---
title: "Gartner Q2 2026: the $860M asterisk didn't repeat — EPS up 33%, contract value accelerating, guidance raised into a strong dollar"
description: "Follow-up to yesterday's preview: Gartner's filed Q2 shows diluted EPS $4.14 (+33.1%), contract value growth accelerating to +1.7% FX-neutral, revenue swinging back to +2.8% adjusted, another $547M of buybacks, and raised full-year guidance. The preview's numbers, closed against the filing."
canonical: https://evidinvest.com/blog/gartner-q2-2026-earnings-results-contract-value-accelerates-2026-08-04
date: "2026-08-04"
last_updated: "2026-08-04"
author: "EvidInvest Team"
publisher: "EBD Sweden AB (EvidInvest)"
tags: ["IT", "Gartner", "Q2 2026", "earnings", "contract value", "buybacks", "SEC filings", "Aether"]
---

# Gartner Q2 2026: the $860M asterisk didn't repeat — EPS up 33%, contract value accelerating, guidance raised into a strong dollar

- Published: 2026-08-04
- Author: EvidInvest Team, EvidInvest (published by EBD Sweden AB)
- Canonical URL: https://evidinvest.com/blog/gartner-q2-2026-earnings-results-contract-value-accelerates-2026-08-04
- Research, not investment advice.

> Follow-up to yesterday's preview: Gartner's filed Q2 shows diluted EPS $4.14 (+33.1%), contract value growth accelerating to +1.7% FX-neutral, revenue swinging back to +2.8% adjusted, another $547M of buybacks, and raised full-year guidance. The preview's numbers, closed against the filing.

*Figures trace to Gartner's Q2 2026 results release, filed August 4, 2026 as
Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K (accession `0000749251-26-000243`), with Q1
baselines from the May 5 release (accession `0000749251-26-000165`), both
indexed and retrieved via Aether. Research, not investment advice.*

Yesterday's [preview](https://evidinvest.com/blog/aug4-2026-healthcare-adjacent-earnings-unh-axon-it)
left [Gartner](https://evidinvest.com/valuation/IT) (**[$IT](https://evidinvest.com/valuation/IT)**) with two numbers to
defend: contract value of $5.3 billion growing just 1.0% FX-neutral, and
revenue that fell 1.5% as reported in Q1. This morning's filing answers
both — and the direction is up.

Diluted EPS came in at **$4.14, up 33.1%** ($4.37 adjusted, +23.8%).
Contract value held at $5.3 billion FX-neutral but growth **accelerated to
+1.7% year-over-year** from Q1's +1.0% — the second straight quarter of
acceleration, which is the metric that matters for a research subscription
business. Revenue was $1.7 billion, still -0.6% as reported, but adjusted
revenue swung to **+2.8%** (+1.8% FX-neutral) from Q1's +1.6%.

The cash story stayed loud: operating cash flow $398 million (+3.8%), free
cash flow **$378 million, up 8.9%**, and another **3.6 million shares
repurchased for $547 million** — on top of Q1's $535 million, with the
board adding another $500 million of authorization in July. Gartner is
buying back stock at a pace of over $2 billion a year against a company
that generates roughly $1.5 billion of annual free cash flow — the share
count is doing real work in that 33% EPS growth.

CEO Gene Hall's filed comment closes the loop on guidance: "Contract Value
growth accelerated again... we increased our full year Adjusted EBITDA
excluding divested operation, Adjusted EPS, and free cash flow guidance
even with the stronger dollar." A guidance raise into an FX headwind is the
opposite of what the bears expected from Q1's soft top line.

What the filing does not change: reported revenue is still slightly
negative, and the whole thesis rests on contract value converting to
revenue as the divested operation rolls out of the comparisons. The
[valuation page](https://evidinvest.com/valuation/IT) has the fair-value range and the DCF
pre-filled from the filings — the buyback pace is a slider worth moving.

Axon, the other name from yesterday's preview, had not filed its Q2
results as of publication — we'll close that loop when the exhibit hits
EDGAR.

*Every figure above traces to accession `0000749251-26-000243`
([sec.gov](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/749251/000074925126000243/it-06302026xex991.htm))
unless noted as Q1 (accession `0000749251-26-000165`). Research, not
investment advice.*

---

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