The Corporate Flagship Economy
Paper No. 06, The Gathering Architecture Papers
Author: David Adler. Publisher: GatheringPoint.news. Free and ungated.
Web version: https://gatheringarchitecture.com/papers/the-corporate-flagship-economy
This file is the complete plain-text copy of the paper, provided so text-only readers and AI agents can read the full work.
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Gathering Architecture covers company-owned flagship events as a field of their own, and this paper is where that coverage starts. If you run one of these events, work on one, or sit in the audience at one, this research is for you. The list below brings together 208 flagships across twelve industries, from Dreamforce to the Domino’s Worldwide Rally, with dates, audiences and the sources supplied for each record.

Spending intentions are up and the number of events is down, trade shows remain below their 2019 level, and the evidence for the line everyone repeats — that corporate gatherings are growing by leaps and bounds — is thinner than the line.

The biggest rooms

Eight events highlighted in the supplied paper. Screenshots of each organizer’s event site, taken October 25, 2026; sizes and source caveats appear in the list below.

DreamforceSalesforceOrganizer’s event site · October 25, 2026
re:InventAmazon Web ServicesOrganizer’s event site · October 25, 2026
GTCNvidiaOrganizer’s event site · October 25, 2026
IgniteMicrosoftOrganizer’s event site · October 25, 2026
Cisco Live (US)CiscoOrganizer’s event site · October 25, 2026
Google Cloud NextGoogle CloudOrganizer’s event site · October 25, 2026
D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan EventDisneyOrganizer’s event site · October 25, 2026
BlizzConBlizzard (Microsoft)Organizer’s event site · October 25, 2026
The Corporate Flagships 208

208 company-owned events across 12 industries. Attendance, dates and ownership are shown as supplied, with source links and unresolved checks retained.

Size is attendance, as published: one dot is under 10,000 people, four dots is over 50,000. Where nobody has published a count, the row says so and notes the format (webcast, in person) when we know it. Grade A: organizer’s page or recap. B: organizer’s pre-event or undated description. C: a third party only. Grades describe the size evidence, not an independent verification. Audience is in the organizer’s words unless marked inferred. Calendar dates mix the next announced edition with the most recent edition where no next date was found.

Read the analysis ↓
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By industryBy month
Industry
All industries
Automotive & Mobility (2)
Big Tech & Platforms (23)
Cybersecurity & Cloud Infrastructure (16)
Enterprise Software & SaaS (58)
Financial Services & Fintech (12)
Franchise, Dealer & Direct Selling (40)
Healthcare, Pharma & Life Sciences (6)
Hospitality, Travel & Food (4)
Industrial, Energy & Infrastructure (13)
Media, Entertainment & Gaming (16)
Retail & Consumer Brands (5)
Semiconductors, Telecom & Hardware (13)
Ownership
AllPublicPrivateSubsidiary
Show
EverythingConferences only
Search208 of 208 shown
All industries 208Enterprise Software & SaaS 58Franchise, Dealer & Direct Selling 40Big Tech & Platforms 23Cybersecurity & Cloud Infrastructure 16Media, Entertainment & Gaming 16Industrial, Energy & Infrastructure 13Semiconductors, Telecom & Hardware 13Financial Services & Fintech 12Healthcare, Pharma & Life Sciences 6Retail & Consumer Brands 5Hospitality, Travel & Food 4Automotive & Mobility 2
Automotive & Mobility 2 events
Event and companyWho it is forWhenSizeGrade
Ford Pro Accelerate (inaugural)FordBusiness and policy leaders and small-business ownersMost recent editionSep 30, 2025○○○○No count published–
fromtheroad.ford.com
Autonomy & AI DayRivianShowcase / launchInvestors, media and the publicinferredMost recent editionDec 11, 2025○○○○No count publishedIn person and livestream–
businesswire.comtechcrunch.com
