FORR 10-Q Quarter ended Sept. 30, 2012

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FORM 10-Q

(MARK ONE)

FOR THE QUARTERLY PERIOD ENDED September 30, 2012

OR

COMMISSION FILE NUMBER: 000-21433

FORRESTER RESEARCH, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (617) 613- 6000

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes x No ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes x No ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes ¨ No x

As of November 6, 2012, 22,295,000 shares of the registrant’s common stock were outstanding.

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FORRESTER RESEARCH, INC.

INDEX TO FORM 10-Q

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FORRESTER RESEARCH, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands, except per share data, unaudited)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

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FORRESTER RESEARCH, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME

(In thousands, except per share data, unaudited)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

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FORRESTER RESEARCH, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

(In thousands, unaudited)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

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FORRESTER RESEARCH, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In thousands, unaudited)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

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FORRESTER RESEARCH, INC.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unaudited)

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for reporting on Form 10-Q. Accordingly, certain information and footnote disclosures required for complete financial statements are not included herein. The year-end balance sheet data was derived from audited financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. It is recommended that these financial statements be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes that appear in the Forrester Research, Inc. (“Forrester”) Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position, results of operations, and cash flows as of the dates and for the periods presented have been included. The results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012 may not be indicative of the results for the year ending December 31, 2012, or any other period.

On May 12, 2011, Forrester acquired Springboard Research (“Springboard”), a provider of research and advisory services focused on Asia Pacific and emerging markets. Springboard was a former division of Knowledge Platform, Inc. The acquisition of the Springboard business further supports Forrester’s role-based strategy and expands Forrester’s coverage in the Asia Pacific region. The total purchase price was approximately $9.0 million, of which approximately $6.7 million was paid on the acquisition date and $2.3 million (the “Holdback”) is payable at various times through June 1, 2013, subject to possible reduction to satisfy indemnification claims. Of the $2.3 million Holdback, up to $0.9 million was contingent on the retention of certain employees for a period of time and on the extension of a certain lease. As of May 2012, both contingency provisions have elapsed with the full amount payable to Knowledge Platform. As of September 30, 2012, $1.4 million of the Holdback had been paid by the Company and $0.9 million of the Holdback remains in accrued expenses in the Consolidated Balance Sheet. The results of Springboard, which were not material to the consolidated financial statements, have been included in Forrester’s consolidated financial statements since May 12, 2011 in the Business Technology segment. Pro forma financial information has not been provided as it is not material to the consolidated results of operations.

A summary of the purchase price allocation for Springboard is as follows (in thousands):

Approximately $2.1 million of the goodwill is deductible for tax purposes. The Company believes the goodwill reflects its expectations of synergistic revenue opportunities from the acquisition and the value of the acquired workforce.

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Intangible assets are amortized according to the expected cash flows to be received. The following are the identifiable intangible assets acquired and their respective weighted average lives (dollars in thousands):

The following table summarizes the Company’s marketable investments (in thousands):

Realized gains and losses on securities are included in earnings and are determined using the specific identification method. Realized gains or losses on the sale of the Company’s federal agency, state, municipal and corporate obligations were not material in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012 or 2011.

The following table summarizes the maturity periods of the marketable securities in the Company’s portfolio as of September 30, 2012. In February 2008, certain auction rate securities (“ARS”) that Forrester held experienced failed auctions that limited the liquidity of these securities. These auction failures have continued and based on current market conditions, it is likely that auction failures will continue. The following table reflects the ARS at their contractual maturity dates of between 2024 and 2034 (in thousands).

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The following table shows the gross unrealized losses and market value of Forrester’s available-for-sale securities with unrealized losses that are not deemed to be other-than-temporary, aggregated by investment category and length of time that individual securities have been in a continuous unrealized loss position (in thousands):

Fair Value

The Company measures certain financial assets at fair value on a recurring basis, including cash equivalents and available-for-sale securities. The fair values of these financial assets have been classified as Level 1, 2 or 3 within the fair value hierarchy as described in the accounting standards for fair value measurements.

