Here's the hot stuff from Gartner, Inc.
$IT (+2,12%) (NYSE: IT) Q2 2026 Earnings Release, delivered fresh on August 4, 2026, before the U.S. stock market opened:

🚀 Top-Line Performance & Contract Value Acceleration

Leading IT research and advisory firm Gartner beat Wall Street expectations across all key earnings metrics in the second quarter of 2026:

Revenue: Reached $1.70 billion (adjusted revenue grew by +2.8% YoY or +1.8% on a currency-adjusted basis).

Contract Value: Growth in the key driver, contract value, accelerated again in the second quarter.

Research Anchor: The high-margin research portfolio continues to serve as a stable backbone against macroeconomic headwinds in IT budgets.

🔮 Profitability & Strong Cash Generation

Gartner demonstrates its enormous pricing power and efficiency in converting revenue into real cash flow:

Net Income: Jumped by +14.4% YoY to $275 million .

Adjusted EBITDA: Climbed by +6.4% YoY to $466 million (adjusted for divested business segments).

Free Cash Flow (FCF): Rise by +8.9% YoY to a rock-solid $378 million (Operating cash flow was $398 million).

🤖 Raised Full-Year Forecast & Share Buyback Drive

CEO Gene Hall is capitalizing on the momentum and raising the full-year 2026 targets despite the stronger U.S. dollar:

Guidance Increase: Gartner raises its forecast for full-year 2026 for adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EPS, and free cash flow.

Massive share buybacks: In Q2, 3.6 million shares were repurchased for $547 million .

New boost to buybacks: In July 2026, the Board of Directors increased the share buyback authorization by an additional $500 million .

⚡ 💡 Jack’s Take

A classic quality beat from the B2B information monopoly! While IT departments worldwide are reevaluating their software budgets, Gartner’s expertise and consulting remain indispensable. Accelerated contract value growth, an upwardly revised annual forecast, and aggressive share buybacks (over half a billion USD in Q2 alone) prove it: Gartner is consistently using its cash flow to further maximize value per share!

$IT (+2,12%) The figures were okay to good.

Beat the S&P500 Challenge

I have been thinking about which stocks I could use to beat the S&P500 index.

After a lot of research, I have now decided on 20 American shares, which I will save 100 euros/month each in savings plans from 01.04.2024. As I didn't want any overlaps/duplications with my ETFs (World and Consumer Staples), I chose companies from the second tier. Perhaps one or two of the stocks will also be of interest to you 😉

The portfolio will contain the following shares:

$AME (-0,14%)

$APH (+0,54%)

$ANET

$AJG (-0,49%)

$CMG (+0,09%)

$FIX (+2,55%)

$EME (-0,28%)

$IT (+2,12%)

$HUBB (+1,08%)

$INTU (+0,37%)

$KAI (+0,43%)

$KLAC (+0,06%)

$MMC (+0,33%)

$MEDP (+0,36%)

$MOH (+1,61%)

$RSG (-0,83%)

$SNPS (+0,81%)

$URI (-0,4%)

$VRTX (+0,7%)

$GWW (-0,72%)

I know that it will be difficult to beat the S&P500, but I still want to try...