stockrowWhat it does
Gartner sells business and technology research, advice and events to executives and their teams. Its clients use the company’s insights to make decisions about issues such as technology investment, cybersecurity and business operations. Gene Hall is chairman and chief executive officer. Gartner was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Stamford.
The core offering is a subscription that gives individual users access to research, data, benchmarks and business and technology experts. Gartner produces its research using its own methodologies, practitioner input and data. Clients can read reports, use online tools, speak with experts and connect with peers. Technology users and providers are served by Global Technology Sales; Global Business Sales serves leaders in functions such as finance, marketing, human resources and supply chain.
Gartner also runs conferences where executives attend presentations, meet analysts and exchange ideas with peers. Its consulting business applies Gartner research to clients’ technology projects through custom analysis and on-the-ground support. For example, consultants help clients assess technology costs and sourcing decisions.
The company has developed AskGartner, an AI-powered tool for licensed users to access its insights. Gartner says usage has grown sequentially and year over year across its platforms. AI is also a subject of its research and advice: Gartner says it guides senior executives and technology enterprises on AI decisions.
How it makes money
Gartner’s revenue was $6.5 billion in 2025 and $1.5 billion in the third quarter of 2026.
Insights is the main business. Clients normally sign contracts for individual users to access published research and advisory services over a defined period. Contracts typically run for at least twelve months, and 77% were multi-year at December 31, 2025. Most Insights customer contracts are paid in advance. Gartner needs both renewals and new subscriptions to sustain revenue; its Insights client retention rate was 85% in 2025.
Gartner seeks to increase spending within existing client organizations by offering insights relevant to additional roles and priorities. It also sells to new enterprises and uses pricing to increase revenue. Its standard price increase in 2026 was closer to 3%, lower than the prior year.
Conferences generate revenue from events for business and technology executives. Gartner held 53 in-person conferences in 2025, with more than 83,000 attendees. Consulting revenue comes from work for senior executives on technology-related initiatives. These engagements are typically project-based and non-recurring, so Gartner must secure new projects as existing work ends. Revenue from contract optimization can fluctuate substantially between periods.
Insights generated $5.1 billion, or 78.1% of revenue, in 2025. The remaining revenue included Conferences, Consulting and Other. Other included Digital Markets, which Gartner sold on February 5, 2026 for approximately $110.0 million, before customary purchase price adjustments.
| Product or service | Revenue, FY2025 | Share | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insights | $5.1 billion | 78.1% | 5.04% |
| Conferences | $644.7 million | 9.92% | 10.5% |
| Consulting | $552.5 million | 8.50% | −1.08% |
| Other | $227.4 million | 3.50% | −23.3% |
Customers and how it sells
Gartner serves over 13,000 enterprises in approximately 90 countries and territories. Its customers include technology users and providers as well as leaders responsible for functions such as finance, marketing, human resources and supply chain. Gartner sells to organizations across industries, sectors and enterprise sizes.
Its research reaches customers through websites and product-specific portals, as well as reports, tools, briefings and direct conversations with experts. Conferences give existing clients and prospective customers another way to meet Gartner experts and peers. Gartner says licensed users who attend its conferences retain at higher rates, while prospects who attend convert to clients at higher rates.
The United States and Canada accounted for 62.1% of revenue in 2025. Europe, the Middle East and Africa accounted for 26.1%, and Other International represented 11.9%. Gartner also sells to governments. Its U.S. federal Insights contract value was approximately $126.0 million at December 31, 2025; less than half of its December 31, 2024 federal Insights contract value was retained in 2025.
In the third quarter of 2026, Gartner said demand in its U.S. federal business continued to normalize. It also said federal demand included both returning customers and new clients.
| Region | Revenue, FY2025 | Share | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States and Canada | $4.0 billion | 62.1% | 0.37% |
| Europe, Middle East and Africa | $1.7 billion | 26.1% | 11.6% |
| Other International | $770.9 million | 11.9% | 5.33% |
Suppliers and costs
Gartner’s operations depend on analysts, consultants, sales staff and technology infrastructure. It had 20,244 employees globally at December 31, 2025. Compensation includes salaries, bonuses, stock awards and benefits. Gartner also leases the properties used for its ongoing operations and pays for conference venues and technology services.
