The end of an earnings season can be a great time to discover new stocks and assess how companies are handling the current business environment. Let’s take a look at how Everforth (NYSE: EFOR) and the rest of the it services & consulting stocks fared in Q1.

IT Services & Consulting companies stand to benefit from increasing enterprise demand for digital transformation, AI-driven automation, and cybersecurity resilience. Many enterprises can't attack these topics alone and need IT services and consulting on everything from technical advice to implementation. Challenges in meeting these needs will include finding talent in specialized and evolving IT fields. While AI and automation can enhance productivity, they also threaten to commoditize certain consulting functions. Another ongoing challenge will be pricing pressures from offshore IT service providers, which have lower labor costs and increasingly equal access to advanced technology like AI.

The 8 it services & consulting stocks we track reported a slower Q1. As a group, revenues along with next quarter’s revenue guidance were in line with analysts’ consensus estimates.

Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 13.8% since the latest earnings results.

Weakest Q1: Everforth (NYSE: EFOR)

Evolving from its roots in IT staffing to become a high-end technology consulting powerhouse, Everforth (EFOR) provides specialized IT consulting services and staffing solutions to Fortune 1000 companies and U.S. federal government agencies.

Everforth reported revenues of $968.3 million, flat year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations, but overall, it was a disappointing quarter for the company with revenue guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations.

Everforth delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates of the whole group. The market seems disappointed with the results as the stock is down 48.6% since reporting and currently trades at $20.78.

Read our full report on Everforth here, it’s free.

Best Q1: Gartner (NYSE: IT)

With over 2,500 research experts guiding organizations through complex technology landscapes, Gartner (NYSE: IT) provides research, advisory services, and conferences that help executives make better decisions about technology and other business priorities.

Gartner reported revenues of $1.51 billion, down 1.5% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. The business had a very strong quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.

Although it had a fine quarter compared to its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 3.4% since reporting. It currently trades at $142.72.

Is now the time to buy Gartner? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Kyndryl (NYSE: KD)

Born from IBM's managed infrastructure services business in a 2021 spinoff, Kyndryl (NYSE: KD) is the world's largest IT infrastructure services provider that designs, builds, and manages technology environments for enterprise customers.

Kyndryl reported revenues of $3.77 billion, flat year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. It was a softer quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.

As expected, the stock is down 21.4% since the results and currently trades at $11.55.

Read our full analysis of Kyndryl’s results here.

Grid Dynamics (NASDAQ: GDYN)

With engineering centers across the Americas, Europe, and India serving Fortune 1000 companies, Grid Dynamics (NASDAQ: GDYN) provides technology consulting, engineering, and analytics services to help large enterprises modernize their technology systems and business processes.

Grid Dynamics reported revenues of $104.1 million, up 3.7% year on year. This print beat analysts’ expectations by 0.9%. Zooming out, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also logged EPS in line with analysts’ estimates but revenue guidance for next quarter slightly missing analysts’ expectations.

Grid Dynamics achieved the highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. The stock is up 11.2% since reporting and currently trades at $6.33.

Read our full, actionable report on Grid Dynamics here, it’s free.

IBM (NYSE: IBM)

With a corporate history spanning over a century and once known for its iconic mainframe computers, IBM (NYSE: IBM) provides hybrid cloud computing platforms, AI solutions, consulting services, and enterprise infrastructure to help businesses modernize their operations.

IBM reported revenues of $15.92 billion, up 9.5% year on year. This number surpassed analysts’ expectations by 1.4%. It was a strong quarter as it also produced a beat of analysts’ EPS and revenue estimates.

IBM delivered the biggest analyst estimate beat and fastest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is up 6.5% since reporting and currently trades at $268.20.

Read our full, actionable report on IBM here, it’s free.

Market Update

Late in 2025 into early 2026, there was hand-wringing around artificial intelligence. For software companies, the fear was that AI would erode pricing power and compress margins as new tools made it easier to replicate what once required expensive enterprise platforms. Crypto investors had their own version of the same anxiety: if AI agents could trade, allocate capital, and manage wallets autonomously, what exactly was the long-term value of today’s crypto infrastructure?

These concerns triggered a noticeable rotation away from these sectors and into safer havens. But markets rarely dwell on one narrative for long. Spring 2026 came, and the focus shifted abruptly from technological disruption to geopolitical risk. The US’ conflict with Iran became the dominant driver of market psychology, and when geopolitics takes center stage, the script changes quickly. Investors stop debating growth rates and start worrying about oil supply, inflation, and global stability.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our 9 Best Market-Beating Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.