# Gartner Inc: Form 10-K for the period ended Dec 31, 2019 - Company: [Gartner Inc](/companies/it.md) (CIK 749251) - Form: 10-K - Filed: 2020-02-19 - Accepted by EDGAR: Feb 19, 2020, 21:53 ET - Period: 2019-12-31 - Accession: 0000749251-20-000008 - Inline XBRL: yes - Main document: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/749251/000074925120000008/it-12312019x10k.htm - All documents and exhibits: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/749251/000074925120000008/ ## Figures reported in this filing Standardized XBRL line items for the period ended 2019-12-31. | Line item | Period | Value | XBRL concept | | --- | --- | ---: | --- | | Revenue | 12 months, 2019-01-01 to 2019-12-31 | $4.25bn | us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax | | Cost of revenue | 12 months, 2019-01-01 to 2019-12-31 | $1.55bn | us-gaap:CostOfGoodsAndServicesSold | | Selling, general and administrative | 12 months, 2019-01-01 to 2019-12-31 | $2.10bn | us-gaap:SellingGeneralAndAdministrativeExpense | | Operating income | 12 months, 2019-01-01 to 2019-12-31 | $370.1m | us-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss | | Interest expense | 12 months, 2019-01-01 to 2019-12-31 | $102.8m | us-gaap:InterestExpense | | Income tax | 12 months, 2019-01-01 to 2019-12-31 | $42.4m | us-gaap:IncomeTaxExpenseBenefit | | Net income | 12 months, 2019-01-01 to 2019-12-31 | $233.3m | us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss | | Diluted EPS | 12 months, 2019-01-01 to 2019-12-31 | $2.56 | us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted | | Basic EPS | 12 months, 2019-01-01 to 2019-12-31 | $2.60 | us-gaap:EarningsPerShareBasic | | Diluted shares (weighted) | 12 months, 2019-01-01 to 2019-12-31 | 90,971,000 shares | us-gaap:WeightedAverageNumberOfDilutedSharesOutstanding | | Operating cash flow | 12 months, 2019-01-01 to 2019-12-31 | $565.4m | us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | | Share repurchases | 12 months, 2019-01-01 to 2019-12-31 | $199.0m | us-gaap:PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock | | Cash and equivalents | at 2019-12-31 | $280.8m | us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue | | Current assets | at 2019-12-31 | $2.02bn | us-gaap:AssetsCurrent | | Total assets | at 2019-12-31 | $7.15bn | us-gaap:Assets | | Current liabilities | at 2019-12-31 | $2.86bn | us-gaap:LiabilitiesCurrent | | Total liabilities | at 2019-12-31 | $6.21bn | us-gaap:Liabilities | | Long-term debt | at 2019-12-31 | $2.04bn | us-gaap:LongTermDebtNoncurrent | | Current portion of debt | at 2019-12-31 | $139.7m | us-gaap:LongTermDebtCurrent | | Shareholders' equity | at 2019-12-31 | $938.6m | us-gaap:StockholdersEquity | ## Business As filed, 15,984 characters. ### GENERAL Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world’s leading research and advisory company and a member of the S&P 500. We equip business leaders with indispensable insights, advice and tools to achieve their mission-critical priorities today and build the successful organizations of tomorrow. We believe our unmatched combination of expert-led, practitioner-sourced and data-driven research steers clients toward the right decisions on the issues that matter most. We are a trusted advisor and an objective resource for more than 15,000 enterprises in more than 100 countries — across all major functions, in every industry and enterprise size. Gartner delivers its products and services globally through three business segments – Research, Conferences and Consulting, as described below. ***Research*** provides trusted, objective insights and advice on the mission-critical priorities of leaders across all functional areas of an enterprise through reports, briefings, proprietary tools, access to our research experts, peer networking services and membership programs that enable our clients to drive organizational performance. ***Conferences*** provides business professionals across an organization the opportunity to learn, share and network. From our Gartner Symposium/Xpo series, to industry-leading conferences focused on specific business roles and topics, to peer-driven sessions, our offerings enable attendees to experience the best of Gartner insight and advice live. ***Consulting*** combines the power of Gartner market-leading research with custom analysis and on-the-ground support to help chief information officers and other senior executives driving technology-related strategic initiatives move confidently from insight to action. The fiscal year of Gartner is the twelve-month period from January 1 through December 31. All references to 2019, 2018 and 2017 herein refer to the fiscal year unless otherwise indicated. When used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the terms “Gartner,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our” refer to Gartner, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries. ### MARKET OVERVIEW Enterprise leaders face enormous pressure to stay ahead and grow profitably amidst constant change. Whether it is an impending transition to digital business or large-scale regulatory changes, business leaders today are facing more disruptive change than ever before. No enterprise can be operationally effective unless it incorporates the right strategy, management and technology decisions into every part of its business. This requirement affects all business levels, functions and roles. Chief financial officers, heads of human resources, chief marketing officers, chief information officers, and other executives and leaders across all enterprises turn to Gartner for decision-making guidance and execution support to achieve their mission-critical priorities. ### OUR SOLUTION We believe our unmatched combination of expert-led, practitioner-sourced and data-driven research steers clients toward the right decisions and actions on the issues that matter most. We employ a diversified business model that utilizes and leverages the breadth and depth of our intellectual capital. The foundation of our business model is our ability to create and distribute our proprietary research content as broadly as possible via published reports, interactive tools, facilitated peer networking, briefings, consulting and advisory services, and our conferences, including the Gartner Symposium/Xpo series. ### PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Our diversified business model provides multiple entry points and sources of value for our clients that facilitate increased client spending on our research and advisory services, conferences and consulting services. A critical part of our long-term strategy is to increase business volume and penetration with our most valuable clients, identifying relationships with the greatest sales potential and expanding those relationships by offering strategically relevant research and advice. We also seek to extend the Gartner brand name to develop new client relationships, augment our sales capacity and expand into new markets around the world. In addition, we seek to increase our revenue and operating cash flow through more effective pricing of our products and services. These initiatives have created additional revenue streams through more effective packaging, campaigning and cross-selling of our products and services. Our principal products and services are delivered through our three business segments, as described below. - **RESEARCH.** Gartner delivers independent, objective advice to leaders across an enterprise through subscription services that include on-demand access to published research content, data and benchmarks, and direct access to a network of approximately 2,300 research experts located around the globe. Gartner research is the fundamental building block for all Gartner products and services. We combine our proprietary research methodologies with extensive industry and academic relationships to create Gartner products and services that address each role across an enterprise. Within the Research segment, Global Technology Sales ("GTS") sells products and services to users and providers of technology, while Global Business Sales ("GBS") sells products and services to all other functional leaders, such as supply chain, marketing, HR, finance, legal and sales. Our research agenda is defined by clients’ needs, focusing on the critical issues, opportunities and challenges they face every day. We are in steady contact with over 15,000 distinct client enterprises worldwide. We publish tens of thousands of pages of original research annually, and our research experts have more than 400,000 direct client interactions every year. Our size and scale enable us to commit vast resources toward broader and deeper research coverage and to deliver insight to our clients based on what they need and where they are. The ongoing interaction of our research experts with our clients enables us to identify the most pertinent topics to them and develop relevant product and service enhancements to meet the evolving needs of users of our research. Our proprietary research content, presented in the form of reports, briefings, updates and related tools, is delivered directly to the client’s desktop via our website and/or product-specific portals. Clients normally sign subscription contracts that provide access to our research content and advisory services for individual users over a defined period. We typically have a minimum contract period of twelve months for our research and advisory subscription contracts and, at December 31, 2019, a significant portion of our contracts were multi-year. - **CONFERENCES.** Gartner attracts more than 85,000 business and technology professionals to its 70+ destination conferences worldwide each year. Attendees experience sessions led by Gartner research experts, cutting-edge technology solutions, peer exchange workshops, one-on-one analyst and advisor meetings, consulting diagnostic workshops, keynotes and more. Our conferences also provide attendees with an opportunity to interact with business executives from the world’s leading technology companies. In addition to role-specific summits and workshop-style seminars, Gartner hosts the Gartner Symposium/Xpo series, including its unique, flagship IT Symposium/Xpo®, which is held at nine locations worldwide annually. We also host 700+ more intimate live meetings each year for peer collaboration, and 240+ exclusive C-level meetings through the Evanta brand. - **CONSULTING.** Through its experienced consultants, Gartner Consulting serves chief information officers and other senior executives who are driving technology-related strategic initiatives to optimize technology investments and drive business impact. Gartner Consulting combines the power of Gartner’s market-leading research with custom analysis and on-the-ground support to help clients to turn insights and advice into action and impact. Consulting solutions capitalize on Gartner assets that are invaluable to information technology ("IT") decision-making, including: (1) our extensive research, which ensures that our consulting analyses and advice are based on a deep understanding of the IT environment and the business of IT; (2) our market independence, which keeps our consultants focused on our clients' success; and (3) our market-leading benchmarking capabilities, which provide relevant comparisons and best practices to assess and improve performance. Additionally, we provide actionable solutions for a range of IT-related priorities, including IT cost optimization, technology modernization and IT sourcing optimization. ### COMPETITION We believe that the principal factors that differentiate us from our competitors are as follows: - Superior research content - We believe that we create the broadest, highest-quality and most relevant research coverage across all major functional roles in an enterprise. Our independent operating model and research analysis generates unbiased insight that we believe is timely, thought-provoking and comprehensive, and that is known for its high quality, independence and objectivity. - Our leading brand name - We have provided critical, trusted insight under the Gartner name for more than 40 years. - Our global footprint and established customer base - We have a global presence with clients in more than 100 countries on six continents. A substantial portion of our revenue is derived from sales outside of the United States. - Experienced management team - Our management team is comprised of research veterans and experienced industry executives with long tenure at Gartner. - Substantial operating leverage in our business model - We can distribute our intellectual property and expertise across multiple platforms, including research and advisory subscription and membership programs, conferences and consulting engagements, to derive incremental revenue and profitability. - Vast network of research experts and consultants - As of December 31, 2019, we had approximately 2,300 research experts and 780+ experienced consultants located around the world. Our research experts are located in more than 30 countries, enabling us to cover vast aspects of business and technology on a global basis. Notwithstanding these differentiating factors, we face competition from a significant number of independent providers of information products and services. We compete indirectly with consulting firms and other data and information providers, including electronic and print media companies. These indirect competitors could choose to compete directly with us in the future. In addition, we face competition from free sources of information that are available to our clients through the internet. Limited barriers to entry exist in the markets in which we do business. As a result, new competitors may emerge and existing competitors may start to provide additional or complementary services. While we believe the breadth and depth of our research positions us well versus our competition, increased competition could result in loss of market share, diminished value in our products and services, reduced pricing, and increased sales and marketing expenditures. ### INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Our success has resulted in part from proprietary methodologies, software, reusable knowledge capital and other intellectual property rights. We rely on a combination of patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, confidentiality, non-compete and other contractual provisions to protect our intellectual property rights. We have policies related to confidentiality, ownership, and the use and protection of Gartner’s intellectual property. We also enter into agreements with our employees and third parties as appropriate that protect our intellectual property, and we enforce these agreements if necessary. We recognize the value of our intellectual property in the marketplace and vigorously identify, create and protect it. Additionally, we actively monitor and enforce contract compliance by our end users. ### EMPLOYEES We had a total of 16,724 employees at December 31, 2019, an increase of 10% when compared to 15,173 employees at December 31, 2018. The overall growth in the number of employees was due, in part, to an increase in the total number of quota-bearing sales associates during 2019. We had 9,468 employees, or 57% of our total employees, located in the United States at December 31, 2019 in approximately 45 offices. At such date, we had 1,314 employees located at our headquarters facility in Stamford, Connecticut and nearby; 2,040 employees located at our Fort Myers, Florida offices; 1,457 employees located in Arlington, Virginia; 847 employees located in Irving, Texas; and 3,810 employees located elsewhere in the United States. We had 7,256 employees, or 43% of our total employees, located outside of the United States at December 31, 2019 in approximately 75 offices. At such date, 1,616 employees were located in Gurgaon, India; 1,180 employees were located in Egham, the United Kingdom; and 4,460 employees were located elsewhere in the world. Our employees may be subject to collective bargaining agreements at a company or industry level, or works councils, in those foreign countries where such arrangements are part of the local labor law or practice. We have experienced no work stoppages and consider our relations with our employees to be favorable. ### GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS Our U.S. government contracts are subject to the approval of appropriations by the U.S. Congress to fund the agencies contracting for our products and services. Additionally, our contracts at the state and local levels, as well as foreign government contracts, are subject to various governmental authorizations and funding approvals and mechanisms. Certain of these contracts may be terminated at any time by the