Forrester Research FORR

NASDAQ FORR

$12.04 -0.14 (-1.15%)

At close: Sep 9, 2026 · 4:00 PM EDT

Key Stats

Market Cap231.67 Mn

P/E-10.58

P/S0.61

Div. Yield0.00

Total Debt (Qtr)35.00 Mn

Revenue Growth (1y) (Qtr)-10.23

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About

Forrester Research, Inc. is a global independent research and advisory firm. It empowers leaders in technology customer experience digital marketing sales and product functions to accelerate growth through customer obsession. The firm’s unique research and continuous guidance model helps executives and their teams achieve initiatives faster and with confidence. Forrester’s offerings are rooted in rigorous methodologies extensive surveys proprietary data and trusted human…

The company generates revenue from three main categories research consulting and events. Research revenue comes from subscriptions to and licenses of its research products and services such as Forrester Decisions. Consulting revenue is derived from consulting projects and standalone advisory services. Events revenue is generated from ticket sales and sponsorships for conferences and gatherings. Subscription research products represent the core contract value that drives predictable and profitable revenue streams.

The company operates through the following segments: Research Consulting and Events.

Research: This segment provides objective independent and data driven research insights using qualitative and quantitative methods. It offers future trends predictions market forecasts deep consumer and business buyer data curated best practice models tools operational performance benchmarking data and technology and service market landscapes. The research is accessible via the proprietary generative AI tool Forrester AI and includes ongoing support from analysts who help clients apply insights to business initiatives.
Consulting: This segment helps clients implement customer obsessed strategies that drive growth. It includes consulting projects content marketing and advisory services focused on turning research into actionable plans.
Events: This segment hosts multiple events across North America Europe and Asia Pacific. Events are designed to provide insights and actionable advice on topics such as business to business marketing sales product leadership customer experience security risk and technology innovation. Attendance at events correlates with higher contract renewal rates and higher conversion of prospects to clients.

Forrester holds a strong position in the research and advisory industry competing directly with firms such as Gartner as well as marketing agencies general business consulting firms and survey based market research providers. Its competitive advantages stem from forward looking research hands on guidance rigorous methodologies and a brand promise to be on the client’s side. The firm also faces indirect competition from internal planning teams of clients and free information sources like Google and AI services.

As of December 31, 2025 Forrester’s products and services were delivered to more than 1,700 client companies worldwide. No single client accounted for more than three percent of 2025 revenues. The firm serves leaders in technology customer experience digital marketing sales and product functions across a broad range of industries.

Investment Thesis

▲ Bull case

Forrester Research is positioned to capitalize on the structural shift toward private AI models, a trend management emphasized as representing approximately 70% of future AI-related revenue opportunities, which creates a durable growth runway tied to enterprise demand for secure, customized AI solutions in sensitive industries like banking and insurance, where data sensitivity and regulatory pressures are accelerating adoption beyond public model reliance.
The integration of Forrester AI with Microsoft Copilot and Teams, highlighted by Carrie Johnson noting Copilot traction doubled that of Teams launches, demonstrates successful embedding into client workflows, reducing friction and increasing stickiness, which supports portfolio expansion through AI Access—now just under 5% of contract value but expected to approach 10% by 2027—without cannibalizing core revenue, as CV per client remains stable between $160,000 and $180,000.
Despite a 5% year-over-year revenue decline, wallet retention improved to 89% (up three points sequentially and from the prior year) and client retention reached 78% (up five points year-over-year), signaling strengthening client relationships and the effectiveness of the retention life cycle initiative, which is accelerating onboarding and improving engagement, directly countering near-term revenue headwinds from the sunsetting of strategy consulting and reimagined events.
Management raised the low-to-midpoint of 2026 revenue guidance to $350 million–$360 million (down 9%–12%) based on improving metrics and stronger sponsorship bookings for events, with recent event attendance up 10% and sponsorships described as “really strong,” indicating a recovering events pipeline that could exceed current guidance assumptions for mid- to high-teens% annual decline, especially as organizational changes in North America—industry-based territory alignment and AI-focused sales training—are fully implemented and already showing early growth in high-tech and industrial sectors.
Forrester’s strong balance sheet, with over $145 million in cash and only $35 million in debt, provides significant flexibility to invest in AI product development and go-to-market execution without financial constraint, while the company generated $19 million in free cash flow in Q1 ($25 million excluding the one-time $5.4 million headquarters CapEx), underscoring operational resilience despite short-term profitability pressures.

Forrester Research is positioned to capitalize on the structural shift toward private AI models, a trend management emphasized as representing approximately 70% of future AI-related revenue opportunities, which creates a durable growth runway tied to enterprise demand for secure, customized AI solutions in sensitive industries like banking and insurance, where data sensitivity and regulatory pressures are accelerating adoption beyond public model reliance.
The integration of Forrester AI with Microsoft Copilot and Teams, highlighted by Carrie Johnson noting Copilot traction doubled that of Teams launches, demonstrates successful embedding into client workflows, reducing friction and increasing stickiness, which supports portfolio expansion through AI Access—now just under 5% of contract value but expected to approach 10% by 2027—without cannibalizing core revenue, as CV per client remains stable between $160,000 and $180,000.
Despite a 5% year-over-year revenue decline, wallet retention improved to 89% (up three points sequentially and from the prior year) and client retention reached 78% (up five points year-over-year), signaling strengthening client relationships and the effectiveness of the retention life cycle initiative, which is accelerating onboarding and improving engagement, directly countering near-term revenue headwinds from the sunsetting of strategy consulting and reimagined events.
Management raised the low-to-midpoint of 2026 revenue guidance to $350 million–$360 million (down 9%–12%) based on improving metrics and stronger sponsorship bookings for events, with recent event attendance up 10% and sponsorships described as “really strong,” indicating a recovering events pipeline that could exceed current guidance assumptions for mid- to high-teens% annual decline, especially as organizational changes in North America—industry-based territory alignment and AI-focused sales training—are fully implemented and already showing early growth in high-tech and industrial sectors.
Forrester’s strong balance sheet, with over $145 million in cash and only $35 million in debt, provides significant flexibility to invest in AI product development and go-to-market execution without financial constraint, while the company generated $19 million in free cash flow in Q1 ($25 million excluding the one-time $5.4 million headquarters CapEx), underscoring operational resilience despite short-term profitability pressures.

