Forrester Research, Inc
Forrester Research, Inc. is a U.S.-based independent research and advisory firm that sells subscription research, consulting, and events to business and technology leaders worldwide. Its core value proposition is decision support: combining proprietary research, analyst guidance, and Forrester AI to help clients plan, buy, and execute more effectively across technology, customer experience, digital, marketing, sales, and product functions.
Fiscal year 2025 · change from previous year
Development 2020–2025
Business
Share of revenueRecurring research access, including Forrester Decisions, forecasts, benchmarks, vendor evaluations, and best-practice tools.
Project-based consulting, advisory services, and content marketing that help clients implement customer-obsessed strategies.
Conferences and curated events that provide insights, networking, and sponsorship opportunities tied to client renewal and lead generation.
Products
Reported · share of revenue- Research Revenue74.5 %
- Consulting Services Revenue22.2 %
- Events Revenue3.3 %
Source: 10-K FY2025, revenue the company reports per product line (SEC XBRL). Shares are of the lines shown and add up to 100 %.
Customers
Forrester sells primarily to business and technology decision-makers, including leaders in technology, customer experience, digital, marketing, sales, and product. Its client base spans end-user enterprises, technology vendors, and government clients, with subscriptions typically renewed in advance and consulting sold as discrete projects. The company says it served more than 1,700 client companies in 2025, and no single client represented more than 3% of revenue.
Buy research and advisory content to support strategy, operating models, and transformation decisions.
Buy market landscapes, forecasts, and vendor evaluation content to shape go-to-market and product strategy.
Buy project-based consulting and advisory services to implement customer-obsessed growth initiatives.
Attend or sponsor events to gain insights, build relationships, and generate demand.
Use research and advisory services for technology and operational decision support.
Strategy
Forrester’s strategy is to deepen migration of clients into Forrester Decisions while using analyst guidance and Forrester AI to make research more actionable and sticky. It is also focused on cross-selling consulting and events to improve retention, expand contract value, and support renewal rates. The company is positioning itself around trusted human intelligence plus AI, arguing that clients need objective, reliable guidance as business and technology change rapidly.
Recurring subscriptions are the core revenue engine and support renewal visibility.
Forrester AI can improve accessibility and speed while preserving trusted content.
Consulting and events can increase client engagement and renewal behavior.
Geography
Q1/2026Forrester operates globally, with direct sales coverage across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific and events held across those same regions. The company disclosed that 22% of 2025 revenue came from customers outside the U.S., highlighting meaningful international exposure even though the U.S. remains the largest market. Its international footprint also creates operational complexity through local sales reps, regional client needs, and exposure to macroeconomic and trade-policy shifts.
Share of the revenue the company reports by geography.
Risks
The main business risk is subscription renewal and demand weakness, because research revenue depends on retaining and expanding recurring contracts. Consulting is more cyclical and project-based, while events depend on sponsorship and attendance, making those revenues less predictable. The company also faces competitive pressure from AI-enabled alternatives, macroeconomic softness in technology spending, international operating risk, and concentration of voting power in its chairman and CEO.
- Decline in renewals or demand for subscription researchImpact: HighLikelihood: High
Research subscriptions are the largest revenue source and are renewed over time.
Exposure: Forrester Decisions and heritage research subscriptions
- Goodwill impairmentImpact: HighLikelihood: High
The company recorded a large goodwill impairment in 2025, and further declines could trigger more charges.
Exposure: Research and Consulting reporting units
- AI-driven competitive disruptionImpact: HighLikelihood: Medium
Generative AI and LLMs may change how clients source decision support and research.
Exposure: Research products and client usage behavior
- Weak consulting bookingsImpact: MediumLikelihood: Medium
Consulting revenue is project-based and depends on new engagements replacing completed work.
Exposure: Consulting and advisory services
- Event sponsorship and attendance volatilityImpact: MediumLikelihood: Medium
Event revenue can swing with client budgets and event timing.
Exposure: Forrester Events
- International and macroeconomic exposureImpact: MediumLikelihood: Medium
Non-U.S. revenue and global sales operations are sensitive to economic and policy shifts.
Exposure: Europe and Asia Pacific operations
Accounting
Judgemental itemsRevenue is spread over contract terms, so renewals and contract length affect timing.
Impact: Affects deferred revenue, quarterly revenue smoothing, and growth comparisons
A triggering event in 2025 led to an $83.9 million impairment in the Research unit.
Impact: Non-cash charge that can materially reduce reported earnings and equity
The company holds a note from the FeedbackNow sale and estimates expected losses each period.
Impact: Can affect other income/expense and asset carrying value
Consulting and events are less recurring than research and can move between quarters.
Impact: Quarterly comparability and margin volatility
Management explicitly cites goodwill, intangible, and other long-lived asset estimates.
Impact: Potential future impairment charges if assumptions weaken
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Last updated: 24/09/2026