government entity without cause or penalty. ### FINANCIAL INFORMATION The Company's financial information by business segment for the three-year period ended December 31, 2019 is provided in Note 16 — Segment Information in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. Additional information regarding revenues by business segment is provided in Note 9 — Revenue and Related Matters in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. ### AVAILABLE INFORMATION Our internet address is *gartner.com* and the Investor Relations section of our website is at *investor.gartner.com*. We make available free of charge, on or through the Investor Relations section of our website, printable copies of our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Unless expressly noted, the information on our website or any other website is not incorporated by reference in this Form 10-K and should not be considered part of this Form 10-K or any other filing we make with the SEC. Also available at *investor.gartner.com*, under the “Governance” link, are printable and current copies of our: (i) CEO and CFO Code of Ethics, which applies to our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Controller and other financial managers; (ii) Global Code of Conduct, which applies to all Gartner officers, directors and employees, wherever located; (iii) Principles and Practices of the Board of Directors of Gartner, Inc., the corporate governance principles that have been adopted by our Board; and (iv) charters for each of the Board’s standing committees: Audit, Compensation and Governance/Nominating. ## Risk factors As filed, 49,971 characters. *We operate in a highly competitive and rapidly changing environment that involves numerous risks and uncertainties, some of which are beyond our control. In addition, we and our clients are affected by global economic conditions and trends. The following sections address significant factors, events and uncertainties that make an investment in our securities risky. We urge you to consider carefully the factors described below and the risks that they present for our operations, as well as the risks addressed in other reports and materials that we file with the SEC and the other information, included or incorporated by reference in this Form 10-K. When the factors, events and contingencies described below or elsewhere in this Form 10-K materialize there could be a material adverse impact on our business, prospects, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows, and could therefore have a negative effect on the trading price of our common stock. Additional risks not currently known to us or that we now deem immaterial may also harm us and negatively affect your investment.* *Our operating results could be negatively impacted by global economic conditions.* Our business is impacted by general economic conditions and trends in the United States and abroad. In its recent report, *Global Economics Prospects, January 2020: Slow Growth, Policy Challenges*, the World Bank reported that global trade and investment are expected to recover modestly this year, but advanced economies are expected to slow. The report also indicated that even if growth in emerging and developing economies occurs as anticipated, the per capita growth is still expected to be less than long-term averages. Among the concerns cited were increasing and accelerated global debt accumulation, slowdown in productivity, price controls in emerging markets and developing economies, risk of re-escalating trade tensions and downturns in major economies. In the United States, the World Bank notes that growth has decelerated in part due to lessening investment and exports, and it is expected that general uncertainty and the diminishing impact of 2017 tax cuts will have a negative effect on growth in the near term. A downturn in growth could negatively and materially affect future demand for our products and services in general, in certain geographic regions, in particular countries, or industry sectors. Such difficulties could negatively impact our ability to maintain or improve the various business measurements we utilize (which are defined in this annual report), such as contract value and consulting backlog growth, client retention, wallet retention, consulting utilization rates, and the number of attendees and exhibitors at our conferences and other meetings. Failure to achieve acceptable levels of these measurements or improve them will negatively impact our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. *We face significant competition and our failure to compete successfully could materially adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.* We face direct competition from a significant number of independent providers of information products and services, including information available on the internet free of charge. We also compete indirectly against consulting firms and other information providers, including electronic and print media companies, some of which have greater financial, information gathering and marketing resources than we do. These indirect competitors could also choose to compete directly with us in the future. In addition, low barriers to entry exist in the markets in which we do business. As a result, new competitors may emerge, and existing competitors may start to provide additional or complementary services. Additionally, technological advances may provide increased competition from a variety of sources. There can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully compete against current and future competitors and our failure to do so will result in loss of market share, diminished value in our products and services, reduced pricing and increased marketing expenditures. Furthermore, we will not be successful if we cannot compete effectively on quality of research and analysis, timely delivery of information, customer service, the ability to offer products to meet changing market needs for information and analysis, or price. *We may not be able to maintain the quality of our existing products and services.* We operate in a rapidly evolving market, and our success depends on our ability to deliver high quality and timely research and analysis to our clients. Any failure to continue to provide credible and reliable information and advice that is useful to our clients could have a material adverse effect on future business and operating results. Further, if our published data, opinions or viewpoints prove to be wrong, lack independence, or are not substantiated by appropriate research, our reputation will suffer and demand for our products and services may decline. In addition, we must continue to improve our methods for delivering our products and services in a cost-effective manner via the internet and mobile applications. Failure to maintain state of the art electronic delivery capabilities could materially adversely affect our future business and operating results. *We may not be able to enhance and develop our existing products and services or introduce the new products and services that are needed to remain competitive.* The market for our products and services is characterized by rapidly changing needs for information and analysis. The development of new products is a complex and time-consuming process. Nonetheless, to maintain our competitive position, we must continue to anticipate the needs of our clients, develop, enhance and improve our existing products, as well as new products and services to address those needs, deliver all products and services in a timely, user-friendly and state of the art manner, and appropriately position and price new products and services relative to the marketplace and our costs of developing them. Any failure to achieve successful client acceptance of new products and services could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial position. Additionally, significant delays in new product or service releases or significant problems in creating new products or services could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial position. *Technology is rapidly evolving, and if we do not continue to develop new product and service offerings in response to these changes, our business could suffer.* Disruptive technologies are rapidly changing the environment in which we, our clients, and our competitors operate. We will need to continue to respond to these changes by enhancing our product and service offerings to maintain our competitive position. However, we may not be successful in responding to these forces and enhancing our products on a timely basis, and any enhancements we develop may not adequately address the changing needs of our clients. Our future success will depend upon our ability to develop and introduce in a timely manner new or enhanced existing offerings that address the changing needs of this constantly evolving marketplace. Failure to develop products that meet the needs of our clients in a timely manner could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial position. *Our Research business depends on renewals of subscription-based services and sales of new subscription-based services for a significant portion of our revenue, and our failure to renew at historical rates or generate new sales of such services will lead to a decrease in our revenues.* A large portion of our success depends on our ability to generate renewals of our subscription-based research products and services and new sales of such products and services, both to new clients and existing clients. These products and services constituted approximately 73% and 72% of total revenues from our on-going operations for 2019 and 2018, respectively. Generating new sales of our subscription-based products and services, both to new and existing clients, is a challenging, costly, and often time-consuming process. If we are unable to generate new sales, due to competition or other factors, our revenues will be adversely affected. Our research subscription contracts are typically for twelve months or longer. Our ability to maintain contract renewals is subject to numerous factors, including the following: - delivering high-quality and timely analysis and advice to our clients; - understanding and anticipating market trends and the changing needs of our clients; and - providing products and services of the quality and timeliness necessary to withstand competition. Additionally, as we continue to adjust our products and service offerings to meet our clients’ continuing needs, we may shift the type and pricing of our products which may impact client renewal rates. While our Research client retention rate was 82% and 83% at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, there can be no guarantee that we will continue to maintain this rate of client renewals. *The profitability and success of our conferences and other meetings are subject to external factors beyond our control.* Our Conferences business constituted approximately 11% of total revenues from our on-going operations in both 2019 and 2018. The market for desirable dates and locations for our activities is highly competitive. If we cannot secure desirable dates and suitable venues for our conferences their profitability will suffer, and our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected. In addition, because our conferences are scheduled in advance and held at specific locations, the success of these activities can be affected by circumstances outside of our control, such as the occurrence of or concerns related to labor strikes, transportation shutdowns and travel restrictions, economic slowdowns, reductions in government spending, geopolitical crises, terrorist attacks, war, weather, natural disasters, communicable diseases, and other occurrences impacting the global, regional, or national economies, the occurrence of any of which could negatively impact the success of the conference or meeting. We also face the challenge of procuring venues that are sizeable enough at a reasonable cost to accommodate some of our major activities. *Our Consulting business depends on non-recurring engagements and our failure to secure new engagements could lead to a decrease in our revenues.* Consulting segment revenues constituted approximately 9% of total revenues from our on-going operations in both 2019 and 2018. Consulting engagements typically are project-based and non-recurring. In addition, revenue from our contract optimization business can fluctuate significantly from period to period and is not predictable. Our ability to replace consulting engagements is subject to numerous factors, including the following: - delivering consistent, high-quality consulting services to our clients; - tailoring our consulting services to the changing needs of our clients; and - our ability to match the skills and competencies of our consulting staff to the skills required for the fulfillment of existing or potential consulting engagements. A material decline in our ability to replace consulting engagements will have an adverse impact on our revenues and our financial condition. *Our sales to governments are subject to appropriations and some may be terminated early.* We derive significant revenues from research and consulting contracts with the United States government and its respective agencies, numerous state and local governments and their respective agencies, and foreign governments and their agencies. At December 31, 2019 and 2018, approximately $639 million and $555 million, respectively, of our outstanding revenue contracts were attributable to government entities. Our U.S. government contracts are subject to the approval of appropriations by the U.S. Congress to fund the agencies contracting for our services. Additionally, our contracts at the state and local levels, as well as foreign government contracts, are subject to various governmental authorizations and funding approvals and mechanisms. Certain of these contracts may be terminated at any time by the government entity without cause or penalty (“termination for convenience”). In addition, contracts with U.S. federal, state and local, and foreign governments and their respective agencies are subject to increasingly complex bidding procedures and compliance requirements, as well as intense competition. While terminations by governments have not been significant historically, should appropriations for the various governments and agencies that contract with us be curtailed, or should our government contracts be terminated for convenience, we may experience a significant loss of revenues. *We may not be able to attract and retain qualified personnel which could jeopardize the quality of our products and services and our future growth plans.* Our success is based on attracting and retaining talented employees and we depend heavily upon the quality of our senior management, research analysts, consultants, sales and other key personnel. The market for highly skilled workers and leaders in our industry is extremely competitive. Maintaining our brand and reputation is important to our ability to recruit and retain employees. We face competition for qualified professionals from, among others, technology companies, market research firms, consulting firms, financial services companies and electronic and print media companies, some of which have a greater ability to attract and compensate these professionals. Additionally, some of the personnel that we attempt to hire are subject to non-compete agreements that could impede our short-term recruitment efforts. We may also be limited in our ability to recruit internationally by restrictive domestic immigration laws, and changes to policies that restrain the flow of technical and professional talent could inhibit our ability to adequately staff our research and development and other efforts. An inability to retain key personnel or to hire and train additional qualified personnel could materially adversely affect the quality of our products and services, as well as our future business and operating results. In addition, effective succession planning is important to our long-term success, and failure to ensure effective transfer of knowledge and smooth transitions involving key employees could hinder our strategic planning and execution. *We may not be able to maintain the equity in our brand name.* We believe that our “Gartner” brand, in particular our independence, is critical to our efforts to attract and retain clients and top talent, and that the importance of brand recognition will increase as competition increases. We may also discover that our brand, though recognized, is not perceived to be relevant by new market segments we have targeted. We may expand our marketing activities to promote and strengthen the Gartner brand and may need to increase our marketing budget, hire additional marketing and public relations personnel, and expend additional sums to protect our brand and otherwise increase expenditures to create and maintain client brand loyalty. If we fail to effectively promote, maintain, and protect the Gartner brand, or incur excessive expenses in doing so, our future business and operating results could be materially adversely impacted. *We are subject to risks from operating globally.