Forrester Research, Inc. Q2 2026 Earnings Call Summary
Forrester Research reported Q2 2026 results and reiterated full-year 2026 guidance. Management cited stabilization in core Contract Value, while non-CV revenue fell 15% due to strategy consulting exit and market uncertainty. Events revenue declined 17%. Forrester AI usage rose 69% YoY. The company plans to fully exit consulting by end-2026 and expects stock repurchases using over $76 million authorization.
How this was made
The 30-second read
Why it matters
Traders can update expectations for 2026 contract value trajectory based on management’s maintained guidance, the planned end-2026 exit of strategy consulting, and the planned acceleration of stock repurchases in H2.
Market read
Guidance is maintained and buybacks are set to accelerate, but the full-year model still assumes mid-single-digit research decline, low-20s consulting decline, and mid-to-high-teens events decline.
What to watch
The article notes competitive dynamics shifting marketing agency AI usage away from OpenAI toward Google and Adobe, which could foreshadow broader platform-driven demand shifts for research providers.
Background
This is a Q2 2026 earnings call summary describing Forrester’s segment performance, strategic pivot away from strategy consulting, AI product usage, and full-year 2026 guidance assumptions.
Ticker impact
Forrester (FORR) maintained full-year 2026 guidance while detailing a full exit from strategy consulting by end-2026 and a stock repurchase acceleration using $76M+ authorization.
Moderate upside bias on any market focus on buyback and CV stabilization, offset by continued full-year contraction assumptions.
The article provides specific management guidance assumptions, a timeline for exiting consulting, and a quantified remaining repurchase authorization, which can move expectations even without new beats/misses.
Market effects
Highlights competitive pressure in AI research/workflow integrations and a shift toward “answer engine optimization,” which may influence how research vendors market and price AI-enabled offerings.
North American federal government segment flagged as a headwind with an anticipated Q3 turning point, relevant for demand timing in government-adjacent research spend.
Expansion of Total Experience (TX) scoring to employee experience and global brand-growth measurement may affect cross-region client evaluation of research subscriptions.
Counterpoint
The narrative of CV stabilization may be offset by ongoing contraction in non-CV lines and reliance on assumed declines, so the buyback could be more supportive than fundamentally corrective.
Key entities
- companyForrester Research, Inc.
Discussed Q2 performance drivers, full-year 2026 guidance assumptions, strategy consulting exit timeline, AI product usage growth, and H2 stock repurchase acceleration.
- product_integrationMicrosoft Teams and Copilot
Management claims early competitive positioning via presence in Microsoft Teams and an AI agent for Copilot.
- segmentNorth American government segment
Flagged as a recent headwind with an expected turning point in Q3.
