Gartner (IT) To Report Q1 Earnings: What's In The Cards?

Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) is scheduled to report first-quarter 2019 results on May 7, before market open.

So far this year, shares of Gartner have gained 23.6% compared with 26.4% rise of the industry it belongs to and 15.9% increase of the Zacks S&P 500 composite.

Let's check out how things are shaping up for the announcement.

Top Line to Benefit from Segmental Strength

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter 2019 revenues stands at $969.73 million, indicating 0.6% growth from the year-ago reported figure. The upside is likely to be driven by strength across each of the three business segments — Research, Conferences and Consulting. In fourth-quarter 2018, revenues of $1.09 billion increased 7% year over year.

Going by segments, the consensus estimate for Research revenues is pegged at $833 million, indicating growth of 9% from the prior-year period.

The consensus mark for Conferences revenues is pegged at $51 million, indicating 10.9% increase from the year-ago reported figure. Multiple investments made in support of the conference business is expected to aid the segment.

The consensus estimate for Consulting revenues is pegged at $87 million, indicating year-over-year growth of 4.8%. Solid performance of labor-based and contract optimization business should boost the segment.

Earnings Likely to Decline Year Over Year

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Gartner’s earnings per share in the to-be-reported quarter is pegged at 53 cents, indicating a decline of 26.4% from the year-ago period reported figure. The bottom line is likely to be impacted by lower proportion of revenues, higher depreciation and foreign currency movements. Notably, the consensus estimate lies within the company guided adjusted EPS range of 50-54 cents.

In fourth-quarter 2018, adjusted earnings per share of $1.20 cents increased 3% year over year.

What Our Model Says

According to the Zacks model, a company with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) has a good chance of beating estimates if it also has a positive Earnings ESP. Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell) stocks are best avoided, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they're reported with our Earnings ESP Filter .

Gartner has a Zacks Rank #4 and an Earnings ESP of 0.00%.

Stocks That Warrant a Look

Here are a few stocks from the broader Zacks Business Services sector that investors may consider as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat in their upcoming earnings releases:

FLEETCOR Technologies (NYSE:FLT) has an Earnings ESP of +0.38% and a Zacks Rank #2. The company is scheduled to report first-quarter 2019 results on May 7. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Green Dot (NYSE:GDOT) has an Earnings ESP of +0.30% and a Zacks Rank #2. The company is slated to release first-quarter 2019 results on May 8.

Broadridge (NYSE:BR) has an Earnings ESP of +0.34% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is scheduled to report third-quarter fiscal 2019 results on May 7.

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