Big Tech & Platforms 23 events
Event and companyWho it is forWhenSizeGrade
Adobe MAXAdobeDesigners, photographers, video professionals and marketersNext editionNov 10–12, 2026●●○○10,000–20,000 peopleAbout 11,000 creators gathered (2025, organizer blog); earlier 5,720 expected and 10,000+ figures were third-partyA
terrywhite.commax.adobe.com
AccelerateAmazonAmazon sellersNext editionSep 21–23, 2027●○○○Under 10,000 peopleMore than 4,500 sellers expected (Amazon, via beBOLD, 2026)B
sell.amazon.combebolddigital.com
re:InventAmazon Web ServicesBuilders and leaders, startups to enterprisesNext editionNov 30–Dec 4, 2026●●●●50,000+ peopleC
aws.amazon.comzplatform.aitradegroup.com
Code with ClaudeAnthropicWeakly sourcedDevelopers and foundersMost recent editionMay 6, 2026○○○○No count publishedNo attendance published; seats assigned by random draw–
claude.com
WWDCAppleThe worldwide developer communityMost recent editionJun 8–12, 2026○○○○No count publishedOnline, with a small in-person event–
macrumors.commactrast.com
Cisco Live (US)CiscoIT and networking professionalsinferredNext editionJun 6–10, 2027●●●○20,000–50,000 peopleC
ciscolive.com
Data + AI SummitDatabricksData engineers, scientists, analysts and technology leadersMost recent editionJun 15–18, 2026●●●○20,000–50,000 people30,000+ expected in person (organizer, pre-event)B
web.govevents.comlinkedin.com
UniverseGitHubDevelopers and open source maintainersNext editionOct 28–29, 2026○○○○No count publishedNo headcount; 2026 in-person tickets sold out–
githubuniverse.comgithubuniverse.com
Google I/OGoogleDevelopers and the wider tech publicinferredMost recent editionMay 19–20, 2026○○○○No count publishedOnline-first–
thurrott.comandroidauthority.com
Marketing LiveGoogleShowcase / launchWeakly sourcedAdvertisers, agencies and marketersinferredMost recent editionMay 20, 2026○○○○No count publishedNot found–
searchengineland.com
Google Cloud NextGoogle CloudBuilders, data teams, security leaders and executivesNext editionApr 13–15, 2027●●●○20,000–50,000 peopleC
googlecloudevents.comzplatform.ai
ConversationsMetaWeakly sourcednot foundinferredMost recent editionJun 3, 2026○○○○No count publishedNot found–
socialmediatoday.com
Meta ConnectMetaDevelopers and AI and smart-glasses enthusiastsinferredMost recent editionSep 23–24, 2026○○○○No count publishedInvitation-only, in person–
roadtovr.com
BuildMicrosoftDevelopers and technical leadersMost recent editionJun 2–3, 2026○○○○No count publishedIn person and online–
neowin.net
IgniteMicrosoftIT professionals, developers, business leaders and partnersNext editionNov 17–20, 2026●●●○20,000–50,000 peopleC
moscone.comuctoday.com
GTCNvidiaDevelopers, researchers and business leadersNext editionMar 14–18, 2027●●●○20,000–50,000 peopleAbout 30,000 expected (2026, local TV, as reported)C
nvidia.comen.wikipedia.org
DevDayOpenAIDevelopers, builders and hackersMost recent editionOct 6, 2025○○○○No count publishedNo attendance published; $650 registration, by application–
devday.openai.comopenai.com
Oracle AI WorldOracleOracle customers and peers putting AI to workinferredNext editionOct 25–28, 2026●●●○20,000–50,000 peopleNot published; in-person sold out, free online optionC
oracle.com
DreamforceSalesforceCustomers and partners by role: sales, service, marketing, developers, adminsinferredNext editionSep 21–23, 2027●●●●50,000+ people171,000+ registered in 2019 (organizer); no 2026 count publishedA
01net.itdiginomica.comtechdogs.com
TDX 2026 (TrailblazerDX)SalesforceWeakly sourcedSalesforce developers and adminsinferredMost recent editionApr 15–16, 2026○○○○No count publishedC
grax.com
Specs launch eventSnap Inc.Showcase / launchIndustry leaders, partners, developers and creatorsMost recent editionSep 16, 2026○○○○No count publishedLivestream plus invited attendeesB
newsroom.snap.comroadtovr.com
Snowflake SummitSnowflakeData leaders, engineers and practitioners at customers and partnersMost recent editionJun 1–4, 2026●●●○20,000–50,000 people20,000+ projected in person (organizer, pre-event)B