The company has invested in access to data centers and equipment, cloud services, and technology and network upgrades to deliver its products. It says disruptions at suppliers or service providers could diminish service quality, and that consolidation among vendors could leave fewer viable alternatives.
Gartner evaluates segment performance using gross contribution margin, which excludes some expenses, including selling, general and administrative costs, depreciation and amortization. In 2025, the Insights gross contribution margin was 77%; Conferences was 50%; and Consulting was 34%.
As part of its Insights transformation, Gartner has been hiring analysts after letting some go. The company expects analyst costs to return over the next several quarters.
- Revenue$6.5B
- Cost of revenue−$2.1B
- Selling, general and administrative−$3.1B
- Other operating costs−$350.3M
- Operating income$1.0B
Competitive position
Gartner competes with independent providers of information products and services. It also competes indirectly with consulting firms and other data and information providers, including electronic and print media companies. Free information available online is another alternative for clients. Gartner expects more competition as AI services become more widely adopted and says barriers to entry in its markets are limited. No individual competitors are identified for these markets.
Gartner distributes proprietary research through subscriptions, conferences and consulting. Its experts had more than 510,000 direct client interactions in 2025, and the company uses client contact to identify research topics and develop service enhancements. It also protects its content and methodologies through intellectual property rights and contracts.
Our reading: The research library and expert network provide a meaningful source of differentiation because Gartner can use them across several services and draw on frequent client interactions. Their protection is incomplete, however, because free information is available and Gartner faces risks from unauthorized use of its content.
Our reading: Multi-year contracts and established customer relationships provide some renewal support, but they do not eliminate competition for each renewal. Gartner’s client retention record shows customers continue to renew, while limited entry barriers and AI alternatives constrain the strength of that advantage.
Growth opportunities
Gartner’s strategy includes expanding relationships with existing clients, finding new enterprises, adding sales capacity and entering markets around the world. It also seeks to increase revenue through pricing and by offering its research through subscriptions, conferences and consulting.
The company is changing its Insights offering in four areas: impact, timeliness, quantity and client experience. It has introduced content designed to respond quickly to events and is improving its app, website and AskGartner. Gartner says AI is the most requested topic across its client base and that it has seen an increase in demand from organizations seeking help getting benefits from AI investments.
In the third quarter of 2026, contract value grew 2.5% year over year, its third consecutive quarter of accelerating growth. Core Global Business Sales subscription products grew 7% in the quarter. Gartner also reported double-digit year-over-year attendance growth at its Orlando IT Symposium/Xpo.
Gartner expects 2026 revenue at or above $6.405 billion and free cash flow at or above $1.235 billion. It expects overall contract-value growth to continue accelerating, although it does not expect growth excluding the U.S. federal business to reach 4% by year-end.
- $4.7BFY2021
- $5.5BFY2022
- $5.9BFY2023
- $6.3BFY2024
- $6.5BFY2025
- $6.4BFY2026 guidance
Structural risks
- Renewals and sales: Insights depends on renewing subscriptions and selling new ones. If Gartner cannot maintain renewals or generate new sales, revenue will decline. Sales cycles in 2026 remained longer than historical levels, and technology-vendor layoffs made selling and renewals more challenging.
- AI and competition: Gartner expects increased competition from AI services. Search engines and AI tools may provide answers that reduce the need to visit Gartner’s websites, while clients or others may put its proprietary information into large language models.
- Research quality and reputation: Demand could decline if Gartner’s published views are considered wrong, lack independence or are not supported by appropriate research. Gartner must also develop and deliver products that keep pace with clients’ changing needs.
- People and costs: The company depends on qualified analysts, consultants, sales staff and managers. Difficulty hiring or retaining them could affect product quality and growth; wage inflation could also affect margins.
- Technology and data: Cyberattacks, outages or disruptions at service providers could interrupt delivery, expose information or damage Gartner’s reputation. Its security measures may not prevent every incident.
- Conferences and consulting: Events depend on suitable venues and can be disrupted by travel restrictions, geopolitical crises or other external events. Consulting engagements are generally non-recurring and must be replaced with new work.
Bottom line
Our reading
Gartner is principally a subscription research business, with conferences and consulting extending the use of its expertise. Its advance-paid contracts and established client relationships support recurring cash generation, but continued renewals depend on clients finding the research useful. AI creates demand for advice while also offering alternative ways to obtain information, leaving Gartner’s ability to protect and update its insights important to the business.