Gartner, Inc. (IT) Stock Price & How to Invest
Last updated July 2026
Short answer
Gartner (IT) is a way to own the dominant research-and-advisory franchise for technology and business decision makers, a high-margin, mostly subscription business whose stock has fallen sharply in 2026 as investors weigh whether generative AI erodes demand for its paid insights.
IT stock price
As of 2026-07-14, Gartner, Inc. (IT) last closed at $136.39, down 63.5% over the past year. Over the past 52 weeks it has traded between $125.73 and $373.28.
Prices are daily closing prices from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. For the live quote, check your broker or Gartner, Inc.'s investor relations page. Walnut is informational, not investment advice.
What does Gartner, Inc. (IT) do?
Gartner, Inc. is the world's largest independent technology research and advisory firm, selling syndicated research, analyst access, benchmarking, and advisory relationships to IT, finance, HR, supply-chain, and other corporate leaders. It operates through three segments: Business and Technology Insights (formerly Research), which is nearly 100% subscription-based and is the profit engine; Conferences, the in-person events business that ran 53 conferences with over 83,000 attendees in 2025; and Consulting, a smaller project-based advisory arm. The economics are attractive because Insights carries high gross margins, high renewal rates, and predictable recurring revenue tied to contract value (the annualized value of subscription contracts), which management watches as the core growth metric.
The investment picture is a franchise-quality business trading at a beaten-down valuation. Total revenue was about $6.5 billion in 2025, and the stock has collapsed from a 52-week high above $400 to around $140 by July 2026, compressing the trailing P/E to roughly 13 from a five-year median above 30. The bear case is that generative AI could disintermediate premium research subscriptions and that contract-value growth has slowed amid a tougher selling environment and softness in the US Federal business. The bull case is that Gartner still generates strong free cash flow, buys back stock aggressively, and could re-accelerate if enterprises keep paying for trusted, vendor-neutral guidance on how to spend their large AI budgets.
What's driving Gartner, Inc. (IT)?
1. Subscription research and contract value
The Insights segment is nearly all subscription revenue and grew about 3% to roughly $1.29 billion in the first quarter of 2026. The key metric is contract value, the annualized worth of subscription contracts, which drives the recurring base and renewal economics. Re-accelerating contract-value growth through a larger business-development team and better client engagement is the central lever for the whole company.
2. Cash generation and buybacks
Gartner converts revenue into strong free cash flow, which rose about 29% to roughly $371 million in the first quarter of 2026, and adjusted EBITDA grew about 6% to around $395 million. Management has leaned heavily on share repurchases, expanding its buyback authorization, which lifted diluted EPS about 17% even with revenue roughly flat. Buybacks at a depressed multiple are a meaningful part of the per-share story.
3. Conferences and events momentum
The Conferences segment grew about 8% to roughly $78 million in the first quarter of 2026, continuing a recovery in in-person events. Flagship gatherings like the IT Symposium/Xpo draw thousands of executives and feed the broader research relationship. Higher attendance and pricing add a cyclical but growing revenue stream on top of the subscription base.
4. Selling into large AI budgets
Gartner itself forecasts worldwide IT spending near $6.3 trillion in 2026, driven largely by AI infrastructure, software, and services. As enterprises pour money into AI, vendor-neutral guidance on where and how to spend is the exact problem Gartner sells against. The open question is whether that demand flows to paid Gartner subscriptions or to free and AI-generated alternatives.
What are the risks to Gartner, Inc. (IT)?
The dominant risk is generative AI disintermediation: if free or cheaper AI tools can approximate the research and advice clients pay Gartner for, subscription demand and pricing power could erode, which is the primary reason the stock derated so sharply in 2026. Contract-value growth has slowed in a tougher selling environment, and weakness in the US Federal business tied to government spending and policy shifts has pressured a meaningful client base. The Consulting segment is project-based and cyclical, falling about 15% year over year in the first quarter of 2026 with a declining backlog. Broader macroeconomic softness, tariffs, and cautious corporate IT budgets can slow new bookings and renewals. The very high historical valuation also means sentiment can swing hard on any change in growth expectations.
How is Gartner, Inc. (IT) valued? (approximate, JULY 2026)
A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Gartner, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker.