cdata.comlinkedin.com
Go-GetUberShowcase / launchWeakly sourcedUber users and the publicinferredMost recent editionApr 29, 2026○○○○No count publishedLivestream; no attendance–
uber.com
Cybersecurity & Cloud Infrastructure 16 events
Event and companyWho it is forWhenSizeGrade
VMware ExploreBroadcom (VMware)IT practitionersMost recent editionAug 31–Sep 3, 2026○○○○No count published–
globenewswire.com
CPXCheck PointWeakly sourcednot foundinferredNext editionFeb 9–11, 2027○○○○No count publishedNot found–
events.checkpoint.comcheckpoint.com
Splunk .confCisco (Splunk)not foundinferredNext editionOct 4–7, 2027●○○○Under 10,000 peopleAbout 6,500 (Starbridge, third party)C
conf.splunk.comstarbridge.ai
Cloudflare ConnectCloudflareSecurity professionals, AI developers and tech leadersMost recent editionOct 19–21, 2026●○○○Under 10,000 peopleB
cloudflare.com
SHIFTCommvaultnot statedinferredNext editionNov 9–12, 2026●○○○Under 10,000 peopleMore than 500 at SHIFT NYC 2025 (Commvault)A
events.commvault.comcommunity.commvault.complacera.secommunity.commvault.com
ElasticON (global tour)ElasticDevelopers, engineers, SREs and security analystsNext (tour stop)Nov 4, 2026○○○○No count publishedTour of regional stops–
elastic.co
Pure//AccelerateEverpure (formerly Pure Storage)Everpure partners, customers and prospects (restricted)Most recent editionJun 16–18, 2026○○○○No count publishedRestricted in-person–
techtarget.com
AccelerateFortinetCustomers, partners and expertsMost recent editionMar 9–13, 2026●○○○Under 10,000 peopleMore than 4,500 (fortinetaccelerate.com, 2026)A
fortinetaccelerate.com
INSIGHTNetAppCustomers, partners and data-infrastructure teamsinferredMost recent editionSep 29–Oct 1, 2026○○○○No count published–
netapp.com
.NEXTNutanixArchitects, engineers and IT decision-makersNext editionMar 29–Apr 1, 2027●○○○Under 10,000 people'5000+' (Nutanix 2027 page; year not stated)A
nutanix.comnutanix.com
Ignite on TourPalo Alto NetworksWeakly sourcedCybersecurity practitioners and decision-makersNext (tour stop)Nov 10, 2026○○○○No count publishedNot found–
register.paloaltonetworks.com
Red Hat SummitRed Hat (IBM)Customers, partners and the open source communityNext editionMay 24–27, 2027●○○○Under 10,000 people6,600+ (2025, organizer prospectus)A
redhat.comredhat.comfossforce.com
Rubrik ForwardRubrikBusiness, IT and security customers and partnersinferredMost recent editionJun 8–11, 2026○○○○No count published–
rubrik.com
OneConSentinelOneWeakly sourcedTechnology professionals (third party)inferredMost recent editionOct 20–22, 2026○○○○No count publishedNot found–
beri.net
VeeamONVeeamWeakly sourcedData governance and resilience leaders (distributor wording)inferredMost recent editionMay 12, 2026○○○○No count publishedNot found–
veeam.com
Zenith LiveZscalerSecurity, IT and networking professionalsMost recent editionJun 8–11, 2026○○○○No count published'thousands' (organizer)–
zscaler.comzscaler.com
Enterprise Software & SaaS 58 events
Event and companyWho it is forWhenSizeGrade
Adobe SummitAdobeDigital experience practitionersNext editionMar 22–25, 2027●●○○10,000–20,000 peopleAbout 12,000 attendees a year (Knak guide, third party)C
summit.adobe.comknak.combounteous.com
FUTURE (The Real Estate Conference by AppFolio)AppFolioReal estate operators and innovatorsMost recent editionSep 28–Oct 1, 2026○○○○No count published–
appfolio.comappfolio.com
Team '26AtlassianAI-forward teams and their leadersNext editionApr 20–22, 2027○○○○No count published–
events.atlassian.comcommunity.atlassian.com
Autodesk UniversityAutodeskAEC, manufacturing and media professionalsMost recent editionSep 15–17, 2026●●●○20,000–50,000 people'Nearly 35,000' (Autodesk call-for-proposals page, undated); third party says 10,000+B
autodesk.comresearch.autodesk.com
bbconBlackbaudSocial impact organizationsMost recent editionSep 29–Oct 1, 2026○○○○No count publishedNot found–
bbconference.com
BoxWorksBoxBox customers and partnersinferredNext editionNov 5–6, 2026○○○○No count publishedB
