Forensic Analysis · Consulting & Engineering Services · as of Nov 9, 2026

Gartner Inc (IT)

A forensic read on Gartner Inc built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.

A · High-quality, not compounding

Forensic grade

Safe

Financial health

3.6

Distress distance

Clean

Earnings quality

Forensic signals

86.9%

ROE

3.7%

Revenue growth

This free snapshot doesn't read filing or proxy text, so the auditor-quality and governance checks that can lower a grade were not evaluated (auditor quality, say on pay, board independence, going concern). Those checks only ever lower a grade, so the full analysis can land below the grade above but never above it — treat it as the most favourable reading, not the settled one.

Gartner Inc earns an A (High-quality, not compounding) forensic quality grade, and its balance-sheet distress test reads 3.6, placing it in the Safe zone. 2 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by shareholder returns.

What the filings flag

169% of FCF

FY2025

Shareholder returns. Returned $2.0B to shareholders (buybacks + dividends) in FY2025 — 169% of free cash flow. That is $816M (69%) more than free cash flow covered, and more than operating cash flow as well. The balance sheet covered it: cash fell $211M and total debt rose $522M over FY2025 — $732M of the $816M. The FY2025 cash-flow statement filed $800M of debt issued; net cash used in investing activities of $115M; net cash used in financing activities of $1.4B. A payout past free cash flow draws the balance sheet down in every year it continues, which isn't sustainable indefinitely. Counting the $156M of stock-based comp paid out in shares on top of that, the combined claim on free cash flow is 183%.

$150M

FY2025

Goodwill impairments. Took $150M of goodwill writedowns across 1 year (FY2025 ($150M)) — about 21% of net income over the span. A large writedown means an acquisition turned out worth far less than was paid — a real mark against M&A discipline.

Key fundamentals

Latest Revenue$6.50B

Revenue Growth YoY+3.7%

Revenue CAGR (2yr)+4.9%

Net Margin11.2%

Free Cash Flow$1.18B

Return on Equity86.9%

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Data from SEC EDGAR public filings · metrics as of Nov 9, 2026. Forensic signals flag probability, not certainty.

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