Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR) today announced fourth-quarter and full-year financial results for 2023, with contract value (CV) down by 4%, at $332.1 million, compared with the prior year.

Commenting on the results, George F. Colony, Forrester’s CEO and chairman, stated, “2023 was a challenging year, with revenue down 11% and CV down by 4%. However, we made steady progress in 2023 on multiple fronts, including improving the Forrester Decisions platform, upskilling the sales organization, and readying our genAI tool, Izola, for general release. Furthermore, we achieved our goal of migrating two-thirds of our contract value into our new research platform, Forrester Decisions.

“We see 2024 as the final transition year in the Forrester Decisions migration, and this is reflected in our 2024 guidance. We expect pressures throughout the year on CV, key retention metrics, and revenue. However, we have built the product, go-to-market, and organizational foundations to enable the company to return to CV growth in 2025.”

Fourth-Quarter Consolidated Results

Total revenues for the fourth quarter of 2023 were $118.1 million, compared with $136.9 million for the comparable quarter in 2022.

On a GAAP basis, net loss was $0.7 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2023, compared with a net loss of $1.6 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, for the same period in 2022.

On an adjusted basis, net income was $4.8 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2023, reflecting an adjusted effective tax rate of 29%. Adjusted net income excludes stock-based compensation of $4.3 million, amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets of $2.8 million, restructuring costs of $1.1 million, and investment gains of $0.2 million. This compares with adjusted net income of $8.5 million, or $0.45 per diluted share, for the same period in 2022, which reflects an adjusted tax rate of 30%. Adjusted net income for the fourth quarter of 2022 excludes stock-based compensation of $3.5 million, amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets of $3.1 million, restructuring costs of $9.3 million, and investment losses of $0.1 million.

Year Ended December 31, 2023, Financial Performance

Total revenues were $480.8 million, compared with $537.8 million for the same period in 2022.

On a GAAP basis, net income was $3.1 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, for 2023, compared with net income of $21.8 million, or $1.14 per diluted share, for 2022.

On an adjusted basis, net income was $36.6 million, or $1.90 per diluted share, for 2023, which reflects an adjusted effective tax rate of 29%. Adjusted net income excludes stock-based compensation of $15.5 million, amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets of $12.0 million, restructuring costs of $13.3 million, a legal settlement of $4.8 million, and gains on investments of $0.2 million. This compares with adjusted net income of $47.2 million, or $2.46 per diluted share, for 2022, which reflects an adjusted tax rate of 30%. Adjusted net income for 2022 excludes stock-based compensation of $14.5 million, amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets of $13.2 million, restructuring costs of $9.3 million, and investment gains of $0.3 million.

Additional details regarding key metrics can be found in the investor presentation on the investor relations section of the Company’s website.

A reconciliation of GAAP results to adjusted results may be found in the attached financial tables.

2024 Guidance

Forrester is providing full-year 2024 financial guidance as follows:

Full-Year 2024 (GAAP):

  • Total revenues of approximately $430.0 million to $450.0 million, or a decline of 6% to 11% versus the prior year
  • Operating margin of approximately 2.4% to 3.4%
  • Interest expense of approximately $3.0 million
  • An effective tax rate of 35%
  • Diluted earnings per share of approximately $0.33 to $0.53

Full-Year 2024 (Adjusted):

Adjusted financial guidance for full-year 2024 excludes stock-based compensation expense of $13.8 million to $14.8 million, amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets of approximately $10.0 million, restructuring costs of $6.6 million to $7.0 million, and any investment gains or losses.

  • Adjusted operating margin of approximately 9.5% to 10.5%
  • Adjusted effective tax rate of 29%
  • Adjusted diluted earnings per share of approximately $1.50 to $1.70