- Revenue (TTM): ~$6.5B
- Q1 2026 revenue: ~$1.51B (-1.5% YoY)
- Q1 2026 diluted EPS: ~$3.18 (+17% YoY)
- Q1 2026 free cash flow: ~$371M (+29% YoY)
- Market cap: ~$9.8B
- Trailing P/E: ~13x (vs ~31x 5-yr median)
Gartner traded around $140 in early-to-mid July 2026, down roughly two-thirds from a 52-week high above $400, which pushed the trailing P/E down near 13 against a five-year median above 30. The compression reflects fear that AI erodes the research franchise plus slowing contract-value growth, not a collapse in current profits, since cash flow and EPS actually rose. Analyst price targets clustered around the mid-$160s, implying the Street sees the selloff as partly overdone but keeps a cautious consensus.
Who competes with Gartner, Inc. (IT)?
IT research and advisory firms
Forrester Research (FORR) and International Data Corporation (IDC) are Gartner's closest direct competitors in syndicated technology research and analyst advisory. Gartner is by far the largest and most profitable of the group, but these rivals compete for the same corporate research budgets and analyst mindshare.
Management and technology consultancies
For its Consulting segment and higher-touch advisory work, Gartner competes with strategy and technology consultancies such as McKinsey, Bain, Boston Consulting Group, Accenture, and Deloitte. These firms offer bespoke, project-based advice that overlaps with Gartner's consulting and benchmarking engagements.
Free and AI-generated alternatives
A growing competitive threat is free information, community peer networks, and generative-AI tools that can summarize technology trends and vendor comparisons at low or no cost. This category is the source of the disintermediation fear weighing on the stock, since it targets the premium Gartner charges for curated, vendor-neutral research.
How to invest in Gartner, Inc. (IT)
There are three common ways to get IT exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic basket, so IT sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.
Walnut takes the basket route. Describe a thesis where IT fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.
The bottom line on Gartner, Inc. (IT)
IT is a cash-generative, subscription-heavy franchise now trading at a fraction of its historical multiple because the market is pricing in AI disintermediation risk and a stalled contract-value growth engine.
More on Gartner, Inc. (IT)
Whether IT is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is IT a buy?, and where the stock could go from here in the IT stock forecast.
For income investors, whether IT pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does IT pay a dividend?
Build a basket around IT with Walnut
Use Gartner, Inc. as one constituent in a thematic basket Walnut's AI helps you assemble. Describe a thesis you believe in, the AI proposes the holdings and weights, and you approve before any broker order.
FAQ
What does Gartner do?
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Gartner is the world's largest independent technology research and advisory firm. It sells subscription research, analyst access, benchmarking, and advisory services to IT and business leaders, and also runs executive conferences and a consulting practice.
Why did IT stock fall so much in 2026?
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Gartner shares dropped from above $400 to around $140 over the past year, driven mainly by fears that generative AI could disintermediate its paid research subscriptions, plus slowing contract-value growth and softness in its US Federal business. Current profits and cash flow actually rose, so the decline reflects lowered growth expectations rather than a collapse in earnings.
Is Gartner profitable?
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Yes. Gartner is highly profitable and cash-generative, reporting net income of about $222 million and free cash flow of roughly $371 million in the first quarter of 2026, with diluted EPS up about 17% year over year, helped by margins and share buybacks.
What is contract value and why does it matter?
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Contract value is the annualized worth of Gartner's subscription research contracts, and it is the metric management and investors watch most closely. Because the Insights segment is nearly all subscription revenue, contract-value growth is the leading indicator of the company's recurring revenue and future results.
What are Gartner's business segments?
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Gartner reports three segments: Business and Technology Insights (the subscription research engine and largest profit driver), Conferences (in-person executive events), and Consulting (project-based advisory work). Insights is nearly 100% subscription-based, while Consulting is smaller and more cyclical.
Does Gartner pay a dividend?
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Gartner has historically returned cash to shareholders primarily through share buybacks rather than a regular dividend, and it expanded its repurchase authorization in 2026. Investors should confirm the current capital-return policy directly in company filings before assuming any payout.
How does AI affect Gartner's business?
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AI cuts both ways. Enterprises are spending heavily on AI, which increases demand for vendor-neutral guidance that Gartner sells, but free and AI-generated research tools could also substitute for paid subscriptions. Which effect dominates is the central debate around the stock in 2026.
What are the main risks of owning IT?
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Key risks include generative-AI disintermediation of paid research, slowing contract-value growth in a tougher selling environment, weakness in the US Federal business, the cyclical project-based Consulting segment, and broader macro or tariff pressure on corporate budgets. Sentiment can swing sharply given the stock's history of a premium valuation.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Financial figures on this page are approximations; always verify current numbers with Gartner, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker before making investment decisions.