* We have clients in more than 100 countries and a substantial amount of our revenue is earned outside of the United States. Our operating results are subject to all of the risks typically inherent in international business activities, including general political and economic conditions in each country, challenges in staffing and managing foreign operations, changes in regulatory requirements, compliance with numerous and complex foreign laws and regulations, currency restrictions and fluctuations, the difficulty of enforcing client agreements, collecting accounts receivable and protecting intellectual property rights including against economic espionage in international jurisdictions. Further, we rely on local distributors or sales agents in some international locations. If any of these arrangements are terminated by our agent or us, we may not be able to replace the arrangement on beneficial terms or on a timely basis, or clients of the local distributor or sales agent may not want to continue to do business with us or our new agent. Tariffs, trade barriers and restrictions, and other acts by governments to protect domestic markets or to retaliate against the trade tariffs and restrictions of other nations could negatively affect our business operations. In addition, the withdrawal of nations from existing common markets or trading blocs, such as the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union (the EU), commonly referred to as Brexit, could be disruptive and negatively impact our business and the business of our clients. We continue to monitor Brexit and its potential impacts on our results of operations and financial condition, but its specific effects on our operations depend in part on what agreements are negotiated between the United Kingdom and the EU regarding post-Brexit access to EU markets. If Brexit leads to legal uncertainty and potentially divergent national laws and regulations in the United Kingdom and EU, then we, as well as our clients who have significant operations in the United Kingdom, may incur additional costs and expenses as we adapt to the divergent regulatory frameworks. For example, if Brexit requires us to change our legal entity structure in the United Kingdom and the EU, our contractual commitments in the United Kingdom and the rest of the EU may be impacted. Additionally, separation from the EU may negatively impact the United Kingdom economy, result in the imposition of tariffs on us or result in currency devaluations in the United Kingdom. The impact of any of these effects of Brexit, among others, could materially harm our business and financial results. *Our failure to comply with complex US and foreign laws and regulations could have a material adverse effect on our operations or financial condition.* Our business and operations may be conducted in countries where corruption has historically penetrated the economy. It is our policy to comply, and to require our local partners, distributors, agents, and those with whom we do business to comply, with all applicable anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and U.K. Bribery Act, and with applicable local laws of the foreign countries in which we operate. There can be no assurance that all of our employees, contractors and agents will comply with the Company’s policies that mandate compliance with these laws. Any determination that we have violated or are responsible for violations of these laws, even if inadvertent, could be costly and disrupt our business, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and cash flows, as well as on our reputation. For example, during the second half of 2018 we cooperated fully with a South African government commission established to review a wide range of issues related to the country’s revenue service, including the procurement and fulfillment of consulting agreements we entered into with the revenue service through a sales agent from late 2014 through early 2017. With respect to Gartner, the commission recommended that the revenue service explore lawful options to invalidate the agreements, in whole or in part, and attempt to recover certain payments it made to us. We are in ongoing discussions with the revenue service regarding the matter. In parallel with our cooperation in South Africa, we commenced an internal investigation regarding this matter and voluntarily disclosed to the SEC and Department of Justice (DOJ) in November 2018 that the commission was reviewing our procurement of these agreements. We are cooperating fully with the SEC and DOJ inquiries into this matter. At this time, we do not believe the ultimate outcome of these matters will have a material effect on our financial results, however, an unexpected adverse resolution of these matters could negatively impact our financial condition, results of operations, and liquidity. *We are exposed to volatility in foreign currency exchange rates from our international operations.* A significant portion of our revenues are typically derived from sales outside of the United States. Revenues earned outside the United States are typically transacted in local currencies, which may fluctuate significantly against the U.S. dollar. While we use forward exchange contracts to a limited extent to seek to mitigate foreign currency risk, our revenues and results of operations could be adversely affected by unfavorable foreign currency fluctuations. *Natural disasters, pandemics, terrorist acts, war, actions by governments, and other geopolitical activities could disrupt our operations.* We operate in numerous U.S. and international locations, and we have offices in a number of major cities across the globe. The occurrence of, or concerns related to, a major weather event, earthquake, flood, drought, volcanic activity, disease or pandemic, or other natural disaster could significantly disrupt our operations. In addition, acts of civil unrest, failure of critical infrastructure, terrorism, armed conflict, war, and abrupt political change, as well as responses by various governments and the international community to such acts, can have a negative effect on our business. Such events could cause delays in initiating or completing sales, impede delivery of our products and services to our clients, disrupt or shut down the internet or other critical client-facing and business processes, impede the travel of our personnel and clients, dislocate our critical internal functions and personnel, and in general harm our ability to conduct normal business operations, any of which can negatively impact our financial condition and operating results. Such events could also impact the timing and budget decisions of our clients, which could materially adversely affect our business. *Privacy concerns could damage our reputation and deter current and potential clients from using our products and services or attending our conferences.* Concerns relating to global data privacy have the potential to damage our reputation and deter current and prospective clients from using our products and services or attending our conferences. In the ordinary course of our business and in accordance with applicable laws, we collect personal information (i) from our employees (ii) from the users of our products and services, including conference attendees; and (iii) from prospective clients. We collect only basic personal information from our clients and prospects. While we believe our overall data privacy procedures are adequate, the theft or loss of such data, or concerns about our practices, even if unfounded, with regard to the collection, use, disclosure, or security of this personal information or other data protection related matters could damage our reputation and materially adversely affect our operating results. Any systems failure or compromise of our security that results in the disclosure of our users’ personal data could seriously limit the consumption of our products and services and the attendance at our conferences, as well as harm our reputation and brand and, therefore, our business. In addition, continuously evolving data protection laws and regulations, such as the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and the new California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) (effective January 2020), pose increasingly complex compliance challenges. We have implemented GDPR and CCPA compliance programs. In the meantime, Gartner will continue to maintain and rely upon our comprehensive global data protection compliance program, which includes administrative, technical, and physical controls to safeguard our associates’ and clients' personal data. The interpretation and application of these laws in the United States, the EU and elsewhere are often uncertain, inconsistent and ever changing. Complying with these various laws could cause us to incur substantial costs or require us to change our business practices in a manner adverse to our business. *We are exposed to risks related to cybersecurity.* A significant portion of our business is conducted over the internet and we rely on the secure processing, storage and transmission of confidential, sensitive, proprietary and other types of information relating to our business operations and confidential and sensitive information about its customers and employees in our computer systems and networks, and in those of our third-party vendors. Individuals, groups, and state-sponsored organizations may take steps that pose threats to our operations, our computer systems, our employees, and our customers. The cybersecurity risks we face range from cyber attacks common to most industries, such as the development and deployment of malicious software to gain access to our networks and attempt to steal confidential information, launch distributed denial of service attacks, or attempt other coordinated disruptions, to more advanced threats that target us because of our prominence in the a global research and advisory field. Like many multinational corporations, we, and some third parties upon which we rely, have experienced cyber attacks on our computer systems and networks in the past and may experience them in the future, likely with more frequency and sophistication, and involving a broader range of devices and modes of attack, all of which will increase the difficulty of detecting and successfully defending against them. To date, none have resulted in any material adverse impact to our business, operations, products, services or customers. We have implemented various security controls to both meet our security compliance obligations, while also defending against constantly evolving security threats. Our security controls help to secure our information systems, including our computer systems, intranet, proprietary websites, email and other telecommunications and data networks, and we scrutinize the security of outsourced website and service providers prior to retaining their services. However, the security measures implemented by us or by our outside service providers may not be effective and our systems (and those of our outside service providers) are vulnerable to theft, loss, damage and interruption from a number of potential sources and events, including unauthorized access or security breaches, cyber attacks, computer viruses, power loss, or other disruptive events. Additionally, the security compliance landscape continues to evolve, requiring us to stay apprised of changes in cybersecurity laws, regulations, and security requirements required by our clients, such as GDPR, CCPA, International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Recent well-publicized security breaches at other companies have led to enhanced government and regulatory scrutiny of the measures taken by companies to protect against cyber attacks, and may in the future result in heightened cybersecurity requirements, including additional regulatory expectations for oversight of vendors and service providers. A cyber attack, widespread internet failure or internet access limitations, or disruption of our critical information technology systems through denial of service, viruses, or other events could cause delays in initiating or completing sales, impede delivery of our products and services to our clients, disrupt other critical client-facing or business processes or dislocate our critical internal functions. Additionally, any material breaches of cybersecurity or other technology-related catastrophe, or media reports of perceived security vulnerabilities to our systems or those of our third parties, even if no breach has been attempted or occurred, could cause us to experience reputational harm, loss of customers and revenue, fines, regulatory actions and scrutiny, sanctions or other statutory penalties, litigation, liability for failure to safeguard our customers’ information, or financial losses that are either not insured against or not fully covered through any insurance maintained by us. Any of the foregoing may have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition. *We may experience outages and disruptions of our online services if we fail to maintain an adequate operations infrastructure.* Our increasing user traffic and complexity of our products and services demand more computing power. We have spent and expect to continue to spend substantial amounts for access to data centers and equipment and to move more of our workload into cloud services, to upgrade our technology and network infrastructure to handle increased traffic on our websites, and to deliver our products and services through emerging channels, such as mobile applications. However, any inefficiencies or operational failures could diminish the quality of our products, services, and user experience, resulting in damage to our reputation and loss of current and potential users, subscribers, and advertisers, potentially harming our financial condition and operating results. *Our outstanding debt obligations could negatively impact our financial condition and future operating results.* As of December 31, 2019, the Company had outstanding debt of $1.4 billion under its 2016 term loan and revolving credit facility, as amended (the 2016 Credit Agreement) and $800.0 million of Senior Notes Due 2025 (the Senior Notes). Additional information regarding the 2016 Credit Agreement and the Senior Notes is included in Note 6 - Debt in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. The debt service requirements of these borrowings could impair our future financial condition and operating results. In addition, the affirmative, negative and financial covenants of the 2016 Credit Agreement, as well as the covenants related to the Senior Notes, could limit our future financial flexibility. A failure to comply with these covenants could result in acceleration of all amounts outstanding, which could materially impact our financial condition unless accommodations could be negotiated with our lenders and noteholders. No assurance can be given that we would be successful in doing so, or that any accommodations that we were able to negotiate would be on terms as favorable as those currently in place. The outstanding debt may limit the amount of cash or additional credit available to us, which could restrain our ability to expand or enhance products and services, respond to competitive pressures or pursue future business opportunities requiring substantial investments of additional capital. In addition, variable-rate borrowings under our 2016 Credit Agreement typically use LIBOR as a benchmark for establishing the rate of interest. LIBOR is the subject of recent national and international regulatory scrutiny which may result in changes that cause LIBOR to disappear entirely after 2021 or to cause it to perform differently than in the past. The consequences of these LIBOR developments on our variable-rate borrowings, including the possible transition to other rates such as the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), cannot be predicted at this time, but could include an increase in the cost of our variable-rate indebtedness and volatility in our earnings. *We may require additional cash resources which may not be available on favorable terms or at all.