boxworks.box.comforrester.combusinesswire.com
ForgeBrazeMarketers and Braze customersinferredNext editionSep 13–15, 2027○○○○No count publishedA
forge.braze.comforge.braze.com
CreateCanvaShowcase / launchIn-person attendees and online viewersMost recent editionApr 16, 2026○○○○No count publishedNot found; in-person $395, online free–
canva.com
CelosphereCelonisBusiness and technology leaders, in IT, supply chain, operations and financeNext editionDec 2–3, 2026●○○○Under 10,000 peopleMore than 3,500 expected (2025, organizer forecast)B
celonis.comcelonis.comcommunity.celonis.com
CurrentConfluentWeakly sourcednot foundinferredNext editionNov 4–5, 2026○○○○No count publishedNot found–
current.confluent.io
IT Nation ConnectConnectWiseWeakly sourcedMSP communityScheduled, not confirmed heldNov 4–6, 2026○○○○No count publishedNot found–
itnation.connectwise.comgovevents.comgovevents.com
InspireCoupa SoftwareProcurement and finance leadersMost recent editionMay 11–14, 2026○○○○No count publishedA
coupa.comrsmus.com
Fal.Con (plus Day Zero Threat Research Summit)CrowdStrikeSecurity defenders, researchers and innovatorsMost recent editionAug 31–Sep 3, 2026●●○○10,000–20,000 peopleA
crowdstrike.comir.crowdstrike.com
Cvent CONNECTCventEvent planners, marketers and hospitality leadersMost recent editionJul 13–16, 2026●○○○Under 10,000 peopleC
release.cvent.comtradersunion.commeetings-conventions.com
DASH 2026DatadogEngineers, security leaders and technology decision-makersNext editionJun 15–17, 2027●○○○Under 10,000 people4,000+ (organizer page, as reported)B
datadoghq.comdash.datadoghq.com
Dayforce DiscoverDayforceWeakly sourcedHR, payroll, operations, finance and technology leadersNext editionOct 26–29, 2026○○○○No count publishedNot found–
dayforce.comthomabravo.com
DeployDigitalOceanDevelopers and startupsMost recent editionJan 22, 2025○○○○No count publishedHybridA
digitalocean.com
MomentumDocusignC-suite leaders and practitionersNext editionMay 5–6, 2027●○○○Under 10,000 people1,500+ attendees, 300+ enterprises (Docusign page; year not stated)A
momentum.docusign.com
PerformDynatraceEngineers, SREs, architects, technology leadersNext editionFeb 16–18, 2027○○○○No count published'Thousands' of engineers and leaders–
dynatrace.com
InsightsEpicorERP customersMost recent editionMay 18–21, 2026○○○○No count publishedNot found–
epicor.com
ConfigFigmaDesigners, developers, marketers, product leadersNext editionMay 25–27, 2027●○○○Under 10,000 people'Over 8,000' attend every year (Figma Config page)B
config.figma.comconfig.figma.com
Pulse USAGainsightPost-sales and customer success professionalsMost recent editionMay 27–28, 2026○○○○No count publishedB
communities.gainsight.com
Data & Analytics SummitGartnerChief data and analytics officers, heads of AI, and data and analytics leadersNext editionMar 8–10, 2027○○○○No count published–
gartner.com
IT Symposium/XpoGartnerCIOs and IT executives ('The World's Most Important Gathering of CIOs and IT Executives')Next editionOct 18–21, 2027●○○○Under 10,000 people7,500+ CIOs and IT executives (Gartner's page, year not stated)B
gartner.com
Genesys XperienceGenesysEnterprise CX and AI leadersMost recent editionSep 1–3, 2026○○○○No count publishedNot found–
genesys.com
Guidewire ConnectionsGuidewire SoftwareP&C professionals, mostly executives or decision-makersinferredNext editionOct 26–29, 2026●○○○Under 10,000 peopleMore than 3,800 P&C professionals (SharedAudiences, third party; year unclear)C
guidewire.comsharedaudiences.com
HashiConfHashiCorp (IBM)Practitioners and customersNext editionOct 26–29, 2026●○○○Under 10,000 people1,209+ in person (organizer recap, 2025)A
hashicorp.comhashicorp.com
INBOUND (now UNBOUND)HubSpotGo-to-market teams in marketing, sales and serviceNext editionSep 8–10, 2027○○○○No count published–
unbound.hubspot.cominbound.com
ThinkIBMC-level, line-of-business and senior IT leadersNext editionJun 7–10, 2027●○○○Under 10,000 peopleAbout 4,600 (IBM, 2026)A
ibm.comibm.com
