Forrester Research - 10-Q quarterly report FY

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

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, 2009. 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, 2010 may not be indicative of the results for the year ending December 31, 2010, or any other period.

Certain costs within the line items “costs of services and fulfillment” and “selling and marketing” have been reclassified in the prior year’s consolidated financial statements to properly reflect the nature of those costs. The reclassification did not have an effect on total operating expenses or income from operations.

On January 22, 2009, Forrester acquired all of the outstanding share capital of Forrester Middle East FZ-LLC (FME), a Dubai, UAE based reseller of Forrester’s products that also offered consulting services to local customers, to expand the Company’s direct geographical presence in the area. The total purchase price was approximately $1.1 million of which approximately $0.6 million was paid on the acquisition date, $0.2 million was paid in the three months ended June 30, 2009 and $0.3 million was contingent upon the acquired company meeting certain financial metrics in 2009, which were not met and accordingly the final $0.3 million was not required to be paid by Forrester. The results of FME’s operations, which were not material to the consolidated financial statements, have been included in Forrester’s consolidated financial statements since January 22, 2009, with the revenue included within the client group segment to which it relates. Pro forma financial information has not been provided as it is not material to the consolidated results of operations.

On December 1, 2009, Forrester acquired the Strategic Oxygen business to further support Forrester’s syndicated business model and the Company’s role-based strategy. The total purchase price was approximately $7.3 million, of which approximately $4.6 million was paid on the acquisition date, $0.5 million was paid in February 2010 and $0.4 million is payable in June 2011 subject to reduction for indemnification claims. The remaining purchase price of $1.8 million represented contingent purchase price valued as of December 1, 2009, which was subject to adjustment based on the achievement of certain financial metrics related to the acquired business. Of the $1.8 million contingent purchase price, $0.2 million was paid in December 2009 and $1.2 million was paid in February 2010 as full consideration. At December 31, 2009, the Company maintained approximately $2.0 million in an escrow account classified as restricted cash in the Consolidated Balance Sheets related to the contingent purchase price. The balance of the escrow account was fully released as of March 31, 2010. The Company recorded a credit of approximately $0.5 million within general and administrative expense during the three months ended March 31, 2010 as a result of a reduction in the estimated amount of contingent purchase price from December 31, 2009 to the final calculation date. The results of Strategic Oxygen, which were not material to the consolidated financial statements, have been included in Forrester’s consolidated financial statements since December 1, 2009 in the Technology Industry Client Group segment. Pro forma financial information has not been provided as it is not material to the consolidated results of operations.

An agreement existed between an employee of Strategic Oxygen, who became an employee of Forrester upon the closing of the acquisition, and the seller of Strategic Oxygen that provided for an allocation of a portion of the contingent consideration from the seller to the employee. The contingent consideration was earned by the seller based upon the

financial performance of Strategic Oxygen for a short period of time subsequent to the acquisition. Forrester was not a party to this agreement; however, this payment in the amount of $0.2 million paid to Forrester’s employee by the seller is considered to have resulted in services that benefited Forrester, and therefore the payment was required to be recorded as a non-cash compensation expense, within general and administrative expense, by Forrester and as a capital contribution to Forrester by the seller.

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 or nine months ended September 30, 2010 or 2009.

The following table summarizes the maturity periods of the marketable securities in the Company’s portfolio as of September 30, 2010. 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. ARS are reflected in the following table at their current auction reset dates in 2010. However, the actual contractual maturities of these investments were they not to reset would occur at various dates between 2024 and 2034.

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

The Company measures certain financial assets at fair value on a recurring basis, including cash equivalents, available-for-sale securities and trading 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, 2010 and December 31, 2009 (in thousands):

     (1)  Included in cash and cash equivalents.

     (2)  $1,484 included in cash and cash equivalents.

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 models, 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 primarily consist 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 earn interest on its ARS investments at the contractual rate, these investments trade infrequently and therefore do not have a readily determinable market value. Accordingly, the estimated fair value of the ARS no longer approximates par value. At September 30, 2010, the Company held ARS with one investment advisor that provided a valuation of the ARS at par value, which Forrester considered to be a Level 3 input based on the limited market activity. In addition to the valuation provided by the investment advisor, Forrester completed a valuation of the securities using a discounted cash flow model that included estimates of interest rates, timing and amount of cash flows, credit and liquidity premiums and expected holding periods of the securities. Forrester relied most heavily on its own valuation, based primarily on the lack of market activity in these securities, which resulted in an unrealized loss recorded in other comprehensive loss in the Consolidated Balance Sheets of $1.1 million at September 30, 2010 and December 31, 2009. The Company believes that the loss is temporary due to the 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.

Through July 1, 2010, the Company also held ARS with UBS AG (UBS). Historically, UBS provided a valuation utilizing Level 3 inputs for the ARS investments. UBS utilized a discounted cash flow approach to arrive at its valuation, which was corroborated by a separate and comparable discounted cash flow analysis prepared by the Company. The assumptions used in preparing the discounted cash flow model included estimates, based on data available at each balance sheet date, of interest rates, timing and amount of cash flows, credit and liquidity premiums, and expected holding periods of the ARS. In November 2008, the Company accepted an offer (the “Right”) from UBS entitling the Company to sell at par value ARS originally purchased from UBS (approximately $31.7 million par value at December 31, 2009) (“UBS ARS”) at anytime during a two-year period from June 30, 2010 through July 2, 2012. The Company valued the Right as an asset using a discounted cash flow approach including estimates of interest rates, timing and amount of cash flow, adjusted for any bearer risk associated with UBS’s financial ability to repurchase the ARS beginning June 30, 2010, based on data available at each balance sheet date. The combined fair value of the Right and the UBS ARS historically equaled the par value of the UBS ARS. The remaining $5.4 million of par value UBS ARS at June 30, 2010 were sold to UBS at par under the Right on July 1, 2010.

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, 2010 and 2009 (in thousands):

At September 30, 2010 and December 31, 2009, the carrying value of the Company’s non-marketable investments, which were comprised primarily of interests in technology-related private equity funds, were $7.1 million and $5.5 million, respectively.

One of the Company’s investments, with a book value of $1.8 million and $1.9 million at September 30, 2010 and December 31, 2009, respectively, is being accounted for using the cost method and, accordingly, is valued at cost unless an other-than-temporary impairment in its value occurs or the investment is liquidated. The other investments are being accounted for using the equity method as the investments are limited partnerships and Forrester has an ownership interest in excess of 5% and, accordingly, Forrester records its share of the investee’s operating results each period. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010 the Company recorded a gain of $1.4 million and $1.8 million, respectively, which are included in gains (losses) on investments, net in the Consolidated Statements of Income. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2009 the Company recorded a loss of $0.7 and $1.7 million, respectively, which are included in gains (losses) on investments, net in the Consolidated Statements of Income.

In June 2010, the Company extended the expiration date of a cash bonus plan, originally adopted in 2000, that would pay a bonus, after the return of invested capital from certain of the Company’s investments, to certain key employees. To date, no bonuses have been paid under the plan. The plan will now automatically expire on June 30, 2013, subject to earlier expiration as provided in the plan in the event that prior to such date there are less than 10 participants in the plan or all of the Company’s invested capital (as defined in the plan) has been returned to the Company.

The following table rolls forward the activity in the reorganization accrual for the nine months ended September 30, 2010 (in thousands):

The accrued costs related to the reorganization are expected to be paid as follows: $0.2 million in the remainder of 2010 and $0.4 million in 2011.

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.

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