* We may require additional cash resources due to changed business conditions, implementation of our strategy and stock repurchase program, to repay indebtedness or to pursue future business opportunities requiring substantial investments of additional capital, including acquisitions. If our existing financial resources are insufficient to satisfy our requirements, we may seek additional borrowings or issue debt. Prevailing credit and debt market conditions may negatively affect debt availability and cost, and, as a result, financing may not be available in amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all. In addition, the incurrence of additional indebtedness would result in increased debt service obligations and could require us to agree to operating and financial covenants that would further restrict our operations. *If we are unable to enforce and protect our intellectual property rights, our competitive position may be harmed.* We rely on a combination of copyright, trademark, trade secret, patent, confidentiality, non-compete and other contractual provisions to protect our intellectual property rights. Despite our efforts to protect our intellectual property rights, unauthorized third parties may obtain and use technology or other information that we regard as proprietary. Our intellectual property rights may not survive a legal challenge to their validity or provide significant protection for us. The laws of certain countries, particularly in emerging markets, do not protect our proprietary rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. Accordingly, we may not be able to protect our intellectual property against unauthorized third-party copying or use, which could adversely affect our competitive position. Additionally, there can be no assurance that another party will not assert that we have infringed its intellectual property rights. Our employees are subject to restrictive covenant agreements (which include restrictions on employees' ability to compete and solicit customers and employees) and assignment of invention agreements, to the extent permitted under applicable law. When the period expires relating to their particular restrictions, former employees may compete against us. If a former employee violates the provisions of his/her restrictive covenant agreement, we seek to enforce the restrictions but there is no assurance that we will be successful in our efforts. *We have grown, and may continue to grow, through acquisitions and strategic investments, which could involve substantial risks.* We have made and may continue to make acquisitions of, or significant investments in, businesses that offer complementary products and services or otherwise support our growth objectives. The risks involved in each acquisition or investment include the possibility of paying more than the value we derive from the acquisition, dilution of the interests of our current stockholders should we issue stock in the acquisition, decreased working capital, increased indebtedness, the assumption of undisclosed liabilities and unknown and unforeseen risks, the ability to retain key personnel of the acquired company, the inability to integrate the business of the acquired company, increase revenue or fully realize anticipated synergies, the time to train the sales force to market and sell the products of the acquired business, the potential disruption of our ongoing business and the distraction of management from our day to day business. The realization of any of these risks could adversely affect our business. Additionally, we face competition in identifying acquisition targets and consummating acquisitions. *We face risks related to leased office space.* We assumed a significant amount of leased office space, in particular in Arlington, Virginia, in connection with the acquisition of CEB Inc. in 2017. In Arlington, we have consolidated all our businesses into a single building and have sublet substantially all of the excess space in our other properties. Through our real estate consolidations and other related activities, we have tried to secure quality sub-tenants with appropriate sub-lease terms. However, if subtenants default on their sublease obligations with us or otherwise terminate their subleases with us, we may experience a loss of planned sublease rental income, which could result in a material charge against our operating results. We are also in the process of adding new leased spaces to support our continued growth. If the new spaces are not completed on schedule, or if the landlord defaults on its commitments and obligations pursuant to the new leases, we may incur additional expenses. In addition, unanticipated difficulties in initiating operations in a new space, including construction delays, IT system interruptions, or other infrastructure support problems, could result in a delay in moving into the new space, resulting in a loss of employee and operational productivity and a loss of revenue and/or additional expenses, which could also have an adverse, material impact on our operating results. *We face risks related to litigation.* We are, and in the future may be, subject to a variety of legal actions, such as employment, breach of contract, intellectual property-related, and business torts, including claims of unfair trade practices and misappropriation of trade secrets. Given the nature of our business, we are also subject to defamation (including libel and slander), negligence, or other claims relating to the information we publish. Regardless of the merits of any claim and despite vigorous efforts to defend any such claim, claims can affect our reputation, and responding to any such claim could be time consuming, result in costly litigation and require us to enter into settlements, royalty and licensing agreements which may not be offered or available on reasonable terms. If a claim is made against us that we cannot defend or resolve on reasonable terms, our business, brand, and financial results could be materially adversely affected. *We face risks related to taxation*. We are a global company and a substantial amount of our earnings is generated outside of the United States and taxed at rates less than the U.S. statutory federal income tax rate. Our effective tax rate, financial position and results of operations could be adversely affected by earnings being higher than anticipated in jurisdictions with higher statutory tax rates and, conversely, lower than anticipated in jurisdictions that have lower statutory tax rates, by changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and/or by changes in tax laws or accounting principles and their interpretation by relevant authorities. Corporate tax reform, base-erosion efforts and tax transparency continue to be high priorities in many countries. Tax reform legislation is being proposed or enacted in a number of jurisdictions where we do business. The U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the Act) adopted broad U.S. corporate income tax reform and introduced several highly complex provisions. The U.S. Treasury Department and other standard-setting bodies will continue to interpret and issue guidance on how provisions of the Act will be applied and administered. We will continue to monitor and reflect the impact of the Act in future financial statements as appropriate. During 2015, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released final reports on various action items associated with its initiative to prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS). Numerous countries have and continue to propose tax law changes intended to address BEPS. The future enactment by various governments of these and other proposals could significantly increase our tax obligations in many countries where we do business. These actual, potential, and other changes, both individually and collectively, could materially increase our effective tax rate and negatively impact our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows. In addition, our tax filings for various years are subject to examination by domestic and international taxing authorities and, during the ordinary course of business, we are under audit by various tax authorities. Recent and future actions on the part of the OECD and various governments have increased scrutiny of our tax filings. Although we believe that our tax filings and related accruals are reasonable, the final resolution of tax audits may be materially different from what is reflected in our historical tax provisions and accruals and could have a material adverse effect on our effective tax rate, financial position, results of operations, and cash flows. As of December 31, 2019, we had approximately $142.0 million of accumulated undistributed earnings in our non-U.S. subsidiaries. Our cash and cash equivalents are held in numerous locations throughout the world. At December 31, 2019, 92% of our cash and cash equivalents was held overseas, with a substantial portion representing accumulated undistributed earnings of our non-U.S. subsidiaries. Under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America, no provision for income taxes that may result from the remittance of accumulated undistributed foreign earnings is required if the Company intends to reinvest such earnings overseas indefinitely. The provisions of the Act significantly changed the way earnings of non-U.S. subsidiaries are taxed in the United States. The Act imposed a one-time transition tax on earnings of foreign subsidiaries that were previously tax deferred, adopted a system of current taxation of foreign global intangible low-taxed income and provided for a deduction on repatriation of dividends from foreign subsidiaries. As a result of and subsequent to the enactment of the Act, the Company has remitted previously undistributed earnings with minimal additional tax cost. The Company intends to continue to reinvest its accumulated undistributed foreign earnings, except in instances where the repatriation of those earnings would result in minimal additional tax. As a result, we have not recognized income tax expense on the amounts deemed permanently reinvested. *Our corporate compliance program cannot guarantee that we are in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.* We operate in a number of countries, including emerging markets, and as a result we are required to comply with numerous, and in many cases, changing international and U.S. federal, state and local laws and regulations. Accordingly, we have a corporate compliance program that includes the creation of appropriate policies defining employee behavior that mandate adherence to laws, employee training, annual affirmations, monitoring and enforcement. However, failure of any employee fails to comply with any of these laws, regulations or our policies, could result in a range of liabilities for the employee and for the Company, including, but not limited to, significant penalties and fines, sanctions and/or litigation, and the expenses associated with defending and resolving any of the foregoing, any of which could have a negative impact on our reputation and business. ### Risks related to our common stock *Our operating results may fluctuate from period to period and/or the financial guidance we have given may not meet the expectations of investors, which may cause the price of our common stock to decline.* Our quarterly and annual operating results fluctuate as a result of many factors, including the timing of the execution of research contracts, the extent of completion of consulting engagements, the timing of our conferences, the amount of new business generated, the mix of domestic and international business, currency fluctuations, changes in market demand for our products and services, the timing of the development, introduction and marketing of new products and services, competition in our industry, the impact of our acquisitions, and general economic conditions. An inability to generate sufficient earnings and cash flow, and achieve our forecasts, may impact our operating and other activities. Fluctuations in our operating results could cause period-to-period comparisons of operating results not to be meaningful and may provide an unreliable indication of future operating results. Furthermore, our operating results may not meet the expectations of investors or the financial guidance we have previously provided. If this occurs, the price of our common stock could decline. *Our stock price may be impacted by factors outside of our control and you may not be able to resell shares of our common stock at or above the price you paid.* The price of our common stock is subject to significant fluctuations in response to, among other factors, developments in the industries in which we do business, general economic conditions, general market conditions, geo-political events, changes in the nature and composition of our stockholder base, changes in securities analysts’ recommendations regarding our securities and our performance relative to securities analysts’ expectations for any quarterly period, as well as other factors outside of our control, including any and all factors that move the securities markets generally. These factors may materially adversely affect the market price of our common stock. *Future sales or issuances of our common stock in the public market could lower our stock price.* Sales of a substantial number of shares of common stock in the public market by our current stockholders, or the threat that substantial sales may occur, could cause the market price of our common stock to decrease significantly or make it difficult for us to raise additional capital by selling stock. The issuance of additional shares of our common stock could also lower the market price of our common stock. Furthermore, we have various equity incentive plans that provide for awards in the form of stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units and other stock-based awards, which have the effect of adding shares of common stock into the public market. We have a board-approved share repurchase program and at December 31, 2019, approximately $715.5 million remained available for share purchases under this program. No assurance can be given that we will continue these share repurchase activities in the future after the current program is completed, or in the event that the price of our common stock reaches levels at which repurchases are not accretive. *Future sales of our common stock from grants and awards could lower our stock price.* As of December 31, 2019, the aggregate number of shares of our common stock issuable pursuant to outstanding grants and awards under our equity incentive plans was approximately 2.6 million shares (approximately 0.6 million of which have vested). In addition, at the present time, approximately 4.5 million shares may be issued in connection with future awards under our equity incentive plans. Shares of common stock issued under these plans are freely transferable and have been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), except for any shares held by affiliates (as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act) which are subject to certain limitations. We cannot predict the size of future issuances of our common stock or the effect, if any, that future issuances and sales of shares of our common stock will have on the market price of our common stock. *Interests of certain of our significant stockholders may conflict with our interests or the interests of other stockholders*. To our knowledge, as of the date hereof, and based upon publicly-available SEC filings, five institutional investors each presently hold over 5% of our common stock. While no stockholder or institutional investor individually holds a majority of our outstanding shares, these significant stockholders may be able, either individually or acting together, to exercise significant influence over matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors, amendment of our certificate of incorporation, adoption or amendment of equity plans and approval of significant transactions such as mergers, acquisitions, consolidations and sales or purchases of assets. In addition, in the event of a proposed acquisition of the Company by a third party, this concentration of ownership may delay or prevent a change of control in us. Accordingly, the interests of these stockholders may not always coincide with our interests or the interests of other stockholders, or otherwise be in the best interests of us or all stockholders. *Our anti-takeover protections may discourage or prevent a change of control, even if a change in control would be beneficial to our stockholders.