Shares of Gartner (IT 0.55%) closed Friday's trading session up 14.6% after the technological research and consulting company announced strong quarterly results before the opening bell.
Gartner beat estimates on every metric
For the third quarter, Gartner's revenue climbed 5.8% year over year (4.9% on a constant-currency basis) to $1.409 billion, translating to a 6.2% increase in adjusted (non-GAAP) earnings to $2.56 per share. Analysts, on average, were expecting adjusted earnings of $1.96 per share on revenue of $1.39 billion.
CEO Gene Hall called it "another strong quarter," noting that the company achieved high single-digit percentage growth in contract value while beating expectations for free cash flow (up 6.9% to $302 million), and for its top and bottom lines.
Indeed, Gartner's global technology sales contract value increased by 6.5% year over year on a constant-currency basis to $3.6 billion, while global business sales contract value grew by 14% (excluding divestitures) to $1 billion.
Gartner also repurchased 600,000 shares during the quarter for $209 million, and the board of directors approved a $500 million increase to the company's share repurchase authorization last month.
What's next for Gartner stock?
Gartner raised its full-year outlook to call for total revenue of at least $5.89 billion (up from $5.85 billion previously), and for adjusted earnings of $10.90 per share (compared to $10 per share before).
In the end, this was another straightforward beat-and-raise performance from Gartner. With shares roughly flat so far in 2023 leading into this report, the stock simply responded as was to be expected.
