Concerns addressed during 2026 Baird Global Consumer Conference

Here is how CFO Craig Safian addressed each of the analyst's concerns during the conference:

• On AI Disruption: Safian firmly pushed back on the idea that AI is a threat. He stated that Gartner tracks this religiously and sellers are not citing AI as a reason for lost deals. He pointed to rising metrics in digital engagement, human interactions, and conference attendance, noting that factory pipelines are up double-digits. He emphasized that Gartner is an insights company that proactively identifies blind spots for executives, not a simple "question-and-answer engine" like Copilot or Claude.
• On Geopolitical and Macro Volatility: He acknowledged that the onset of the war in Iran slowed down executive decision-making in March, particularly for companies exposed to oil prices. However, he noted that many of those delayed deals successfully closed in April as the situation felt less risky. He also noted that trade policy has stabilized, which should help clients reliant on supply chains.
• On U.S. Federal Government Instability: Safian stated the federal business is "definitely more stable" now, with Q1 renewal rates significantly improving over the prior year. While they have conservatively modeled the federal business to be completely flat (zero growth) for 2026, he expects it to eventually return to growth and even win back some of the contracts lost during the initial "DOGE era" disruptions.
• On the Reduced Consulting Outlook: He explained that Q1 saw some deferred decision-making on the bookings side, so management opted to "de-risk" their annual guidance for that segment. He expects a strong Q2 for bookings, which will put revenue back on track for Q3 and Q4. He also added that their Contract Optimization segment is highly volatile and coming off two record years, making comparisons tougher.
• On Long-Term Financial Guidance: Safian acknowledged that the company needs to get back to consistent mid-to-high single-digit growth before discussing the historical 12%–16% target again. He defended the new 12% EPS CAGR target, stating it signals management's confidence in controlling operating expenses, maintaining profitability, and generating strong free cash flow to fund aggressive share buybacks while revenue catches up to Contract Value (CV) growth.
• On Revenue Modeling Disconnects: Addressing the sequential step-down in CV versus flattish revenue projections, Safian explained that foreign exchange (FX) rates provided a benefit last year. This FX tailwind offset the sequential step-down in revenue that models would typically predict following a quarter with negative Net Contract Value Increase (NCVI).
• Trade Policy Exposure: ~40% of the company's CV sits with clients who rely on supply chains, importation, and exportation, highlighting their sensitivity to trade volatility.its with clients who rely on supply chains, importation, and exportation, highlighting their sensitivity to trade volatility.