* Provisions of our restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws and Delaware law may make it difficult for any party to acquire control of us in a transaction not approved by our Board of Directors. These provisions include: (i) the ability of our Board of Directors to issue and determine the terms of preferred stock; (ii) advance notice requirements for inclusion of stockholder proposals at stockholder meetings; and (iii) the anti-takeover provisions of Delaware law. These provisions could discourage or prevent a change of control or change in management that might provide stockholders with a premium to the market price of their common stock. ## Properties As filed, 1,334 characters. As of December 31, 2019, we leased approximately 45 domestic and 75 international office properties for our ongoing business operations. These offices, which exclude certain properties that we sublease to others, support our executive and administrative activities, research and consulting, sales, systems support, operations, and other functions. Our corporate office is based in Stamford, Connecticut. We also maintain an important presence in: Fort Myers, Florida; Arlington, Virginia; Egham, the United Kingdom; Gurgaon, India; Irving, Texas; and Barcelona, Spain. The Company does not own any real property. Our Stamford corporate headquarters is comprised of leased office space in three buildings located on the same campus. Our lease for the Stamford headquarters facility expires in 2027 and contains three five-year renewal options at fair value. Additionally, we lease office space in a fourth building adjacent to our Stamford headquarters facility under a lease designed to be co-terminus with our headquarters lease. We have options for additional space in this fourth building. We expect to continue to invest in our business by adding headcount and, as a result, we may need additional office space in various locations. Should additional space be necessary, we believe that it will be available on reasonable terms. ## Legal proceedings As filed, 373 characters. We are involved in legal and administrative proceedings and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. We believe that the potential liability, if any, in excess of amounts already accrued from all proceedings, claims and litigation will not have a material effect on our financial position, cash flows or results of operations when resolved in a future period. ## Management's discussion and analysis As filed, 59,192 characters. The purpose of this Management’s Discussion and Analysis (“MD&A”) is to facilitate an understanding of significant factors influencing the operating results, financial condition and cash flows of Gartner, Inc. Additionally, the MD&A conveys our expectations of the potential impact of known trends, events or uncertainties that may impact future results. You should read this discussion in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Historical results and percentage relationships are not necessarily indicative of operating results for future periods. References to “Gartner,” the "Company,” “we,” “our” and “us” in this MD&A are to Gartner, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries. This MD&A provides an analysis of our consolidated financial results, segment results and cash flows for 2019 and 2018 under the headings "Results of Operations," "Segment Results" and "Liquidity and Capital Resources." For a similar detailed discussion comparing 2018 and 2017, refer to those headings under Item 7., "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018. #### Acquisition of TOPO Research LLC On October 1, 2019, the Company acquired 100% of the outstanding membership interests of TOPO Research LLC ("TOPO"), a privately-held company based in Redwood City, California, for $25.0 million. TOPO is a subscription-based research and advisory business that helps sales leaders at the world’s fastest-growing companies achieve their growth objectives. #### Business Divestitures During 2018, the Company divested all of the non-core businesses that comprised its Other segment and moved a small residual product from the Other segment into the Research business and, as a result, no operating activity has been recorded in the Other segment in 2019. The Other segment had $105.6 million of revenue during 2018, while gross contribution was $65.1 million. Note 2 — Acquisitions and Divestitures in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements provides additional information regarding the TOPO acquisition and the Company's 2018 divestitures. ### FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS In addition to historical information, this Annual Report on Form 10-K contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are any statements other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding our expectations, beliefs, hopes, intentions, projections or strategies regarding the future. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “should,” “could,” “believe,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue” or other words of similar meaning. We operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment that involves numerous risks and uncertainties, some of which are beyond our control. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in any of our forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual results could differ materially from those projected or assumed in any of our forward-looking statements. Our future quarterly and annual revenues, operating income, results of operations and cash flows, as well as any forward-looking statement, are subject to change and to inherent risks and uncertainties, such as those disclosed or incorporated by reference in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Important factors that could cause our actual results, performance and achievements, or industry results to differ materially from estimates or projections contained in our forward-looking statements include, among others, the following: the timing of our Gartner Symposium/Xpo series that normally occurs during the fourth quarter, as well as our other conferences and meetings; the amount of new business generated, including from acquisitions; the mix of domestic and international business; domestic and international economic conditions; the U.K.’s exit from the European Union and its impact on our results; the impact of changes in tax policy and heightened scrutiny from various taxing authorities globally; changes in market demand for our products and services; changes in foreign currency rates; the timing of the development, introduction and marketing of new products and services; competition in the industry; the payment of performance compensation; uncertainty from the expected discontinuance of LIBOR and transition to any other interest rate benchmark; and other factors. The potential fluctuations in our operating income could cause period-to-period comparisons of operating results not to be meaningful and could provide an unreliable indication of future operating results. A description of the risk factors associated with our business is included under “Risk Factors” in Item 1A. of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is incorporated herein by reference. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, estimates and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in, or implied by, the forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, those listed above or described under “Risk Factors” in Item 1A. of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Readers should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect management’s opinion only as of the date on which they were made. Forward-looking statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K speak only as of the date hereof, and forward-looking statements in documents attached that are incorporated by reference speak only as of the date of those documents. Except as required by law, we disclaim any obligation to review or update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances as they occur. ### BUSINESS OVERVIEW Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world’s leading research and advisory company and a member of the S&P 500. We equip business leaders with indispensable insights, advice and tools to achieve their mission–critical priorities today and build the successful organizations of tomorrow. We believe our unmatched combination of expert-led, practitioner-sourced and data-driven research steers clients toward the right decisions on the issues that matter most. We are a trusted advisor and an objective resource for more than 15,000 enterprises in more than 100 countries — across all major functions, in every industry and enterprise size. Gartner delivers its products and services globally through three business segments – Research, Conferences and Consulting, as described below. - ***Research*** provides trusted, objective insights and advice on the mission-critical priorities of leaders across all functional areas of an enterprise through reports, briefings, proprietary tools, access to our research experts, peer networking services and membership programs that enable our clients to drive organizational performance. - ***Conferences*** provides business professionals across an organization the opportunity to learn, share and network. From our Gartner Symposium/Xpo series, to industry-leading conferences focused on specific business roles and topics, to peer-driven sessions, our offerings enable attendees to experience the best of Gartner insight and advice live. - ***Consulting*** combines the power of Gartner market-leading research with custom analysis and on-the-ground support to help chief information officers and other senior executives driving technology-related strategic initiatives move confidently from insight to action. ### BUSINESS MEASUREMENTS We believe that the following business measurements are important performance indicators for our business segments: | BUSINESS SEGMENT | BUSINESS MEASUREMENT | | --- | --- | | Research | Total contract value represents the value attributable to all of our subscription-related contracts. It is calculated as the annualized value of all contracts in effect at a specific point in time, without regard to the duration of the contract. Total contract value primarily includes Research deliverables for which revenue is recognized on a ratable basis, as well as other deliverables (primarily Conferences tickets) for which revenue is recognized when the deliverable is utilized. Comparing contract value year-over-year not only measures the short-term growth of our business, but also signals the long-term health of our Research subscription business since it measures revenue that is highly likely to recur over a multi-year period. Our total contract value consists of Global Technology Sales contract value, which includes sales to users and providers of technology, and Global Business Sales contract value, which includes sales to all other functional leaders. | | | Client retention rate represents a measure of client satisfaction and renewed business relationships at a specific point in time. Client retention is calculated on a percentage basis by dividing our current clients, who were also clients a year ago, by all clients from a year ago. Client retention is calculated at an enterprise level, which represents a single company or customer. | | | Wallet retention rate represents a measure of the amount of contract value we have retained with clients over a twelve-month period. Wallet retention is calculated on a percentage basis by dividing the contract value of our current clients, who were also clients a year ago, by the total contract value from a year ago, excluding the impact of foreign currency exchange. When wallet retention exceeds client retention, it is an indication of retention of higher-spending clients, or increased spending by retained clients, or both. Wallet retention is calculated at an enterprise level, which represents a single company or customer. | | Conferences | Number of destination conferences represents the total number of hosted destination conferences completed during the period. Single day, local meetings are excluded. | | | Number of destination conferences attendees represents the total number of people who attend destination conferences. Single day, local meetings are excluded. | | Consulting | Consulting backlog represents future revenue to be derived from in-process consulting and measurement engagements. | | | Utilization rate represents a measure of productivity of our consultants. Utilization rates are calculated for billable headcount on a percentage basis by dividing total hours billed by total hours available to bill. | | | Billing rate represents earned billable revenue divided by total billable hours. | | | Average annualized revenue per billable headcount represents a measure of the revenue generating ability of an average billable consultant and is calculated periodically by multiplying the average billing rate per hour times the utilization percentage times the billable hours available for one year. | 20 ### EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF OPERATIONS AND FINANCIAL POSITION We have executed a consistent growth strategy since 2005 to drive revenue and earnings growth. The fundamentals of our strategy include a focus on creating extraordinary research insight, delivering innovative and highly differentiated product offerings, building a strong sales capability, providing world class client service with a focus on client engagement and retention, and continuously improving our operational effectiveness. We had total revenues of $4.2 billion in 2019, an increase of 7% compared to 2018 on a reported basis and 9% excluding the foreign currency impact. There was $105.6 million of Other segment revenue on a reported basis in 2018 that did not recur in 2019. Net income increased to $233.3 million in 2019 from $122.5 million in 2018 and, as a result, diluted earnings per share was $2.56 in 2019 compared to $1.33 in 2018. Research revenues increased to $3.4 billion in 2019, an increase of 9% compared to 2018 on a reported basis and 10% excluding the foreign currency impact. The Research gross contribution margin was 70% and 69% in 2019 and 2018, respectively. Total contract value was $3.4 billion at December 31, 2019, an increase of 12% compared to December 31, 2018 on a foreign currency neutral basis. Conferences revenues increased to $476.9 million in 2019, an increase of 16% compared to 2018 on a reported basis and 18% excluding the foreign currency impact. The Conferences gross contribution margin was 51% and 50% in 2019 and 2018, respectively. We held 72 and 70 destination conferences in 2019 and 2018, respectively. Consulting revenues increased to $393.9 million in 2019, an increase of 11% compared to 2018 on a reported basis and 14% excluding the foreign currency impact. The Consulting gross contribution margin was 30% and 29% in 2019 and 2018, respectively. Backlog was $115.7 million at December 31, 2019. Cash provided by operating activities was $565.4 million and $471.2 million during 2019 and 2018, respectively. As of December 31, 2019, we had $280.8 million of cash and cash equivalents and $1.0 billion of available borrowing capacity on our revolving credit facility. During 2019, we repurchased 1.4 million shares of the Company's common stock for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $194.0 million. ### CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES The preparation of our consolidated financial statements requires the application of appropriate accounting policies and the use of estimates. Our significant accounting policies are described in Note 1 — Business and Significant Accounting Policies in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. Management considers the policies discussed below to be critical to an understanding of our consolidated financial statements because their application requires complex and subjective management judgments and estimates. Specific risks for these critical accounting policies are also described below. The preparation of our consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions about future events. We develop our estimates using both current and historical experience, as well as other factors, including the general economic environment and actions we may take in the future. We adjust such estimates when facts and circumstances dictate. However, our estimates may involve significant uncertainties and judgments and cannot be determined with precision. In addition, these estimates are based on our best judgment at a point in time and, as such, they may ultimately differ materially from actual results. Ongoing changes in our estimates could be material and would be reflected in the Company’s consolidated financial statements in future periods. Our critical accounting policies are described below. **Accounting for leases —** On January 1, 2019, the Company adopted Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, *Leases* (as