Forrester Research Reports 2026 Third-Quarter Financial Results
Client retention improved, but contract value declined and the quarterly GAAP net loss widened.
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“We continue to see stabilization of the business, with results above consensus, a strong stock buyback program, and prudent expense management,” said CEO and Chairman George F. Colony. “As a result, we are raising the low end of our guidance for 2026 earnings per share.
“Our AI focus is deliberate and intentional, and we continue to advance our product roadmap, delivering new AI capabilities. This quarter, we unveiled a robust portfolio of new products including AI Access Plus, Team Solutions, and an integration with Claude. These offerings give our clients greater flexibility in how they access our research and insights to make better decisions faster. We believe these enhancements will help deliver improved results for the remainder of the year and into next year.”
Third-Quarter Consolidated Results
Total revenues for the third quarter of 2026 were
On a GAAP basis, net loss was
On an adjusted basis, net income was
Additional details regarding key metrics can be found in the investor presentation on the investor relations section of the company’s website.
A reconciliation of GAAP results to adjusted results may be found in the attached financial tables.
Forrester is providing guidance for 2026 as follows:
Full-Year 2026 (GAAP):
-
Total revenues of approximately
$350.0 million $360.0 million 11.8% to9.3% versus the prior year -
Operating margin of approximately negative
3.3% to negative2.8% -
Interest expense of approximately
$2.2 million -
An effective tax rate of negative
20% to negative10% -
Diluted loss per share of approximately
$0.79 $0.74
Full-Year 2026 (Adjusted):
Adjusted financial guidance for full-year 2026 excludes the goodwill impairment charge of
-
Adjusted operating margin of approximately
6.0% to6.5% -
Adjusted effective tax rate of
29% -
Adjusted diluted earnings per share of approximately
$0.77 $0.82
About Forrester
Forrester (Nasdaq: FORR) is one of the most influential research and advisory firms in the world. We empower leaders in technology, customer experience, digital, marketing, revenue, and product functions to make confident decisions in an AI-driven world and accelerate growth through customer obsession. Our unique research and continuous guidance model helps executives and their teams achieve their initiatives and outcomes faster and with confidence. To learn more, visit Forrester.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, Forrester’s financial guidance for the full-year 2026, statements relating to Forrester’s AI capabilities and product portfolio, and statements regarding Forrester’s future financial performance and financial condition. These statements are based on Forrester’s current plans and expectations and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual future activities and results of operations to be materially different from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual future activities and results to differ include, among others, Forrester’s ability to retain and enrich memberships for its research products and services; Forrester’s ability to fulfill existing or generate new consulting engagements and advisory services; any adverse economic conditions, including from trade policies and tariffs, that result in a reduction in technology spending or demand for Forrester’s products or services; the risks and challenges inherent in international business activities; the use of generative AI in Forrester’s business and by Forrester’s clients and competitors; Forrester’s ability to offer new products and services; Forrester’s dependence on key personnel; Forrester’s ability to attract and retain professional staff; Forrester’s ability to respond to business and economic conditions and market trends; Forrester’s business with the US government; the impact of Forrester’s outstanding debt obligations; competition and industry consolidation; possible variations in Forrester’s quarterly operating results; the actual cost of capital expenditures that Forrester undertakes; concentration of ownership of Forrester; the possibility of network disruptions and security breaches; any failure to enforce and protect Forrester’s intellectual property rights; compliance with privacy laws; taxation risks; any weakness in Forrester’s system of internal controls; and any future impairment charge Forrester incurs. Forrester undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. For further information, please refer to Forrester’s reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The consolidated statements of operations and the table of key financial data are attached.