Level 1 — Fair value based on quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2 — Fair value based on inputs other than Level 1 inputs that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

Level 3 — Fair value based on unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and such inputs are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

The following table represents the Company’s fair value hierarchy for its financial assets (cash equivalents and investments) measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011 (in thousands):

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Level 2 assets consist of the Company’s entire portfolio of federal, state, municipal and corporate bonds, excluding those municipal bonds described below with an auction reset feature. Level 2 assets have been initially valued at the transaction price and subsequently valued, at the end of each reporting period, typically utilizing third party pricing services or other market observable data. The pricing services utilize industry standard valuation methods, including both income and market based approaches and observable market inputs to determine value. These observable market inputs include reportable trades, benchmark yields, credit spreads, broker/dealer quotes, bids, offers, current spot rates and other industry and economic events.

Level 3 assets consist entirely of municipal bonds with an auction reset feature (ARS). Prior to 2008, the fair value of the ARS investments approximated par value due to the frequent resets through the auction process. While the Company continues to receive interest income on its ARS investments at each interest rate reset date (which occurs at either seven or 35 day intervals for each security), these investments trade infrequently and therefore do not have a readily determinable market value. Interest rates on the securities ranged from 0.11% to 0.46% and 0.12% to 0.60% during the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011, respectively. The Company values the ARS using a discounted cash flow model that includes unobservable inputs including estimates of interest rates, discounts rates and expected holding periods of the securities, which is considered a Level 3 valuation. Unobservable inputs included in the valuation as of September 30, 2012 included a weighted average interest rate of 0.30%, a weighted average discount rate of 2.84% and a weighted average holding period of 5 years. The valuation resulted in an unrealized loss recorded in other comprehensive loss in the Consolidated Balance Sheets of $1.2 million and $1.4 million at September 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively. The Company believes that the loss is temporary due to the strong underlying credit rating of the securities and the fact that the Company does not intend to sell the securities and is not likely to be required to sell the securities. The assumptions used in valuing the ARS are volatile and subject to change as the underlying sources of these assumptions and market conditions change. Significant increases or decreases in any of the valuation assumptions in isolation would result in a significant change in the fair value.

The following table provides a summary of changes in fair value of the Company’s Level 3 financial assets for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011 (in thousands):

At September 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011, the carrying value of the Company’s non-marketable investments, which were composed primarily of interests in technology-related private equity funds, was $7.8 million and $7.9 million, respectively, and is recorded in other assets in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

One of the Company’s investments, with a book value of $1.4 million and $1.5 million at September 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively, is being accounted for using the cost method and, accordingly, is valued at cost unless an other-than-temporary impairment in its

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value occurs. The other investments are being accounted for using the equity method as the investments are limited partnerships and the Company has an ownership interest in excess of 5% and, accordingly, the Company records its share of the investee’s operating results each period. The Company recorded a gain from its non-marketable investments of $0.1 million during the three months ended September 30, 2012, and $0.3 million and $0.6 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011, respectively, which are included in gains on investments, net in the Consolidated Statements of Income. Gains from non-marketable investments were insignificant during the three months ended September 30, 2011. During the third quarter of 2012, the Company identified an error related to the amount of income previously recorded for investments under the equity-method. Income related to equity method investments was understated by approximately $0.4 million in 2007, $0.2 million in 2008 and, based on a revision received by the Company in the third quarter of 2012 to the information that was originally provided to the Company for the year ended December 31, 2011, was overstated by approximately $1.2 million in 2011. Management has concluded that these errors are immaterial to all prior period financial statements and recorded a correction of these errors as a $0.6 million reduction in equity method income in the three months ended September 30, 2012.

The following table rolls forward the activity in the reorganization accrual for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 (in thousands):

In the first quarter of 2012 the Company realigned its sales force to simplify the selling process to its customers and to increase the productivity of the sales organization. The Company incurred approximately $0.4 million of severance costs in the fourth quarter of 2011 for three sales employees located outside of the U.S. based on statutory termination benefits in their country of employment and the fact that termination was considered probable at December 31, 2011. The Company incurred an additional $1.4 million of severance and related costs in the nine months ended September 30, 2012 for the termination of 17 additional employees related to the sales reorganization and other cost reduction initiatives. The remaining accrual at September 30, 2012 is expected to be paid by the end of 2012.

Basic net income per common share is computed by dividing net income by the basic weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted net income per common share is computed by dividing net income by the diluted weighted average number of common shares and common equivalent shares outstanding during the period. The weighted average number of common equivalent shares outstanding has been determined in accordance with the treasury-stock method. Common equivalent shares consist of common stock issuable on the exercise of outstanding options and vesting of restricted stock units when dilutive.

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Basic and diluted weighted average common shares are as follows (in thousands):