amended, "ASU No. 2016-02" or the “new lease standard”), which substantively modifies the accounting and disclosure requirements for lease arrangements. Prior to the issuance of ASU No. 2016-02, generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America under FASB Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") Topic 840, *Leases,* provided that lease arrangements meeting certain criteria were not recorded on an entity's balance sheet. ASU No. 2016-02 significantly changes the accounting for leases because a right-of-use model is now used whereby a lessee must record a right-of-use asset and a related lease liability on its balance sheet for most of its leases. Under ASU No. 2016-02, leases are classified as either operating or finance arrangements, with such classification affecting the pattern of expense recognition in an entity's income statement. ASU No. 2016-02 also requires significantly expanded disclosures to meet the objective of enabling users of financial statements to assess the amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows related to leases. The Company adopted ASU No. 2016-02 using a modified retrospective approach. We elected to use an optional transition method available under ASU No. 2016-02 to record the required cumulative effect adjustments to the opening balance sheet in the period of adoption rather than in the earliest comparative period presented. As such, the Company's historical consolidated financial statements have not been restated. Certain permitted practical expedients were used by the Company upon adoption of the new lease standard, including: (i) combining lease and nonlease components as a single lease component for purposes of the recognition and measurement requirements under ASU No. 2016-02; (ii) not reassessing a lease arrangement to determine if its classification should be changed under ASU No. 2016-02; and (iii) not reassessing initial direct costs for leases that were in existence on the date of adoption. The adoption of ASU No. 2016-02 on January 1, 2019 had a material impact on our consolidated balance sheet because the right-of-use model significantly increased both our assets and liabilities from our lease arrangements (all of which were operating leases that were not previously recorded on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets). The adoption of the new lease standard resulted in the recognition of operating lease liabilities aggregating $851.3 million based on the present value of the Company’s remaining minimum lease payments, while the corresponding right-of-use assets totaled $651.9 million. Additionally, the Company’s adoption of ASU No. 2016-02 resulted in a net increase of $638.7 million in each of the Company’s Total Assets and Total Liabilities; however, there was no effect on the Company’s Total Stockholders’ Equity. The Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations and its cash provided by operating activities in the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for 2019 were not materially impacted by the adoption of the new lease standard. Note 1 — Business and Significant Accounting Policies and Note 7 — Leases in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements provide additional information regarding the Company's leases and the adoption of ASU No. 2016-02. **Revenue recognition —** For 2019 and 2018, revenue was recognized in accordance with the requirements of Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09, *Revenue from Contracts with Customers* (as amended, "ASU No. 2014-09"). Prior to January 1, 2018, the Company recognized revenue in accordance with then-existing generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America and SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 104, *Revenue Recognition* (collectively, “Prior GAAP”). Under both ASU No. 2014-09 and Prior GAAP, revenue can only be recognized when all of the required criteria for revenue recognition have been met. Although there were certain changes to the Company’s revenue recognition policies and procedures with the adoption of ASU No. 2014-09 on January 1, 2018, there were no material differences between the pattern and timing of revenue recognition under ASU No. 2014-09 and Prior GAAP. Our revenue by significant source is accounted for as follows: - Research revenues are mainly derived from subscription contracts for research products. The related revenues are deferred and recognized ratably over the applicable contract term. Fees derived from assisting organizations in selecting the right business software for their needs are recognized when the leads are provided to vendors. - Conferences revenues are deferred and recognized upon the completion of the related conference or meeting. - Consulting revenues are principally generated from fixed fee and time and materials engagements. Revenues from fixed fee contracts are recognized as we work to satisfy our performance obligations. Revenues from time and materials engagements are recognized as work is delivered and/or services are provided. Revenues related to contract optimization engagements are contingent in nature and are only recognized upon satisfaction of all conditions related to their payment. The majority of our Research contracts are billable upon signing, absent special terms granted on a limited basis from time to time. Research contracts are generally non-cancelable and non-refundable, except for government contracts that may have cancellation or fiscal funding clauses. It is our policy to record the amount of a subscription contract that is billable as a fee receivable at the time the contract is signed with a corresponding amount as deferred revenue because the contract represents a legally enforceable claim. Note 1 — Business and Significant Accounting Policies and Note 9 — Revenue and Related Matters in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements provide additional information regarding our revenues and the adoption of ASU No. 2014-09 on January 1, 2018. **Uncollectible fees receivable —** The Company maintains an allowance for losses of uncollectible receivables that is classified in our consolidated balance sheets as an offset to the gross amount of fees receivable. Increases and decreases to the allowance are recognized in earnings. The determination of the amount of the allowance is based on historical loss experience, an assessment of current economic conditions, the aging of outstanding receivables, the financial health of specific clients and probable losses. This evaluation is inherently judgmental and requires the use of estimates. The allowance is periodically re-evaluated and adjusted as more information about the ultimate collectability of fees receivable becomes available. Circumstances that could cause the allowance to increase include changes in our clients’ liquidity and credit quality, other factors negatively impacting our clients’ ability to pay their obligations as they come due, and the effectiveness of our collection efforts. The table below presents our gross fees receivable and the related allowance for losses as of the dates indicated (in thousands). | | December 31, 2019 | 2018 | | --- | ---: | ---: | | Gross fees receivable | $1,334,012 | $1,262,818 | | Allowance for losses | (8,000) | (7,700) | | Fees receivable, net | $1,326,012 | $1,255,118 | **Goodwill and other intangible assets —** When we acquire a business, we determine the fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed on the date of acquisition, which may include a significant amount of intangible assets such as customer relationships, software and content, as well as goodwill. When determining the fair values of the acquired intangible assets, we consider, among other factors, analyses of historical financial performance and an estimate of the future performance of the acquired business. The fair values of the acquired intangible assets are primarily calculated using an income approach that relies on discounted cash flows. This method starts with a forecast of the expected future net cash flows for the asset and then adjusts the forecast to present value by applying a discount rate that reflects the risk factors associated with the cash flow streams. We consider this approach to be the most appropriate valuation technique because the inherent value of an acquired intangible asset is its ability to generate future income. In a typical acquisition, we engage a third-party valuation expert to assist us with the fair value analyses for acquired intangible assets. Determining the fair values of acquired intangible assets requires us to exercise significant judgment. We select reasonable estimates and assumptions based on evaluating a number of factors, including, but not limited to, marketplace participants, consumer awareness and brand history. Additionally, there are significant judgments inherent in discounted cash flows such as estimating the amount and timing of projected future cash flows, the selection of discount rates, hypothetical royalty rates and contributory asset capital charges. Specifically, the selected discount rates are intended to reflect the risk inherent in the projected future cash flows generated by the underlying acquired intangible assets. Determining an acquired intangible asset's useful life also requires significant judgment and is based on evaluating a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the expected use of the asset, historical client retention rates, consumer awareness and trade name history, as well as any contractual provisions that could limit or extend an asset's useful life. The Company's goodwill is evaluated in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 350, which requires goodwill to be assessed for impairment at least annually and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of goodwill may not be recoverable. In addition, an impairment evaluation of our amortizable intangible assets may also be performed if events or circumstances indicate potential impairment. Among the factors that could trigger an impairment review are current operating results that do not align with our annual plan or historical performance; changes in our strategic plans or the use of our assets; restructuring charges or other changes in our business segments; competitive pressures and changes in the general economy or in the markets in which we operate; and a significant decline in our stock price and our market capitalization relative to our net book value. When performing our annual assessment of the recoverability of goodwill, we initially perform a qualitative analysis evaluating whether any events or circumstances occurred or exist that provide evidence that it is more likely than not that the fair value of any of our reporting units is less than the related carrying amount. If we do not believe that it is more likely than not that the fair value of any of our reporting units is less than the related carrying amount, then no quantitative impairment test is performed. However, if the results of our qualitative assessment indicate that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its respective carrying amount, then we perform a two-step quantitative impairment test. Evaluating the recoverability of goodwill requires judgments and assumptions regarding future trends and events. As a result, both the precision and reliability of our estimates are subject to uncertainty. Among the factors that we consider in our qualitative assessment are general economic conditions and the competitive environment; actual and projected reporting unit financial performance; forward-looking business measurements; and external market assessments. To determine the fair values of our reporting units for a quantitative analysis, we typically utilize detailed financial projections, which include significant variables, such as projected rates of revenue growth, profitability and cash flows, as well as assumptions regarding discount rates, the Company's weighted average cost of capital and other data. Our most recent annual impairment test of goodwill was a qualitative analysis conducted during the quarter ended September 30, 2019 that indicated no impairment. Subsequent to completing our 2019 annual impairment test, no events or changes in circumstances were noted that required an interim goodwill impairment test. Note 1 — Business and Significant Accounting Policies and Note 3 — Goodwill and Intangible Assets in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements provide additional information regarding the Company's goodwill and amortizable intangible assets. **Accounting for income taxes —** The Company uses the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes. We estimate our income taxes in each of the jurisdictions where the Company operates. This process involves estimating our current tax expense or benefit together with assessing temporary differences resulting from differing treatment of items for tax and accounting purposes. These differences result in deferred tax assets and liabilities, which are included in our consolidated balance sheets. When assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, we consider if it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. In making this assessment, we consider the availability of loss carryforwards, projected reversals of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income, and ongoing prudent and feasible tax planning strategies. The Company recognizes the tax benefit from an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained based on the technical merits of the position. Recognized tax positions are measured at the largest amount of benefit with greater than a 50% likelihood of being realized. The Company uses estimates in determining the amount of unrecognized tax benefits associated with uncertain tax positions. Significant judgment is required in evaluating tax law and measuring the benefits likely to be realized. Uncertain tax positions are periodically re-evaluated and adjusted as more information about their ultimate realization becomes available. **Accounting for stock-based compensation —** The Company accounts for stock-based compensation awards in accordance with FASB ASC Topics 505 and 718 and SEC Staff Accounting Bulletins No. 107 and No. 110. The Company recognizes stock-based compensation expense, which is based on the fair value of the award on the date of grant, over the related service period. Note 10 — Stock-Based Compensation in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements provides additional information regarding stock-based compensation. Determining the appropriate fair value model and calculating the fair value of stock-based compensation awards requires the use of certain subjective assumptions, including the expected life of a stock-based compensation award and the Company’s common stock price volatility. In addition, determining the appropriate periodic stock-based compensation expense requires management to estimate the likelihood of the achievement of certain performance targets. The assumptions used in calculating the fair values of stock-based compensation awards and the related periodic expense represent management’s best estimates, which involve inherent uncertainties and the application of judgment. As a result, if circumstances change and the Company deems it necessary in the future to modify the assumptions it made or to use different assumptions, or if the quantity and nature of the Company’s stock-based compensation awards changes, then the amount of expense may need to be adjusted and future stock-based compensation expense could be materially different from what has been recorded in the current period. **Restructuring and other accruals —** We may record accruals for severance costs, contract terminations, asset impairments and other costs as a result of ongoing actions we undertake to streamline our organization, reposition certain businesses and reduce future operating costs. Estimates of costs to be incurred to complete these actions, such as future payments under contractual arrangements, the fair value of assets, and severance and related benefits, are based on assumptions at the time the actions are initiated. These accruals may need to be adjusted to the extent that actual costs differ from such estimates. In addition, these actions may be revised due to changes in business conditions that we did not foresee at the time such plans were approved. We also record accruals during the year for our various employee cash incentive programs. Amounts accrued at the end of each reporting period are based on our estimates and may require adjustment as the ultimate amount paid for these incentives are sometimes not known with certainty until the end of