| Forrester Research, Inc. | ||||||||||||||||
| Consolidated Statements of Income | ||||||||||||||||
| (Unaudited, in thousands, except per share data) | ||||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||||||
| September 30, | September 30, | |||||||||||||||
|
2026 |
|
|
2025 |
|
|
2026 |
|
|
2025 |
|
|||||
| Revenues: | ||||||||||||||||
| Research | $ |
70 138 |
|
$ |
72 652 |
|
$ |
208 736 |
|
$ |
218 992 |
|
||||
| Consulting |
|
14 744 |
|
|
21 475 |
|
|
53 368 |
|
|
66 404 |
|
||||
| Events |
|
1 225 |
|
|
168 |
|
|
9 690 |
|
|
10 434 |
|
||||
| Total revenues |
|
86 107 |
|
|
94 295 |
|
|
271 794 |
|
|
295 830 |
|
||||
| Operating expenses: | ||||||||||||||||
| Cost of services and fulfillment |
|
34 489 |
|
|
37 711 |
|
|
116 836 |
|
|
126 966 |
|
||||
| Selling and marketing |
|
33 639 |
|
|
36 011 |
|
|
102 916 |
|
|
109 031 |
|
||||
| General and administrative |
|
12 498 |
|
|
12 478 |
|
|
39 986 |
|
|
38 907 |
|
||||
| Depreciation |
|
1 557 |
|
|
1 532 |
|
|
4 190 |
|
|
4 671 |
|
||||
| Amortization of intangible assets |
|
2 081 |
|
|
2 217 |
|
|
6 243 |
|
|
6 651 |
|
||||
| Goodwill impairment |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
10 800 |
|
|
83 895 |
|
||||
| Restructuring costs (credits) |
|
(538 |
) |
|
(111 |
) |
|
3 674 |
|
|
1 887 |
|
||||
| Total operating expenses |
|
83 726 |
|
|
89 838 |
|
|
284 645 |
|
|
372 008 |
|
||||
| Income (loss) from operations |
|
2 381 |
|
|
4 457 |
|
|
(12 851 |
) |
|
(76 178 |
) |
||||
| Interest expense |
|
(511 |
) |
|
(684 |
) |
|
(1 701 |
) |
|
(2 026 |
) |
||||
| Loss on investments, net |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
(114 |
) |
||||
| Credit loss expense on note receivable |
|
— |
|
|
(6 400 |
) |
|
(900 |
) |
|
(7 310 |
) |
||||
| Other income, net |
|
596 |
|
|
938 |
|
|
2 110 |
|
|
2 753 |
|
||||
| Income (loss) before income taxes |
|
2 466 |
|
|
(1 689 |
) |
|
(13 342 |
) |
|
(82 875 |
) |
||||
| Income tax expense (benefit) |
|
6 887 |
|
|
437 |
|
|
(2 349 |
) |
|
2 610 |
|
||||
| Net loss | $ |
(4 421 |
) |
$ |
(2 126 |
) |
$ |
(10 993 |
) |
$ |
(85 485 |
) |
||||
| Basic loss per common share | $ |
(0,23 |
) |
$ |
(0,11 |
) |
$ |
(0,57 |
) |
$ |
(4,49 |
) |
||||
| Diluted loss per common share | $ |
(0,23 |
) |
$ |
(0,11 |
) |
$ |
(0,57 |
) |
$ |
(4,49 |
) |
||||
| Basic weighted average shares outstanding |
|
18 916 |
|
|
19 113 |
|
|
19 130 |
|
|
19 022 |
|
||||
| Diluted weighted average shares outstanding |
|
18 916 |
|
|
19 113 |
|
|
19 130 |
|
|
19 022 |
|
||||
| Adjusted data (1): | ||||||||||||||||
| Income (loss) from operations - GAAP | $ |
2 381 |
|
$ |
4 457 |
|
$ |
(12 851 |
) |
$ |
(76 178 |
) |
||||
| Amortization of intangible assets |
|
2 081 |
|
|
2 217 |
|
|
6 243 |
|
|
6 651 |
|
||||
| Restructuring costs (credits) |
|
(538 |
) |
|
(111 |
) |
|
3 674 |
|
|
1 887 |
|
||||
| Goodwill impairment |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
10 800 |
|
|
83 895 |
|
||||
| Stock-based compensation included in the | ||||||||||||||||
| following expense categories: | ||||||||||||||||
| Cost of services and fulfillment |
|
1 607 |
|
|
2 220 |
|
|
5 003 |
|
|
6 398 |
|
||||
| Selling and marketing |
|
306 |
|
|
414 |
|
|
879 |
|
|
913 |
|
||||
| General and administrative |
|
670 |
|
|
739 |
|
|
2 314 |
|
|
2 520 |
|
||||
| Adjusted income from operations | $ |
6 507 |
|
$ |
9 936 |
|
$ |
16 062 |
|
$ |
26 086 |
|
||||
| Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| September 30, | September 30, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2026 |
2025 |
2026 |
2025 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Amount | Per Share | Amount | Per Share | Amount | Per Share | Amount | Per Share | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss - GAAP | $ |
(4 421 |
) |
$ |
(0,23 |
) |
$ |
(2 126 |
) |
$ |
(0,11 |
) |
$ |
(10 993 |
) |
$ |
(0,57 |
) |
$ |
(85 485 |
) |
$ |
(4,49 |
) |
||||||||
| Effect on GAAP net loss of diluted shares |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
0,02 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets |
|
2 081 |
|
|
0,11 |
|
|
2 217 |
|
|
0,12 |
|
6 243 |
|
|
0,32 |
|
|
6 651 |
|
|
0,35 |
|
|||||||||
