VOL. XCIV, NO. 247
★ WIDE MOAT STOCKS & COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES ★
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Wednesday, December 31, 2025
Gartner, Inc.
IT · New York Stock Exchange
Weighted average of segment moat scores, combining moat strength, durability, confidence, market structure, pricing power, and market share.
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Overview
Gartner is a global research and advisory company operating across Insights (subscription research and advisory), Conferences, and Consulting. The core moat sits in Insights: trusted brand positioning plus a bundled subscription offering and strong retention dynamics tied to recurring contract value. Conferences benefit from a two-sided attendee and exhibitor ecosystem anchored by flagship event brands, though event spend is discretionary and competitive. Consulting leverages Gartner insight as a differentiator, but competes in a crowded services market against larger consultancies and integrators.
Primary segment
Insights
Market structure
Oligopoly
Market share
—
HHI: —
Coverage
3 segments · 5 tags
Updated 2025-12-30
Segments
Insights
IT research and executive advisory subscriptions (insights, benchmarks, and expert access)
Revenue
81.8%
Structure
Oligopoly
Pricing
strong
Share
—
Peers
Conferences
Executive and enterprise technology conferences (attendee and exhibitor ecosystem)
Revenue
9.3%
Structure
Competitive
Pricing
moderate
Share
—
Peers
Consulting
IT strategy and technology-driven strategic initiative consulting
Revenue
8.9%
Structure
Competitive
Pricing
weak
Share
—
Peers
Moat Claims
Insights
IT research and executive advisory subscriptions (insights, benchmarks, and expert access)
This segment is referred to as 'Research' in Gartner's FY2024 Form 10-K and as 'Insights' in the Q3 2025 Form 10-Q; revenue share shown is based on FY2024 segment revenues.
Switching Costs General
Demand
Switching Costs General
Strength: 4/5 · Durability: durable · Confidence: 4/5 · 2 evidence
Recurring subscription model with consistently high client retention and tracked contract value makes the relationship sticky and budgeted as an ongoing input to decision-making.
Erosion risks
- Budget cuts in IT and advisory spend during downturns
- AI-enabled substitutes reduce willingness-to-pay for traditional research
- Best-of-breed specialist analyst firms win niche budgets
Leading indicators
- Contract value growth rate
- Client retention and wallet retention trends
- Net new client adds vs churn
Counterarguments
- Information is increasingly available free or low-cost online (including AI summaries)
- Large enterprises can build internal research and center-of-excellence functions
Brand Trust
Demand
Brand Trust
Strength: 4/5 · Durability: durable · Confidence: 4/5 · 1 evidence
Positioned as an objective, trusted advisor at executive levels, supporting credibility and willingness-to-pay for decision support.
Erosion risks
- Perceived loss of objectivity or research quality
- Reputational damage from forecast or methodology failures
- Executive attention shifts to new media or AI-first channels
Leading indicators
- Client satisfaction and NPS disclosures (if provided)
- Renewal rates by cohort and enterprise size
- Usage and engagement with research tools and expert interactions
Counterarguments
- Brand is valuable but not unassailable; buyers can shift quickly if perceived value drops
- Other trusted brands (consultancies, cloud vendors) compete for executive mindshare
Suite Bundling
Demand
Suite Bundling
Strength: 4/5 · Durability: durable · Confidence: 4/5 · 1 evidence
Bundled subscription combines research content, benchmarks, and direct expert access, making the offering harder to replicate with point solutions.
Erosion risks
- Customers unbundle into cheaper specialist tools and communities
- AI copilots reduce perceived marginal value of expert access
- Benchmarking and datasets commoditize via open data and vendors
Leading indicators
- Attach rate of higher-tier packages vs basic subscriptions
- Usage of expert inquiry and interaction channels
- Price and mix and discounting trends
Counterarguments
- Bundling can be replicated by large platforms and consultancies combining research with tooling
- Some buyers only value a narrow subset of content and can downshift packages
Conferences
Executive and enterprise technology conferences (attendee and exhibitor ecosystem)
Two Sided Network
Network
Two Sided Network
Strength: 3/5 · Durability: medium · Confidence: 3/5 · 2 evidence
Conferences connect executives (attendees) with vendors (exhibitors and sponsors); scale and audience quality help attract both sides.