About Forrester

Forrester (Nasdaq: FORR) is one of the most influential research and advisory firms in the world. We help leaders across technology, customer experience, digital, marketing, sales, and product functions use customer obsession to accelerate growth. Through Forrester’s proprietary research, consulting, and events, leaders from around the globe are empowered to be bold at work — to navigate change and put their customers at the center of their leadership, strategy, and operations. Our unique insights are grounded in annual surveys of more than 700,000 consumers, business leaders, and technology leaders worldwide; rigorous and objective research methodologies, including Forrester Wave™ evaluations; more than 100 million real-time feedback votes; and the shared wisdom of our clients. To learn more, visit Forrester.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, Forrester’s financial guidance for the full-year 2024 and statements about the performance of Forrester Decisions, Forrester’s sales force, and Forrester’s future financial performance and financial condition. These statements are based on Forrester’s current plans and expectations and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual future activities and results of operations to be materially different from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual future activities and results to differ include, among others, Forrester’s ability to retain and enrich memberships for its research products and services, including the migration of its existing clients into its Forrester Decisions portfolio of services; Forrester’s ability to fulfill existing or generate new consulting engagements and advisory services; technology spending; the risks and challenges inherent in international business activities; the impact of health epidemics, including COVID-19, on Forrester’s business; Forrester’s ability to offer new products and services; Forrester’s dependence on key personnel; Forrester’s ability to attract and retain professional staff; Forrester’s ability to respond to business and economic conditions and market trends; the impact of Forrester’s outstanding debt obligations; competition and industry consolidation; possible variations in Forrester’s quarterly operating results; concentration of ownership of Forrester; the possibility of network disruptions and security breaches; any failure to enforce and protect Forrester’s intellectual property rights; compliance with privacy laws; taxation risks; any weakness in Forrester’s system of internal controls; and the amount and timing of the repurchase of Forrester stock. Forrester undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. For further information, please refer to Forrester’s reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The consolidated statements of operations and the table of key financial data are attached.

© 2024, Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Forrester is a trademark of Forrester Research, Inc.

Forrester Research, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(Unaudited, In thousands, except per share data)

Three Months Ended

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

December 31,

 

2023

 

 

 

2022

 

 

 

2023

 

 

 

2022

 

 
Revenues:
Research

$

85,185

 

$

92,188

 

$

334,396

 

$

354,453

 

Consulting

 

28,271

 

 

37,512

 

 

118,228

 

 

152,587

 

Events

 

4,633

 

 

7,191

 

 

28,155

 

 

30,747

 

Total revenues

 

118,089

 

 

136,891

 

 

480,779

 

 

537,787

 

Operating expenses:
Cost of services and fulfillment

 

52,600

 

 

56,814

 

 

204,484

 

 

223,773

 

Selling and marketing

 

44,272

 

 

48,691

 

 

167,352

 

 

181,940

 

General and administrative

 

16,847

 

 

19,758

 

 

68,497

 

 

67,655

 

Depreciation

 

1,895

 

 

2,277

 

 

8,452

 

 

9,269

 

Amortization of intangible assets

 

2,781

 

 

3,093

 

 

11,956

 

 

13,161

 

Restructuring costs

 

1,132

 

 

9,335

 

 

13,272

 

 

9,335

 

Total operating expenses

 

119,527

 

 

139,968

 

 

474,013

 

 

505,133

 

Income (loss) from operations

 

(1,438

)

 

(3,077

)

 

6,766

 

 

32,654

 

Interest expense

 

(774

)

 

(729

)

 

(3,060

)

 

(2,461

)

Other income, net

 

739

 

 

30

 

 

2,371

 

 

222

 

Gains (losses) on investments, net

 

208

 

 

(117

)

 

208

 

 

309

 

Income (loss) before income taxes

 

(1,265

)

 

(3,893

)

 

6,285

 

 

30,724

 

Income tax expense (benefit)

 

(602

)

 

(2,263

)

 

3,235

 

 

8,918

 

Net income (loss)

$

(663

)

$

(1,630

)

$

3,050

 

$

21,806

 

 
Basic income (loss) per common share

$

(0.03

)

$

(0.09

)

$

0.16

 

$

1.15

 

Diluted income (loss) per common share

$

(0.03

)

$

(0.09

)

$

0.16

 

$

1.14

 

Basic weighted average common shares outstanding

 

19,238

 

 

19,051

 

 

19,183

 

 

18,967

 

Diluted weighted average common shares outstanding

 

19,238

 

 

19,051

 

 

19,258

 

 

19,172

 

 
Adjusted data (1):
Income (loss) from operations - GAAP

$

(1,438

)

$

(3,077

)

$

6,766

 

$

32,654

 

Amortization of intangible assets

 

2,781

 

 

3,093

 

 

11,956

 

 

13,161

 

Restructuring costs

 

1,132

 

 

9,335

 

 

13,272

 

 

9,335

 

Legal settlement

 

—

 

 

—

 

 

4,800

 

 

—

 

Stock-based compensation included in the
following expense categories:
Cost of services and fulfillment

 

2,563

 

 

2,038

 

 

9,068

 

 

8,435

 

Selling and marketing

 

849

 

 

646

 

 

2,943

 

 

2,774

 

General and administrative

 

905

 

 

823

 

 

3,475

 

 

3,334

 

Adjusted income from operations

$

6,792

 

$

12,858

 

$

52,280

 

$

69,693

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

December 31,

2023

 

2022

 

2023

 

2022

Amount

 

Per Share

 

Amount

 

Per Share

 

Amount

 

Per Share

 

Amount

 

Per Share

Net income (loss) - GAAP

$

(663

)

$

(0.03

)