| Restructuring costs (credits) |
|
(538 |
) |
|
(0,03 |
) |
|
(111 |
) |
|
(0,01 |
) |
|
3 674 |
|
|
0,19 |
|
|
1 887 |
|
|
0,10 |
|
||||||||
| Goodwill impairment |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
10 800 |
|
|
0,56 |
|
|
83 895 |
|
|
4,39 |
|
||||||||
| Stock-based compensation |
|
2 583 |
|
|
0,13 |
|
|
3 373 |
|
|
0,17 |
|
|
8 196 |
|
|
0,42 |
|
|
9 831 |
|
|
0,51 |
|
||||||||
| Credit loss expense |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
6 400 |
|
|
0,33 |
|
|
900 |
|
|
0,05 |
|
|
7 310 |
|
|
0,38 |
|
||||||||
| Losses on investments |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
114 |
|
|
0,01 |
|
||||||||
| Tax effects of items above (2) |
|
(735 |
) |
|
(0,03 |
) |
|
(2 374 |
) |
|
(0,12 |
) |
|
(3 096 |
) |
|
(0,16 |
) |
|
(4 862 |
) |
|
(0,25 |
) |
||||||||
| Adjustment to tax expense for adjusted tax rate (3) |
|
5 710 |
|
|
0,29 |
|
|
(144 |
) |
|
(0,01 |
) |
(4 030 |
) |
|
(0,21 |
) |
|
(304 |
) |
|
(0,02 |
) |
|||||||||
| Adjusted net income | $ |
4 680 |
|
$ |
0,24 |
|
$ |
7 235 |
|
$ |
0,37 |
|
$ |
11 694 |
|
$ |
0,60 |
|
$ |
19 037 |
|
$ |
1,00 |
|
||||||||
| Diluted weighted average shares outstanding |
|
19 456 |
|
|
19 311 |
|
|
19 332 |
|
|
19 124 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
| (1) Forrester believes that adjusted financial results provide investors with consistent and comparable information to aid in the understanding of Forrester’s ongoing business and are also used by Forrester in making compensation decisions. Our adjusted presentation excludes amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets, stock-based compensation, restructuring costs (credits), goodwill impairment charges, credit losses on a promissory note from the sale of a product line in 2024, and net gains or losses from investments, as well as their related tax effects. We also utilized an assumed tax rate of |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (2) The tax effect of adjusting items is based on the accounting treatment and rate for the jurisdiction of each item. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (3) To compute adjusted net income, we apply an adjusted effective tax rate of |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Forrester Research, Inc. | |||||||||
| Key Financial Data | |||||||||
| (Unaudited, dollars in thousands) | |||||||||
| September 30, | December 31, | ||||||||
|
2026 |
|
|
2025 |
|
||||
| Balance sheet data: | |||||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents and marketable investments | $ |
117 611 |
|
$ |
127 656 |
|
|||
| Accounts receivable, net | $ |
29 978 |
|
$ |
50 850 |
|
|||
| Deferred revenue | $ |
135 049 |
|
$ |
141 812 |
|
|||
| Debt outstanding | $ |
30 000 |
|
$ |
35 000 |
|
|||
| September 30, | |||||||||
|
2026 |
|
|
2025 |
|
||||
| Cash flow data: | |||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ |
33 408 |
|
$ |
24 293 |
|
|||
| Purchases of property and equipment | $ |
(24 771 |
) |
$ |
(1 923 |
) |
|||
| Payments of debt | $ |
(5 000 |
) |
$ |
— |
|
|||
| Repurchases of common stock | $ |
(11 294 |
) |
$ |
(2 407 |
) |
|||
| As of | |||||||||
| September 30, | |||||||||
|
2026 |
|
|
2025 |
|
||||
| Metrics: | |||||||||
| Contract value | $ |
281 900 |
|
$ |
292 200 |
|
(a) | ||
| Client retention |
|
78 |
% |
|
74 |
% |
|||
| Wallet retention |
|
89 |
% |
|
86 |
% |
|||
| Number of clients |
|
1 761 |
|
|
1 774 |
|
|||
| As of | |||||||||
| September 30, | |||||||||
|
2026 |
|
|
2025 |
|
||||
| Headcount: | |||||||||
| Total headcount |
|
1 337 |
|
|
1 485 |
|
|||
| Sales force |
|
504 |
|
|
550 |
|
|||
| (a) September 30, 2025 amount has been recast based on 2026 foreign currency rates. | |||||||||
© 2026, Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Forrester is a trademark of Forrester Research, Inc.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261029859076/en/
Ed Bryce Morris
VP, Corporate Development & Investor Relations
Forrester Research, Inc.
+1 617-613-6565
ebrycemorris@forrester.com
Shweta Agarwal
VP, Corporate Communications
Forrester Research, Inc.
+1 617-613-6805
sagarwal@forrester.com
Source: Forrester Research, Inc.