Erosion risks
- Shift to virtual and hybrid formats reduces defensibility
- Travel and marketing budget cuts reduce attendance and sponsorship
- Competitive vendor-hosted events and communities
Leading indicators
- Attendee counts and exhibitor and sponsor revenue mix
- Number of destination conferences held
- Cancellation and rebooking rates
Counterarguments
- Conferences are substitutable; network effects are weaker than software platforms
- Vendors can redirect spend to digital marketing and owned events
Brand Trust
Demand
Brand Trust
Strength: 3/5 · Durability: medium · Confidence: 3/5 · 1 evidence
Flagship conference branding (e.g., Symposium/Xpo series) supports premium positioning, though events remain discretionary spend.
Erosion risks
- Brand dilution if content quality declines
- Sponsor and attendee fatigue from repeated formats
- Competition from newer, faster-growing event brands
Leading indicators
- Repeat attendance rates at flagship events
- Sponsor renewal rates
- Net promoter or satisfaction signals (if disclosed)
Counterarguments
- Event brands can be transient; attendees follow speakers and content, not organizers
- Sponsors optimize ROI and can switch quickly between conferences
Consulting
IT strategy and technology-driven strategic initiative consulting
Suite Bundling
Demand
Suite Bundling
Strength: 3/5 · Durability: medium · Confidence: 3/5 · 2 evidence
Consulting is differentiated when paired with Gartner's research and insight base, enabling packaged advisory and execution support rather than standalone staff augmentation.
Erosion risks
- Consulting commoditization and price competition
- Clients shift work in-house or to larger integrators
- AI tools reduce need for external analysis on some engagements
Leading indicators
- Consulting backlog trend
- Utilization rates and average billable headcount
- Project win rates and average deal size
Counterarguments
- Large consultancies and systems integrators can bundle research and tooling with delivery at greater scale
- Switching costs are often low between consultancies once a project ends
Brand Trust
Demand
Brand Trust
Strength: 3/5 · Durability: medium · Confidence: 3/5 · 1 evidence
Brand credibility at the executive level can help win strategic advisory work, but does not eliminate competitive bidding.
Erosion risks
- Execution failures damage credibility
- Clients prefer firms with larger delivery capacity and global benches
- Procurement pressure and rate-card compression
Leading indicators
- Repeat business rates and client expansion (if disclosed)
- Pipeline conversion rate
- Gross margin trends vs peers
Counterarguments
- In consulting, delivery outcomes matter more than brand claims
- Trust can be relationship-specific and portable with individual consultants
Evidence
GTS client retention was 84% ... wallet retention was 98% ... GBS client retention was 87% ... wallet retention was 102%.
Retention metrics (as of Sep 30, 2025) support ongoing renewals and customer stickiness.
Contract value represents the dollar value attributable to all of our subscription-related contracts.
Highlights that a large portion of the business is subscription-based and intended to recur.
We are a trusted advisor and an objective resource for close to 14,000 enterprises in approximately 90 countries and territories.
Direct positioning statement supports a demand-side brand and credibility moat.
Subscription services include on-demand access to published research content, data and benchmarks, and direct access to a network of more than 2,500 research experts.
Explicitly describes a bundled product (content plus data and benchmarks plus expert network).
Increase in revenues was due to a 15% increase in both exhibitor revenue and attendee revenue.
Revenue drivers explicitly reference both sides of the market (exhibitors and attendees).
Showing 5 of 10 sources.
Risks & Indicators
Erosion risks
- Budget cuts in IT and advisory spend during downturns
- AI-enabled substitutes reduce willingness-to-pay for traditional research
- Best-of-breed specialist analyst firms win niche budgets
- Procurement pushes for lower seat counts or renegotiated pricing
- Perceived loss of objectivity or research quality
- Reputational damage from forecast or methodology failures
Leading indicators
- Contract value growth rate
- Client retention and wallet retention trends
- Net new client adds vs churn
- Insights gross contribution margin trend
- Client satisfaction and NPS disclosures (if provided)
- Renewal rates by cohort and enterprise size
Curation & Accuracy
This directory blends AI‑assisted discovery with human curation. Entries are reviewed, edited, and organized with the goal of expanding coverage and sharpening quality over time. Your feedback helps steer improvements (because no single human can capture everything all at once).
Details change. Pricing, features, and availability may be incomplete or out of date. Treat listings as a starting point and verify on the provider’s site before making decisions. If you spot an error or a gap, send a quick note and I’ll adjust.