▼ Bear case

Forrester Research faces persistent structural headwinds in its consulting segment, where revenue declined 13% year-over-year due to the sunsetting of the strategy consulting business, and management explicitly guided for low-20s% annual decline in consulting revenue for 2026, indicating that this segment’s contraction is not merely tactical but a deliberate, multi-year drag on overall revenue that will persist despite growth in AI Access and embedded products.
Despite improvements in wallet and client retention, contract value declined 3% year-over-year (an improvement from the 6% decline in 2025 but still negative), and operating income turned negative at $0.9 million (down 135% year-over-year) with an operating margin of negative 1%, revealing that retention gains are not yet translating into top-line growth or profitability, as the company continues to lap difficult comparisons from 2025 bookings declines.
The company’s reliance on AI-driven growth remains unproven at scale, as AI Access accounted for just under 5% of the contract value portfolio, and while management expects it to approach 10% by 2027, this implies a slow ramp that may not offset declines in legacy research (mid-single-digit decline guided) and consulting (low-20s% decline), especially given that product integrations like Copilot, while showing early traction, have not yet demonstrated material impact on overall revenue or CV growth.
One-time litigation costs offset headcount reduction savings, limiting operating expense improvement despite an 8% headcount decrease, and with operating expenses down only 1% year-over-year, the company lacks meaningful operating leverage, making it difficult to expand margins even if revenue stabilizes, as evidenced by the guidance for only 6%–6.5% operating margin in 2026 despite a strong balance sheet and cost-cutting efforts.
Forrester’s guidance assumes a 29% effective tax rate and $2.3 million in annual interest expense, and while the company raised the low end of revenue confidence, the midpoint of $355 million still represents a double-digit percentage decline from 2025 levels, suggesting the market may be underestimating the persistence of bookings declines from 2025 and the time required for new AI-focused products to scale sufficiently to reverse the revenue trajectory.

Forrester Research faces persistent structural headwinds in its consulting segment, where revenue declined 13% year-over-year due to the sunsetting of the strategy consulting business, and management explicitly guided for low-20s% annual decline in consulting revenue for 2026, indicating that this segment’s contraction is not merely tactical but a deliberate, multi-year drag on overall revenue that will persist despite growth in AI Access and embedded products.
Despite improvements in wallet and client retention, contract value declined 3% year-over-year (an improvement from the 6% decline in 2025 but still negative), and operating income turned negative at $0.9 million (down 135% year-over-year) with an operating margin of negative 1%, revealing that retention gains are not yet translating into top-line growth or profitability, as the company continues to lap difficult comparisons from 2025 bookings declines.
The company’s reliance on AI-driven growth remains unproven at scale, as AI Access accounted for just under 5% of the contract value portfolio, and while management expects it to approach 10% by 2027, this implies a slow ramp that may not offset declines in legacy research (mid-single-digit decline guided) and consulting (low-20s% decline), especially given that product integrations like Copilot, while showing early traction, have not yet demonstrated material impact on overall revenue or CV growth.
One-time litigation costs offset headcount reduction savings, limiting operating expense improvement despite an 8% headcount decrease, and with operating expenses down only 1% year-over-year, the company lacks meaningful operating leverage, making it difficult to expand margins even if revenue stabilizes, as evidenced by the guidance for only 6%–6.5% operating margin in 2026 despite a strong balance sheet and cost-cutting efforts.
Forrester’s guidance assumes a 29% effective tax rate and $2.3 million in annual interest expense, and while the company raised the low end of revenue confidence, the midpoint of $355 million still represents a double-digit percentage decline from 2025 levels, suggesting the market may be underestimating the persistence of bookings declines from 2025 and the time required for new AI-focused products to scale sufficiently to reverse the revenue trajectory.

Product and Service Breakdown of Revenue (2025)

Peer group

Peer Comparison

Companies in the Consulting

S.No.	Ticker	Company	match	Market Cap	P/E	P/S	Total Debt (Qtr)
1	ACN	Accenture plc	primary	107.93 Bn	13.60	1.48	5.14 Bn
2	ULS	UL Solutions Inc.	primary	14.72 Bn	27.88	4.68	0.30 Bn
3	IT	Gartner Inc	primary	11.25 Bn	14.50	1.74	2.98 Bn
4	TTEK	Tetra Tech Inc	primary	9.17 Bn	21.03	1.81	0.85 Bn
5	BAH	Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp	primary	8.68 Bn	11.16	0.78	3.96 Bn
6	G	Genpact LTD	primary	5.90 Bn	10.13	1.12	1.21 Bn
7	FCN	Fti Consulting, Inc	primary	4.32 Bn	17.08	1.10	1.02 Bn
8	KFY	Korn Ferry	primary	4.16 Bn	14.80	1.41	0.40 Bn

Forrester Research FORR

About

Investment Thesis

Segments Breakdown of Revenue (2025)

Product and Service Breakdown of Revenue (2025)

Peer Comparison

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