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what it is
Forrester sells business research, consulting, advice, and events to companies trying to make better tech and marketing decisions.
how it gets paid
Last year Forrester Research made $397M in revenue. Forrester Decisions subscriptions was the main engine at $238M, or 60% of sales.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 8.2% last year. The number that mattered was the $0.35 expected EPS versus the -$1.78 actual result.
what just happened
The latest quarter was ugly: EPS came in at -$1.78 versus a $0.35 estimate, according to Yahoo Finance data provided above.
At a glance
B balance sheet — gets the job done, barely
20/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
trailing p/e n/m — loss-making; do not read a “cheap multiple” yet
11.2% return on capital — nothing to write home about
large fy2025 loss est. in feeds — verify vs filing
xvary composite: 41/100 — below average
What they do
Forrester sells business research, consulting, advice, and events to companies trying to make better tech and marketing decisions.
The moat is habit and trust. Big companies pay Forrester because your team wants outside research before spending millions on software or strategy. That recurring research engine helped support $397 million of annual revenue in the latest SEC filing, even after an 8.2% decline.
How they make money
$397M
annual revenue · their business grew -8.2% last year
Forrester Decisions subscriptions
$238M
6.0%
Other subscription research
$79M
10.0%
Consulting projects
$51M
12.0%
Advisory services
$17M
8.0%
Events
$12M
15.0%
The products that matter
AI research product
AI Access
$5M+ booked since september launch
it has booked over $5M since launch. that's real traction, but still tiny next to a $397M company guiding lower sales.
early traction
core subscription research
Research & Advisory
~$318M · roughly 80% of revenue
this is the main business. contract value fell 6%, which means the turnaround starts here whether you like the AI story or not.
center of gravity
project-based advisory
Consulting
~$68M · consulting + advisory (approx.)
Project work and advisory add revenue but shrink when enterprise budgets tighten— the segment table above splits the lines.
budget-sensitive
Key numbers
28.5%
operating margin
This line is operating margin before below-the-line items. The firm can still post negative net EPS when restructuring and other charges hit— do not mix this headline with net loss wording.
$397M
annual revenue
Revenue → total sales → so what: the company is still sizable enough that a real turnaround would matter, but sales fell 8.2% vs. prior year.
$67M
long-term debt
Long-term debt → money owed over years → so what: debt equals 37% of capital, which is fine in a healthy firm and awkward in a money-losing one.
see est.
fy2025 eps (feeds)
Consensus loss magnitude varies by source; some feeds showed very large negative FY EPS— reconcile to the 10-K before trading on the headline.
Financial health
B
strength
- balance sheet grade B — adequate — nothing special
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 45 / 100
- long-term debt $67M (37% of capital)
B — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for FORR right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
missed estimates
The latest quarter was ugly: EPS came in at -$1.78 versus a $0.35 estimate, according to Yahoo Finance data provided above.
Latest quarter was roughly ~$99M of revenue with EPS about −$1.78 vs a ~$0.35 consensus (huge miss). Some SEC tables show different period totals (e.g. ~$296M lines)— match the fiscal quarter in the release before comparing.
~$99M
quarter revenue
−$1.78
quarter eps
56.0%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The number that mattered was the $0.35 expected EPS versus the -$1.78 actual result, because a miss that wide tells you the reset is still moving the wrong way.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is enterprise research contract erosion during the AI pivot.
med
the core business keeps shrinking
Research & Advisory is roughly $318M of revenue, or about 80% of the business. Contract value already fell 6%, so another weak stretch would keep the whole company moving backward.
If the core subscription engine does not stabilize, the first $5M of AI Access bookings stays a headline, not a fix.
med
guidance leaves little room for execution mistakes
Management is guiding 2026 revenue to $345M–$360M versus a $397M 2025 base, while also targeting a 6–6.5% operating margin.
Miss the low end of that revenue range and the margin target gets harder to believe at the same time.
med
balance sheet flexibility is fine, not endless
Forrester carries $67M of long-term debt, equal to 37% of capital, against a market cap of about $113M.
That is enough leverage to matter in a prolonged turnaround. A smaller company gets less time to be patient.
A $113M company with $67M of long-term debt is trying to stabilize a $397M revenue base while guiding another $37M–$52M lower in 2026.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
contract value trend
The core business already fell 6%. If that decline narrows, the turnaround gets real. If it widens, the rest of the story barely matters.
trend
AI Access bookings
More than $5M since launch is a start. You want to see that number keep climbing fast enough to matter against a $345M–$360M revenue guide.
calendar
B2B Summit North America
April 26–29, 2026. This is a live test of customer appetite for the refreshed pitch and the AI product narrative.
risk
the low end of 2026 guidance
$345M is the floor management gave you. If results start tracking below that, the market will assume the reset still is not deep enough.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
20 / 100
in human-speak, analysts do not trust this business to produce steady numbers right now.
risk rank
3
That places the stock around the middle on overall risk. Not a bunker stock. Not the most fragile name either.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for FORR is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$7
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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