our fiscal year. ### RESULTS OF OPERATIONS ### Consolidated Results The table below presents an analysis of selected line items and year-over-year changes in our Consolidated Statements of Operations for the years indicated (in thousands). | | Year Ended December 31, 2019 | Year Ended December 31, 2018 | Increase (Decrease) | Percentage Increase (Decrease) | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | Total revenues | $4,245,321 | $3,975,454 | $269,867 | 7% | | Costs and expenses: | | | | | | Cost of services and product development | 1,550,568 | 1,468,800 | 81,768 | 6 | | Selling, general and administrative | 2,103,424 | 1,884,141 | 219,283 | 12 | | Depreciation | 82,066 | 68,592 | 13,474 | 20 | | Amortization of intangibles | 129,713 | 187,009 | (57,296) | (31) | | Acquisition and integration charges | 9,463 | 107,197 | (97,734) | (91) | | Operating income | 370,087 | 259,715 | 110,372 | 42 | | Interest expense, net | (99,805) | (124,208) | (24,403) | (20) | | (Loss) gain from divested operations | (2,075) | 45,447 | (47,522) | \>(100) | | Other income, net | 7,532 | 167 | 7,365 | \>100 | | Provision for income taxes | 42,449 | 58,665 | (16,216) | (28) | | Net income | $233,290 | $122,456 | $110,834 | 91% | Total revenues for 2019 were $4.2 billion, an increase of $269.9 million, or 7% compared to 2018 on a reported basis and 9% excluding the foreign currency impact. The tables below present (i) revenues by geographic region (based on where the sale is fulfilled) and (ii) revenues by segment for the years indicated (in thousands). | Primary Geographic Market | Year Ended December 31, 2019 | Year Ended December 31, 2018 | Increase (Decrease) | Percentage Increase (Decrease) | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | United States and Canada | $2,734,490 | $2,514,952 | $219,538 | 9% | | Europe, Middle East and Africa | 996,004 | 1,000,490 | (4,486) | — | | Other International | 514,827 | 460,012 | 54,815 | 12 | | Total revenues (1) | $4,245,321 | $3,975,454 | $269,867 | 7% | | Segment | Year Ended December 31, 2019 | Year Ended December 31, 2018 | Increase (Decrease) | Percentage Increase (Decrease) | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | Research | $3,374,548 | $3,105,764 | $268,784 | 9% | | Conferences | 476,869 | 410,461 | 66,408 | 16 | | Consulting | 393,904 | 353,667 | 40,237 | 11 | | Other (1) | — | 105,562 | (105,562) | \>(100) | | Total revenues (1) | $4,245,321 | $3,975,454 | $269,867 | 7% | (1) During 2018, the Company divested all of the non-core businesses that comprised its Other segment and moved a small residual product from the Other segment into the Research business and, as a result, no revenue has been recorded in the Other segment in 2019. Revenue from the Company's divested operations was approximately $97.3 million during 2018. Note 9 — Revenue and Related Matters in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements provides additional information regarding the Company's revenue by geography and by segment. Refer to the section of this MD&A below entitled “Segment Results” for a discussion of revenues and results by segment. Cost of services and product development was $1.6 billion in 2019, an increase of $81.8 million compared to 2018, or 6% on a reported basis and 7% excluding the foreign currency impact. The increase in Cost of services and product development was primarily due to higher payroll and related benefits costs resulting from increased headcount, partially offset by a reduction in expense from certain businesses that were divested during 2018. Cost of services and product development as a percent of revenues was 37% during both 2019 and 2018. Selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expense was $2.1 billion in 2019, an increase of $219.3 million compared to 2018, or 12% on a reported basis and 14% excluding the foreign currency impact. The increase in SG&A expense was primarily due to: (i) higher commissions from increased sales bookings; (ii) more payroll and related benefits costs, which were driven mostly by increased headcount; and (iii) higher facilities and corporate costs. These items were partially offset by a reduction in SG&A expense from certain businesses that were divested during 2018 and a reduction in travel and entertainment expenses during 2019. The overall headcount growth included quota-bearing sales associate increases in Global Technology Sales and Global Business Sales to 3,267 and 869, respectively, at December 31, 2019. On a combined basis, the total number of quota-bearing sales associates increased by 6% when compared to December 31, 2018. SG&A expense as a percent of revenues was 50% and 47% during 2019 and 2018, respectively. SG&A expense increased at a faster pace than our revenue in 2019 as we grew sales capacity and the enabling infrastructure during the year to promote future revenue growth. Depreciation increased by 20% during 2019 compared to 2018. This increase was due to additional investments, including new leasehold improvements as additional office space went into service and capitalized software. Amortization of intangibles decreased by 31% during 2019 compared to 2018 due to certain businesses that were divested during 2018, including the related intangible assets, as well as certain intangible assets that became fully amortized in 2018 and 2019. Acquisition and integration charges declined by $97.7 million during 2019 compared to 2018. This decrease was the result of the Company having completed two acquisitions in 2017, no acquisitions in 2018 and one minor acquisition in late 2019. Operating income was $370.1 million and $259.7 million during 2019 and 2018, respectively. The increase in operating income reflects several factors, including (i) reduced amortization of intangibles and acquisition and integration charges and (ii) higher segment contributions, primarily in our Research and Conferences segments and, to a lesser extent, Consulting, which were partially offset by higher SG&A expense and Depreciation. Interest expense, net declined by $24.4 million during 2019 compared to 2018. This decrease was primarily due to lower average outstanding borrowings during 2019 and nominally lower weighted average annual effective interest rates on the Company's total outstanding debt. Gain from divested operations of $45.4 million in 2018 was due to sales of certain business units and other miscellaneous assets. Loss from divested operations of $2.1 million in 2019 was primarily due to adjustments of certain working capital balances related to the Company's 2018 divestitures. Note 2 — Acquisitions and Divestitures in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements provides additional information regarding the Company's 2018 divestitures. Other income, net for the years presented herein included the net impact of foreign currency gains and losses from our hedging activities, as well as sales of certain state tax credits and the recognition of other tax incentives. During 2019, Other income, net also included a pretax gain of $9.1 million from the Company's sale a minority equity investment. The provision for income taxes was $42.4 million and $58.7 million during 2019 and 2018, respectively, with an effective income tax rate of 15.4% in 2019 and 32.4% in 2018. The 2019 effective tax rate includes a significant benefit from the intercompany sale of certain intellectual property, while no such benefit occurred in 2018. Note 12 — Income Taxes in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements provides additional information regarding the Company's income taxes. Net income was $233.3 million and $122.5 million during 2019 and 2018, respectively. Additionally, our diluted net income per share increased by $1.23 in 2019 compared to 2018. These year-over-year changes reflect: (i) increases in our 2019 operating income; (ii) lower interest expense; and (iii) a lower effective income tax rate in 2019 compared to 2018. Partially offsetting these items was a loss from divested operations during 2019 compared to a corresponding gain during 2018. ### SEGMENT RESULTS We evaluate reportable segment performance and allocate resources based on gross contribution margin. Gross contribution is defined as operating income or loss excluding certain Cost of services and product development expenses, SG&A expenses, Depreciation, Amortization of intangibles, and Acquisition and integration charges. Gross contribution margin is defined as gross contribution as a percent of revenues. #### 2018 Business Divestitures During 2018, the Company divested all of the non-core businesses that comprised its Other segment and moved a small residual product from the Other segment into the Research business and, as a result, no operating activity has been recorded in the Other segment in 2019. The Other segment had $105.6 million of revenue during 2018, while gross contribution was $65.1 million. Note 2 — Acquisitions and Divestitures in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements provides additional information regarding the Company's 2018 divestitures. #### Reportable Segments The Company’s reportable segments are as follows: - ***Research*** provides trusted, objective insights and advice on the mission-critical priorities of leaders across all functional areas of an enterprise through reports, briefings, proprietary tools, access to our research experts, peer networking services and membership programs that enable our clients to drive organizational performance. - ***Conferences*** provides business professionals across an organization the opportunity to learn, share and network. From our Gartner Symposium/Xpo series, to industry-leading conferences focused on specific business roles and topics, to peer-driven sessions, our offerings enable attendees to experience the best of Gartner insight and advice live. - ***Consulting*** combines the power of Gartner market-leading research with custom analysis and on-the-ground support to help chief information officers and other senior executives driving technology-related strategic initiatives move confidently from insight to action. The sections below present the results of the Company's three reportable business segments. #### Research | Financial Measurements: | As Of And For The Year Ended December 31, 2019 | As Of And For The Year Ended December 31, 2018 | Increase (Decrease) | Percentage Increase (Decrease) | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | Revenues (1) | $3,374,548 | $3,105,764 | $268,784 | 9% | | Gross contribution (1) | $2,351,720 | $2,144,097 | $207,623 | 10% | | Gross contribution margin | 70% | 69% | 1 point | — | | **Business Measurements:** | | | | | | Global Technology Sales (2): | | | | | | Contract value (1), (3) | $2,799,000 | $2,492,000 | $307,000 | 12% | | Client retention | 82% | 83% | (1) point | — | | Wallet retention | 104% | 105% | (1) point | — | | Global Business Sales (2): | | | | | | Contract value (1), (3) | $647,000 | $594,000 | $53,000 | 9% | | Client retention | 82% | 82% | — | — | | Wallet retention | 101% | 95% | 6 points | — | (1) Dollars in thousands. (2) Global Technology Sales includes sales to users and providers of technology. Global Business Sales includes sales to all other functional leaders. (3) Contract values are on a foreign exchange neutral basis. Contract values as of December 31, 2018 have been calculated using the same foreign currency rates as 2019. Research revenues increased by $268.8 million during 2019 compared to 2018, or 9% on a reported basis and 10% excluding the foreign currency impact. The gross contribution margin was 70% in 2019 compared to 69% in 2018. The increase in revenues during 2019 was primarily due to the same factors driving the trend in our Research contract value, which are discussed below. The improvement in margin was primarily due to strong fourth quarter results in 2019 wherein program costs and travel and entertainment expenses grew at a slower pace than the corresponding quarterly revenue. Total contract value increased to $3.4 billion at December 31, 2019, or 12% compared to December 31, 2018 on a foreign exchange neutral basis. Total contract value at December 31, 2019 increased by double-digits across more than half of the Company’s client sizes and half of its industry segments when compared to December 31, 2018. Global Technology Sales ("GTS") contract value increased by 12% at December 31, 2019 when compared to December 31, 2018. The increase in GTS contract value was primarily due to additional sales headcount and productivity improvements. Global Business Sales ("GBS") contract value increased by 9% year-over-year (8% on a foreign exchange neutral basis after excluding the effects of the Company's 2019 acquisition of TOPO Research LLC), primarily driven by the combined effect of improved retention and new business, with a large portion of the new business coming from newly launched products. GTS client retention was 82% and 83% as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, while wallet retention was 104% and 105%, respectively. GBS client retention was 82% as of both December 31, 2019 and 2018, while wallet retention was 101% and 95%, respectively. The increase in GBS wallet retention was largely due to increased spending by retained clients. The number of GTS client enterprises increased by 1% at December 31, 2019 when compared to December 31, 2018, while GBS client enterprises declined by 6%. #### Conferences | Financial Measurements: | As Of And For The Year Ended December 31, 2019 | As Of And For The Year Ended December 31, 2018 | Increase (Decrease) | Percentage Increase (Decrease) | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | Revenues (1) | $476,869 | $410,461 | $66,408 | 16% | | Gross contribution (1) | $241,757 | $207,260 | $34,497 | 17% | | Gross contribution margin | 51% | 50% | 1 point | — | | **Business Measurements:** | | | | | | Number of destination conferences (2) | 72 | 70 | 2 | 3% | | Number of destination conferences attendees (2) | 85,750 | 78,136 | 7,614 | 10% | (1) Dollars in thousands. (2) Single day, local meetings are excluded. Conferences revenues increased by $66.4 million during 2019 compared to 2018, or 16% on a reported basis and 18% excluding the foreign currency impact. Revenues from both attendees and exhibitors at our destination conferences, as well as revenues from our single day, local meetings, increased by double-digits during 2019 compared to 2018. We held 72 destination conferences in 2019 with a 10% increase in the number of attendees and a 15% increase in exhibitors when compared to 2018, while the average revenue per attendee and exhibitor both increased by 3%. The segment gross contribution margin was 51% and 50% in 2019 and 2018, respectively. The higher gross contribution margin during 2019 was primarily due to improvements in our average revenue per attendee and exhibitor, improved margins from our single day, local meetings and our continuing efforts to efficiently manage our conference-related expenses. Partially offsetting these items were higher costs associated with increased headcount. #### Consulting | Financial Measurements: | As Of And For The Year Ended December 31, 2019 | As Of And For The Year Ended December 31, 2018 | Increase (Decrease) | Percentage Increase (Decrease) | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | Revenues (1) | $393,904 | $353,667 | $40,237 | 11% | | Gross contribution (1) | $118,450 | $102,541 | $15,909 | 16% | | Gross contribution margin | 30% | 29% | 1 point | — | | **Business Measurements:** | | | | | | Backlog (1), (2) | $115,700 | $108,400 | $7,300 | 7% | | Billable headcount | 784 | 718 | 66 | 9% | | Consultant utilization | 62% | 63% | (1) point | — | | Average annualized revenue per billable headcount (1) | $373 | $375 | $(2) | (1)% | (1) Dollars in thousands. (2) Backlog is on a foreign exchange neutral basis. Backlog as of December 31, 2018 has been calculated using the same foreign currency rates as 2019. Consulting revenues increased 11% during 2019 compared to 2018 on a reported basis and 14% excluding the foreign currency impact, with revenue improvements in labor-based core consulting and contract optimization of 7% and 31%, respectively, on a reported basis. Contract optimization revenue may vary significantly and, as such, 2019 revenues may not be indicative of future results. The segment gross contribution margin was 30% and 29% in 2019 and 2018, respectively. The higher gross contribution margin during 2019 was primarily due to the increase in contract optimization revenue, which has a higher contribution margin than our labor-based core consulting, billing rate increases, improvements in our labor-based consulting margins and benefits derived from certain cost-reduction initiatives, partially offset by increased personnel costs and