547M in Q2, and the Board increased the repurchase authorization by $500M in July 2026 — capital return remains aggressive and the fresh authorization signals continued pace.

Resolved positively

Ask Gartner — first quantified disclosure. No quantified attach rate, retention uplift, or attributable revenue was disclosed in the press release. Four quarters in, the transformation narrative remains qualitative.

Continue monitoring

Revenue guide cushion vs. the ≥$6.405B floor. The revenue floor was reaffirmed unchanged in the press release despite the EBITDA/EPS/FCF raise, which is itself a signal: management raised the profitability lines but declined to raise the top-line floor. With Q2 revenue at $1.676B (-1.6% FX-neutral YoY), the top-line is running just at the guide path while margin does more than the guide implies. Status: Resolved negatively (cushion did not build)

What to watch into next quarter

Ex-Fed CV growth rate disclosure in Q3. Headline CV growth of +1.7% YoY was disclosed this quarter, but the ex-Fed breakout — the cleanest read after the federal cohort largely laps — remains withheld. If ex-Fed CV grows below the prior exit rate, the "positioned to accelerate" thesis is empirically weakened regardless of headline framing.

Consulting trajectory continuation. -8.8% → flat-or-positive in Q3 would put the FY ≥$570M guide within reach. A stall near -8% or reversion to double-digit decline forces a mid-year Consulting guide cut.

Insights re-acceleration. FX-neutral growth of +1.0% is right at the +1% FY floor with no cushion — watch whether Q3 inflects up or drifts below the floor.

The absent Q3 EBITDA guide. Q1 gave a Q3 EBITDA floor equivalent (the ≥$425M Q2 floor). Q2 did not disclose a Q3 floor in the captured press release. If the transcript confirms no Q3 EBITDA guide was issued, that's a change in cadence worth flagging — either a deliberate withdrawal (macro caution) or an oversight.

Specific new FY guide dollar ranges. The Q2 press release confirms EBITDA/EPS/FCF raises but does not disclose the new floors. The specific new ranges — and by how much they exceed the Q1 floors of ≥$1.545B EBITDA, ≥$13.25 EPS, ≥$1.16B FCF — will determine whether the raise is a token beat-and-raise or a material step-up.

FX assumption in the raised guide. "Even with the stronger dollar" implies management sees FX as a persistent headwind for the balance of the year. Watch whether the transcript quantifies the FX drag on revenue and whether it explains why revenue guide was reaffirmed (rather than lowered on FX) while profit lines were raised.

Sources

Gartner Q2 FY2026 press release (SEC 8-K exhibit 99.1): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/749251/000074925126000243/it-06302026xex991.htm
Prior-quarter Tapebrief briefs (Q2 FY25, Q3 FY25, Q4 FY25, Q1 FY26) for guidance history and watch-list continuity.

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