$

(1,630

)

$

(0.09

)

$

3,050

 

$

0.16

 

$

21,806

 

$

1.14

 

Amortization of intangible assets

 

2,781

 

 

0.14

 

 

3,093

 

 

0.16

 

 

11,956

 

 

0.62

 

 

13,161

 

 

0.68

 

Restructuring costs

 

1,132

 

 

0.06

 

 

9,335

 

 

0.49

 

 

13,272

 

 

0.69

 

 

9,335

 

 

0.49

 

Legal settlement

 

—

 

 

—

 

 

—

 

 

—

 

 

4,800

 

 

0.25

 

 

—

 

 

—

 

Stock-based compensation

 

4,317

 

 

0.22

 

 

3,507

 

 

0.18

 

 

15,486

 

 

0.80

 

 

14,543

 

 

0.76

 

(Gains) losses on investments

 

(208

)

 

(0.01

)

 

117

 

 

0.01

 

 

(208

)

 

(0.01

)

 

(309

)

 

(0.02

)

Tax effects of items above (2)

 

(1,994

)

 

(0.10

)

 

(4,261

)

 

(0.22

)

 

(11,111

)

 

(0.58

)

 

(9,748

)

 

(0.51

)

Adjustment to tax expense for adjusted tax rate (3)

 

(568

)

 

(0.03

)

 

(1,649

)

 

(0.08

)

 

(616

)

 

(0.03

)

 

(1,570

)

 

(0.08

)

Adjusted net income

$

4,797

 

 

0.25

 

$

8,512

 

$

0.45

 

$

36,629

 

 

1.90

 

$

47,218

 

$

2.46

 

Diluted weighted average shares outstanding

 

19,314

 

 

19,110

 

 

19,258

 

 

19,172

 

(1) Forrester believes that adjusted financial results provide investors with consistent and comparable information to aid in the understanding of Forrester's ongoing business, and are also used by Forrester in making compensation decisions. Our adjusted presentation excludes amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets, stock-based compensation, restructuring costs, a legal settlement, and net gains or losses from investments, as well as their related tax effects. We also utilized an assumed tax rate of 29% in 2023 and 30% in 2022, which excludes items such as the settlement of prior year tax audits and the effect of any adjustments related to the filing of prior year tax returns. The adjusted data does not purport to be prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States.
(2) The tax effect of adjusting items is based on the accounting treatment and rate for the jurisdiction of each item.
(3) To compute adjusted net income, we apply an adjusted effective tax rate of 29% in 2023 and 30% in 2022.
Forrester Research, Inc.
Key Financial Data
(Unaudited, dollars in thousands)

December 31,

 

December 31,

 

2023

 

 

 

2022

 

Balance sheet data:
Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable investments

$

124,489

 

$

123,317

 

Accounts receivable, net

$

58,999

 

$

73,345

 

Deferred revenue

$

156,798

 

$

178,021

 

Debt outstanding

$

35,000

 

$

50,000

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

2023

 

 

 

2022

 

Cash flow data:
Net cash provided by operating activities

$

21,673

 

$

39,425

 

Purchases of property and equipment

$

(5,495

)

$

(5,663

)

Repayments of debt

$

(15,000

)

$

(25,000

)

Repurchases of common stock

$

(4,082

)

$

(15,112

)

 

As of

December 31,

 

2023

 

 

 

2022

 

Metrics:
Contract value

$

332,100

 

$

345,400

 

(a)
Client retention

 

73

%

 

74

%

Wallet retention

 

87

%

 

94

%

(a)
Number of clients

 

2,449

 

 

2,778

 

 

As of

December 31,

 

2023

 

 

 

2022

 

Headcount:
Total headcount

 

1,744

 

 

2,033

 

Sales force

 

601

 

 

709

 

(a) Effective for the fourth quarter of 2023, we made a slight modification to the calculation of contract value (“CV”) based on the increasing percentage of multi-year contracts we are signing with our clients, and to more closely align CV with the trends in the related bookings and revenue performance. Historically, we have annualized the ratable revenue portion of our CV subscription products, while the entitlements included in the subscriptions (representing approximately 10% of the subscription) have been included in CV at their total value, as all entitlements in the contract are available for use during an annual period. The revised calculation annualizes the entitlements for contracts greater than one year. In addition, we update CV each year for the foreign currency rates used for internal planning purposes. We have updated the CV metric for our 2024 plan rates. For comparative purposes, we have recast historical CV and wallet retention for both the currency rate update and the annualization of entitlements. We have included the recast CV and wallet retention metrics for the period ended December 31, 2022 in this table, and we have also provided recast CV and wallet retention amounts dating back to the fourth quarter of 2021 on the investor relations section of our website.