commissions. Backlog increased by $7.3 million, or 7%, from December 31, 2018 to December 31, 2019. The $115.7 million of backlog at December 31, 2019 represented approximately four months of backlog, which is in line with the Company's operational target. ### LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES We finance our operations through cash generated from our operating activities and borrowings. Note 6 — Debt in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements provides additional information regarding the Company's outstanding debt obligations. At December 31, 2019, we had $280.8 million of cash and cash equivalents and approximately $1.0 billion of available borrowing capacity on the revolving credit facility under our 2016 Credit Agreement. We believe that the Company has adequate liquidity to meet its currently anticipated needs. We have historically generated significant cash flows from our operating activities. Our operating cash flow has been continuously maintained by the leverage characteristics of our subscription-based business model in our Research segment, which is our largest business segment and historically has constituted a significant portion of our total revenues. The majority of our Research customer contracts are paid in advance and, combined with a strong customer retention rate and high incremental margins, has resulted in continuously strong operating cash flow. Cash flow generation has also benefited from our ongoing efforts to improve the operating efficiencies of our businesses as well as a focus on the optimal management of our working capital as we increase sales. Our cash and cash equivalents are held in numerous locations throughout the world with 92% held overseas at December 31, 2019. The Company intends to reinvest substantially all of its accumulated undistributed foreign earnings, except in instances where repatriation would result in minimal additional tax. As a result of the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, we believe that the income tax impact if such earnings were repatriated would be minimal. The table below summarizes the changes in the Company's cash balances for the years indicated (in thousands). | | Year Ended December 31, 2019 | 2018 | Increase (Decrease) | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | | Cash provided by operating activities | $565,436 | $471,158 | $94,278 | | Cash (used in) provided by investing activities | (160,885) | 384,051 | (544,936) | | Cash used in financing activities | (285,992) | (1,257,115) | 971,123 | | Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash | 118,559 | (401,906) | 520,465 | | Effects of exchange rates | 3,614 | (6,489) | 10,103 | | Beginning cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash | 158,663 | 567,058 | (408,395) | | Ending cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash | $280,836 | $158,663 | $122,173 | #### Operating Cash provided by operating activities was $565.4 million and $471.2 million in 2019 and 2018, respectively. This year-over-year increase was primarily due to (i) greater profitability in 2019, including lower cash payments for both acquisition-related costs and interest on our borrowings, and (ii) improved collections of our fees receivable during 2019. Partially offsetting these items were higher payments for income taxes, net of refunds received, during 2019. #### Investing Cash used in investing activities was $160.9 million in 2019 compared to cash provided by investing activities of $384.1 million in 2018. The cash used in 2019 was primarily for capital expenditures and the acquisition of TOPO Research LLC, partially offset by $14.1 million of cash proceeds from the sale of a minority equity investment. During 2018, $526.8 million of net cash was realized from business unit divestitures and other miscellaneous asset sales, partially offset by payments of $126.9 million for capital expenditures and $15.9 million for deferred consideration from a pre-2018 acquisition. #### Financing Cash used in financing activities was $286.0 million in 2019 compared to cash used of $1.3 billion in 2018. During 2019, the Company borrowed $5.0 million under a financial program offered by the State of Connecticut and repaid $109.6 million of other borrowings. We also used $199.0 million of cash during 2019 for share repurchases. During 2018, the Company paid $1.0 billion in debt principal repayments and $260.8 million for share repurchases. ### OBLIGATIONS AND COMMITMENTS #### Debt As of December 31, 2019, the Company had $2.2 billion of principal amount of debt outstanding. Note 6 — Debt in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements provides additional information regarding the Company's outstanding debt obligations. #### Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements Through December 31, 2019, the Company has not entered into any material off-balance sheet arrangements or transactions with unconsolidated entities or other persons. #### Contractual Cash Commitments The table below summarizes the Company's future contractual cash commitments as of December 31, 2019 (in thousands). | Commitment Description | Due In Less Than 1 Year | Due In 2-3 Years | Due In 4-5 Years | Due In More Than 5 Years | Total | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | Debt – principal and interest (1) | $237,948 | $1,422,379 | $100,141 | $822,585 | $2,583,053 | | Operating leases (2) | 142,352 | 273,920 | 249,635 | 682,883 | 1,348,790 | | Deferred compensation arrangements (3) | 10,116 | 14,725 | 8,784 | 45,931 | 79,556 | | Other (4) | 30,836 | 34,606 | 12,712 | 35,834 | 113,988 | | Totals | $421,252 | $1,745,630 | $371,272 | $1,587,233 | $4,125,387 | (1) Principal repayments of the Company's debt obligations were classified in the above table based on the contractual repayment dates. Interest payments were based on the effective interest rates as of December 31, 2019, including the effects of the Company’s interest rate swap contracts. Note 6 — Debt in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements provides information regarding the Company's debt obligations and interest rate swap contracts. (2) The Company leases various facilities, automobiles, computer equipment and other assets under non-cancelable operating lease agreements expiring between 2020 and 2038. The total commitment excludes approximately $360.6 million of estimated future cash receipts from the Company's subleasing arrangements. Note 1 — Business and Significant Accounting Policies and Note 7 — Leases in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements provide additional information regarding the Company's leases. (3) The Company has supplemental deferred compensation arrangements with certain of its employees. Amounts payable with known payment dates have been classified in the above table based on those scheduled payment dates. Amounts payable whose payment dates are unknown have been included in the Due In More Than 5 Years category because the Company cannot determine when the amounts will be paid. Note 15 — Employee Benefits in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements provides additional information regarding the Company's supplemental deferred compensation arrangements. (4) Other includes: (i) contractual commitments (a) to secure sites for our Conferences business and (b) for software, telecom and other services; (ii) amounts due for share repurchase transactions that occurred in late December 2019 but were settled in cash in January 2020; and (iii) projected cash contributions to the Company's defined benefit pension plans. Note 15 — Employee Benefits in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements provides additional information regarding the Company's defined benefit pension plans. In addition to the contractual cash commitments included in the above table, the Company has other payables and liabilities that may be legally enforceable but are not considered contractual commitments. Information regarding the Company's payables and liabilities is included in Note 5 — Accounts Payable and Accrued and Other Liabilities in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. ### QUARTERLY FINANCIAL DATA The tables below present our quarterly operating results for the two-year period ended December 31, 2019. *(In thousands, except per share data)* | 2019 | First | Second | Third | Fourth | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | Revenues | $970,444 | $1,070,882 | $1,000,502 | $1,203,493 | | Operating income | 48,799 | 116,002 | 69,147 | 136,139 | | Net income (1) | 20,795 | 103,406 | 41,388 | 67,701 | | Net income per share (1), (2): | | | | | | Basic | $0.23 | $1.15 | $0.46 | $0.76 | | Diluted | $0.23 | $1.13 | $0.46 | $0.75 | *(In thousands, except per share data)* | 2018 | First | Second | Third | Fourth | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | Revenues | $963,565 | $1,001,336 | $921,674 | $1,088,878 | | Operating income (loss) | (8,711) | 86,096 | 52,724 | 129,606 | | Net income (loss) | (19,587) | 46,270 | 11,753 | 84,020 | | Net income (loss) per share: | | | | | | Basic | $(0.22) | $0.51 | $0.13 | $0.93 | | Diluted | $(0.22) | $0.50 | $0.13 | $0.92 | (1) In April 2019, we completed an intercompany sale of certain intellectual property and, as a result, the Company recorded a net tax benefit of approximately $38.1 million. The tax benefit increased our net income and each of our basic and diluted net income per share for the second quarter of 2019 by approximately $0.42 per share. Note 12 — Income Taxes in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements provides additional information regarding the tax impact of our intercompany sale of certain intellectual property. (2) The aggregate of the four quarters’ basic and diluted net income per share may not equal the reported full calendar year amounts due to the effects of share repurchases, dilutive equity compensation and rounding. ### RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING STANDARDS The FASB has issued accounting standards that had not yet become effective as of December 31, 2019 and may impact the Company’s consolidated financial statements or its disclosures in future periods. Note 1 — Business and Significant Accounting Policies in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements provides information regarding those accounting standards. ## Market risk As filed, 4,070 characters. ### INTEREST RATE RISK As of December 31, 2019, the Company had $2.2 billion in total debt principal outstanding. Note 6 — Debt in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements provides additional information regarding the Company's outstanding debt obligations. Approximately $1.4 billion of the Company's total debt outstanding as of December 31, 2019 was based on a floating base rate of interest, which potentially exposes the Company to increases in interest rates. However, we reduce our overall exposure to interest rate increases through our interest rate swap contracts, which effectively convert the floating base interest rates on the borrowings to fixed rates. Thus, we are only exposed to base interest rate risk on floating rate borrowings in excess of any amounts that are not hedged. At December 31, 2019, the Company was effectively fully hedged against the base interest rate risk on its floating rate borrowings. ### FOREIGN CURRENCY RISK A significant portion of our revenues are typically derived from sales outside of the United States. Among the major foreign currencies in which we conduct business are the Euro, the British Pound, the Japanese Yen, the Australian dollar and the Canadian dollar. The reporting currency of our consolidated financial statements is the U.S. dollar. As the values of the foreign currencies in which we operate fluctuate over time relative to the U.S. dollar, the Company is exposed to both foreign currency translation and transaction risk. Translation risk arises as our foreign currency assets and liabilities are translated into U.S. dollars because the functional currencies of our foreign operations are generally denominated in the local currency. Adjustments resulting from the translation of these assets and liabilities are deferred and recorded as a component of stockholders’ equity. A measure of the potential impact of foreign currency translation can be determined through a sensitivity analysis of our cash and cash equivalents. At December 31, 2019, we had $280.8 million of cash and cash equivalents, with a substantial portion denominated in foreign currencies. If the exchange rates of the foreign currencies we hold all changed in comparison to the U.S. dollar by 10%, the amount of cash and cash equivalents we would have reported on December 31, 2019 could have increased or decreased by approximately $26.0 million. The translation of our foreign currency revenues and expenses historically has not had a material impact on our consolidated earnings because movements in and among the major currencies in which we operate tend to impact our revenues and expenses fairly equally. However, our earnings could be impacted during periods of significant exchange rate volatility, or when some or all of the major currencies in which we operate move in the same direction against the U.S. dollar. Transaction risk arises when we enter into a transaction that is denominated in a currency that may differ from the local functional currency. As these transactions are translated into the local functional currency, a gain or loss may result, which is recorded in current period earnings. We typically enter into foreign currency forward exchange contracts to mitigate the effects of some of this foreign currency transaction risk. Our outstanding foreign currency forward exchange contracts as of December 31, 2019 had an immaterial net unrealized gain. ### CREDIT RISK Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk consist primarily of short-term, highly liquid investments classified as cash equivalents, fees receivable, interest rate swap contracts and foreign currency forward exchange contracts. The majority of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents, interest rate swap contracts and foreign currency forward exchange contracts are with large investment grade commercial banks. Fees receivable balances deemed to be collectible from customers have limited concentration of credit risk due to our diverse customer base and geographic dispersion. ## Controls and procedures As filed, 2,878 characters. ### DISCLOSURE CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES Management conducted an evaluation, as of December 31, 2019, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rules 13a- 15(e) and 15d- 15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), under the supervision and with the participation of our chief executive officer and chief financial officer. Based upon that evaluation, our chief executive officer and chief financial officer have concluded that the Company's disclosure controls and procedures are effective in alerting them in a timely manner to material Company information required to be disclosed by us in reports filed under the Exchange Act. ### MANAGEMENT’S ANNUAL REPORT ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING Gartner management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f). Gartner’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. In addition, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions and that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. Management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019. In making this assessment, management used the criteria set forth in the *Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013)* issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Management’s assessment was reviewed with the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors. Based on its assessment of internal control over financial reporting, management has concluded that, as of December 31, 2019, Gartner’s internal control over financial reporting was effective. The effectiveness of management’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019 has been audited by KPMG LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report, which is included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K in Part IV, Item 15. ### CHANGES IN INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING There have been no changes in the Company's internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended December 31, 2019 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company's internal control over financial reporting. Filed Feb 19, 2020. Source: SEC EDGAR, the filing index for accession 0000749251-20-000008. Last ingested by Listed: Nov 10, 2026, 01:53 ET. No prices; not investment advice.