Gartner Inc

Ten stocks in the S&P 500 lost more than 40% in 2026 even as the index rose 8.28%, as investors fled companies they believed artificial intelligence would disrupt. Intuit fell 55.27% after cheap AI tax tools emerged, prompting Goldman Sachs analyst Gabriela Borges to cut her price target to $276 from $519 and the company to reduce staff by 17% and lower its TurboTax forecast. Accenture dropped 45.21% as clients shifted spending to AI instead of consultants, with new orders slipping to $19.3 billion from $19.7 billion and the firm cutting its sales growth outlook to between 3% and 4%. Cognizant, Gartner, and The Trade Desk each lost between 44% and 55%, while the two worst performers fell for non-AI reasons: CoStar Group sank 58.86% after saying its Homes.com site would not cover costs until 2029, and Boston Scientific declined 53.59% after cutting its sales growth forecast and recalling Accolade pacemakers linked to four deaths and 2,557 serious injuries. Meanwhile, chip and memory makers surged, with Sandisk up 505.17%, Dell Technologies up 247.55%, and Micron Technology up 222.68%.

Gartner shares fell nearly 49% in the first half of 2026 as investors worried that artificial intelligence is draining demand for its analysis and advisory services. The company's global contract value inched up less than 1% year over year to $5.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, and full-year revenue guidance of nearly $6.46 billion came in below the $6.52 billion analyst consensus. In the first quarter of 2026, contract value rose only 1% to $5.3 billion while revenue slipped 1.5% to $1.5 billion, and annual top-line guidance was cut to below $6.41 billion. Gartner also sold its digital market division to G2 for a base price of $110 million, a figure viewed as a fire-sale price. The company raised its non-GAAP earnings per share guidance to $13.25 and free cash flow guidance to $1.16 billion, but investors remain focused on whether it can benefit from the AI surge rather than be hurt by it.

IT services and consulting stocks tracked by the publication fell an average of 18% since their latest earnings reports, even as first-quarter revenues broadly met analyst expectations. IBM led the group with revenue of 15.92 billion dollars, up 9.5 percent year on year and beating estimates by 1.3 percent, but its stock still dropped 15.7 percent. Gartner posted revenue of 1.51 billion dollars, down 1.5 percent, while Everforth reported flat revenue of 968.3 million dollars and issued weak guidance that sent its shares down 53.7 percent. Grid Dynamics grew revenue 3.7 percent to 104.1 million dollars and raised its full-year outlook, and EPAM Systems recorded 1.4 billion dollars in revenue, up 7.6 percent, though its stock fell 17.8 percent. Next-quarter revenue guidance for the group came in 2.3 percent below consensus, contributing to the broad share-price declines.

Shares of IT services and consulting firms Gartner and DXC fell in afternoon trading after IBM issued a second-quarter revenue warning that missed Wall Street estimates. IBM pre-announced adjusted earnings of $2.93 per share on $17.2 billion in revenue, below the expected $3.01 and $17.86 billion, with CEO Arvind Krishna citing a sudden reprioritization of enterprise budgets in late June. Clients shifted capital expenditure toward servers, storage, and memory chips to secure supply-constrained hardware, causing numerous large deals to stall. Gartner dropped 3.5% and DXC fell 4.2% as investors treated IBM's delayed deal closures as a bellwether for the broader group. DXC's shares have been highly volatile, with 27 moves greater than 5% over the past year, and are now down 34.1% year-to-date at $9.29 per share.

Bernstein Liebhard LLP has announced an investigation into potential breaches of fiduciary duties by certain directors and officers of Gartner, raising fresh governance and legal risk concerns. The stock has already been under pressure, with the share price down 15.7% over the past month and 44% year to date, while the one-year total shareholder return has fallen 65.8%. Despite this, a narrative fair value estimate of $183.69 per share suggests the stock is 28% undervalued relative to its last close of $132.69, based on expectations of strong free cash flow, disciplined capital allocation, and recovering secular demand. However, that valuation could be challenged if generative AI tools erode demand for Gartner's paid research or if prolonged corporate cost cutting keeps contract value growth weak.

Shares of Zebra, Gartner, and TransUnion fell in morning trading after President Trump declared the Iran ceasefire over and threatened fresh strikes, sending oil prices soaring and triggering a broad risk-off move. Brent crude jumped 7.5% to $79.65, reviving inflation fears and pushing global bond yields higher, which raised the discount rate on future cash flows for business services firms. The sector, which includes staffing, consulting, and outsourcing companies, is sensitive to economic growth expectations and tends to decline when geopolitical uncertainty clouds the outlook. Zebra fell 2.6%, Gartner fell 2.8%, and TransUnion fell 2.8%.

Gartner declined following signs of slowing growth and a weaker-than-expected outlook for 2026, according to Artisan Mid Cap Value Fund's first-quarter 2026 investor letter. The fund noted that Gartner's core research business has been affected by cyclical headwinds including US government cost-cutting, trade policy uncertainty, and longer sales cycles, while some investors are concerned about the long-term impact of artificial intelligence on its business model. Despite these challenges, the fund believes the issues are primarily cyclical and that any meaningful AI disruption is likely to play out over a longer time horizon. Gartner continues to generate strong free cash flow, maintains a solid balance sheet, and returned approximately $2 billion in share repurchases to shareholders in 2025. The fund considers the stock attractively valued at current levels.

Shares of IT services companies EPAM, Gartner, and Accenture fell in the afternoon session after the Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate at 3.5% to 3.75% and its dot plot signaled the easing cycle might reverse. EPAM dropped 4.9%, Gartner fell 4%, and Accenture declined 4.2%. The FOMC's message was unfavorable for firms relying on multi-year enterprise transformation contracts, as CFOs who had been loosening IT budgets in anticipation of further rate relief now face a financing environment pointing in the opposite direction. Discretionary IT spend is typically one of the first budget lines to compress when the rate outlook hardens, and the dollar's strengthening on the session's yield surge reduces the value of US-dollar earnings for offshore-heavy firms.

Renaissance Investment Management sold its position in Gartner during the first quarter of 2026, citing a deterioration in fundamental factors and several quarters of disappointing operating results. The firm had previously expected Gartner to benefit from AI adoption, but instead saw demand moderate as companies reevaluate their technology roadmaps and consider whether AI can replace some of Gartner's services. Gartner shares lost 63.78% over the past 52 weeks, closing at $148.17 on June 16, 2026, with a market capitalization of $9.92 billion. The number of hedge funds holding Gartner fell to 36 from 50 in the previous quarter. Renaissance Investment Management believes these external challenges will likely persist, making it prudent to move to the sidelines.

Sustainable Growth Advisers exited its position in Gartner during the first quarter of 2026, citing disappointing results and a misalignment with management's strategic priorities. The SGA Global Growth Portfolio returned negative 13.6% gross and negative 13.8% net for the quarter, compared with a 3.2% decline for the MSCI ACWI. The firm said Gartner's growth had decelerated amid political and macroeconomic headwinds, and it became concerned about market saturation after the company continued to miss contract-value targets. SGA had advocated for a shift toward free-cash-flow focus and margin improvement, but Gartner's earnings guidance instead reinforced reinvestment in what SGA called unrealistic growth targets. Gartner shares closed at $142.24 on June 16, 2026, with a market capitalization of $9.52 billion, and the stock fell 64.38% over the prior 52 weeks.