Gartner (IT) projected steady growth and a path back toward double-digit gains. The complaint alleges that the picture was misleading.
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Investors who bought Gartner stock during the alleged class period are paying close attention to a newly filed lawsuit alleging the company painted an overly optimistic picture of its growth trajectory while key performance metrics were deteriorating.
A federal securities lawsuit filed on March 17, 2026, in the District of Connecticut alleges that Gartner, Inc. and two of its top executives misled investors about the company’s contract value growth rates and consulting segment revenues during a period when those metrics were allegedly falling short of projections. The complaint covers investors who purchased Gartner common stock between February 4, 2025, and February 2, 2026. Gartner shares dropped approximately 27.55% on August 5, 2025, and fell an additional 20.87% on February 3, 2026, following disclosures the complaint identifies as corrective events.
If you purchased Gartner stock (NYSE: IT) during the class period and suffered losses, you may wish to learn more about your eligibility to participate in this action.
What Gartner Does
Gartner is a global technology and business research company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. According to the complaint, the company provides technology and business insights to clients through guidance, tools, conferences, and direct consulting services. The company operates through three reportable segments: Business and Technology Insights, Conferences, and Consulting. At the time relevant to the lawsuit, Gartner’s common stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol IT.
What the Lawsuit Alleges
The lawsuit centers on statements that Gartner and its executives made about the company’s expected growth in contract value and consulting revenue projections throughout fiscal year 2025. The complaint alleges that defendants repeatedly assured investors that contract value growth would accelerate over the course of 2025 and into 2026, with a medium-term target of 12% to 16% CV growth, which they described as achievable. According to the plaintiff, these representations were materially false and misleading because the company was allegedly not equipped to meet those targets, given the headwinds affecting its business. The complaint further alleges that management minimized risks posed by macroeconomic pressures, tariff-related disruptions, and seasonality, while concealing a deteriorating trajectory in both the company’s contract value growth rate and its consulting segment.
If you want to stay informed as this case develops, consider checking for updates through legal or investor-focused resources.
What Executives Said
The complaint quotes extensively from earnings calls and press releases. On February 4, 2025, CFO Craig Safian stated that Gartner had “very good visibility into 2025 revenue” and that guidance reflected “CV continuing to accelerate during 2025.” CEO Eugene Hall stated at the same time that the company had a goal toward “continuing to accelerate to first double digit and then to our medium-term objective of 12% to 16%.”
On May 6, 2025, following first-quarter results, Hall stated that the company planned to “exit the current environment better, faster and stronger than before” and “reaccelerate CV growth to our target of 12% to 16% when the macroeconomic environment returns to normal.” Safian added that contracts included “resilience” against short-term macroeconomic pressures, emphasizing the company’s focus on multiyear contracts to create “more muted impact” from macro disruptions.
Following the August 5, 2025, partial disclosure, management continued to express confidence. During the November 4, 2025, earnings call, Hall stated that the selling environment among tariff-impacted companies was “starting to improve” and that clients were “starting to make decisions they were unable to make before.” Safian reiterated that he had “more visibility into the next quarter or 2” for the consulting segment and projected that the company was “positioned to accelerate CV growth in 2026.”
How the Alleged Truth Emerged
The complaint identifies two corrective disclosure events. The first occurred on August 5, 2025, when Gartner announced second-quarter fiscal 2025 results, revealing that overall contract value growth had declined from 7% in the prior quarter to 5%, while contract value growth excluding the federal government declined from 8% to 6%. Gartner’s stock fell from a closing price of $336.71 on August 4, 2025, to $243.93 on August 5, 2025, a single-day decline of approximately 27.55%. According to the complaint, following that disclosure, analysts at Wells Fargo cut their price target by nearly 35% and said that Gartner “missed CV growth by a wide margin,” while William Blair described the 28% selloff as having “undoubtedly surpassed even our most pessimistic expectations.”
The second and allegedly final corrective disclosure occurred on February 3, 2026, when Gartner reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 results. The complaint states that contract value growth, excluding the federal segment, declined by a further two percentage points to 4%, and that the company disclosed, for the first time, a significant shortfall in its consulting segment relative to internal projections. Full-year 2025 consulting revenue came in at $552 million, compared to $559 million the prior year and well below the $575 million guidance the company maintained throughout the year. Gartner shares fell from a closing price of $202.40 on February 2, 2026, to $160.16 on February 3, 2026, a decline of approximately 20.87%. According to the complaint, UBS cut its price target by a third and noted that “management abandoned the [high single-digit] 2026 CV growth framework[,]” while William Blair pointed to a significant miss in consulting revenue and noted that management was “unwilling to commit to the high-single-digit growth potential theorized on its second quarter earnings call.”
Why This Case May Matter to Investors
The complaint alleges that investors who purchased Gartner common stock during the class period did so at inflated prices due to materially false and misleading statements about the company’s growth trajectory and consulting revenue expectations. The alleged corrective disclosures in August 2025 and February 2026 are described as the events through which the market learned information that had allegedly been concealed or mischaracterized. Investors who purchased shares at prices that reflected management’s optimistic projections and later sold or held through the stock’s declines may have suffered losses directly tied to those disclosures. The significant attention the CV growth deceleration received from multiple Wall Street analysts, according to the complaint, confirms the materiality of the statements at issue.
Legal Claims in the Complaint
The plaintiff alleges violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder against all defendants, including Gartner, CEO Eugene A. Hall, and CFO Craig W. Safian. The complaint alleges that defendants made untrue statements of material fact and omitted material information necessary to make their statements not misleading, in connection with the purchase and sale of Gartner securities. The plaintiff separately alleges violations of Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act against the individual defendants, on the theory that Hall and Safian, as senior executives, were controlling persons of Gartner and are therefore liable for the company’s alleged primary violations.
If you purchased Gartner stock during the class period and would like to understand your potential legal rights, consulting with a securities attorney may help you assess your options.
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