Informatica WorldInformaticaIndustry leaders in AI and data managementinferredMost recent editionMay 19–21, 2026●○○○Under 10,000 people2,564 expected (SharedAudiences, third party)C
informatica.comsharedaudiences.com
Intuit ConnectIntuitAccountants, partners and practice leadersNext editionOct 26–28, 2026○○○○No count published'Thousands of peers', no number–
intuit.com
Jobber Now 2026JobberHome and blue-collar service business owners and prosMost recent editionSep 23–24, 2026○○○○No count publishedHundreds expected (trade press)–
getjobber.comcommunity.getjobber.com
Kaseya ConnectKaseyaIT professionals including managed service providersMost recent editionApr 27–30, 2026●○○○Under 10,000 peopleAbout 4,000 professionals (Kaseya blog, 2026)B
kaseya.comsharedaudiences.com
K:BOSKlaviyoB2C brand marketersMost recent editionSep 9–10, 2026○○○○No count publishedB
klaviyo.com
Medallia ExperienceMedalliaCX leaders and Medallia customersNext editionFeb 9–11, 2027●○○○Under 10,000 people1,500 (organizer marketing claim)A
medallia.commedallia.com
Elevatemonday.com'Ambitious leaders and doers'Next editionOct 28–29, 2026●○○○Under 10,000 people6,500+ global attendees (monday.com page; year not stated)A
monday.com
MongoDB.local NYCMongoDBBuilders and leaders working on production AIMost recent editionSep 30, 2026○○○○No count publishedNot found–
mongodb.com
MRI Ascend (formerly the International Users Conference)MRI SoftwareMRI clients; leaders shaping the future of real estateNext editionOct 17–20, 2027●○○○Under 10,000 people1,000-2,000 (third-party listing, undated)C
mriusersconference.commrisoftware.comwithorbital.com
NiCE WorldNiCECX, AI and operations leadersMost recent editionJun 8–10, 2026●○○○Under 10,000 peopleMore than 3,000 (nice.com); about 2,500 (CX Today)A
nice.comcxtoday.com
Make with Notion Showcase (London)NotionWeakly sourcedEnterprise teams, startups and creatorsinferredMost recent editionNov 4–5, 2025○○○○No count publishedC
createwith.comnotion.com
OktaneOktaIT executives, architects, admins, developers and security professionalsNext editionSep 28–30, 2027●●○○10,000–20,000 peopleC
okta.comcommunity.auth0.combizbash.com
SuiteWorldOracle NetSuiteThe NetSuite communityUnder wayOct 25–28, 2026●○○○Under 10,000 peopleOver 8,000 at SuiteWorld 2025 (partner blog, third party)C
community.oracle.combrokenrubik.com
PegaWorldPegasystemsEnterprise business and technology leaders, clients and partnersNext editionJun 13–15, 2027○○○○No count publishedNo attendee figure; 80 breakouts, 200+ demos–
pega.combusinesswire.com
GroundbreakProcoreConstruction leaders, innovators and decision-makersNext editionSep 15–16, 2027○○○○No count published–
procore.comtrustlayer.io
Qlik ConnectQlikCustomers, partners, C-suiteMost recent editionApr 13–15, 2026●○○○Under 10,000 peopleAbout 2,500 expected (SharedAudiences, third party)C
qlik.com
X4QualtricsExperience leadersMost recent editionMar 17–19, 2026○○○○No count publishedNot found–
qualtrics.com
Sage FutureSageFinance leadersNext editionApr 27–29, 2027○○○○No count published'Thousands' (no number)–
sage.com
SAP Sapphire (Orlando, with ASUG Annual Conference)SAPBusiness leaders and decision makersNext editionMay 24–26, 2027○○○○No count published–
sap.comreworked.co
Knowledge 2026ServiceNowServiceNow customers and partnersinferredNext editionMay 4–6, 2027●●●○20,000–50,000 peopleA
servicenow.comcxtoday.comnowben.com
PantheonServiceTitanTrade professionalsNext editionSep 13–16, 2027●○○○Under 10,000 peopleOver 5,000 contractors and industry experts (ServiceTitan blog, 2026)A
pantheon.servicetitan.comservicetitan.com
SIGNAL 2026TwilioDevelopers, business leaders and customer-engagement innovatorsNext editionApr 13–14, 2027○○○○No count published–
signal.twilio.comcxtoday.com
FUSION 2026UiPathBusiness and automation leadersMost recent editionSep 22–25, 2026●○○○Under 10,000 peopleB
uipath.com
Ship (San Francisco)VercelDevelopersinferredMost recent editionOct 15, 2026 (one page: Oct 15–16)○○○○No count publishedB
community.vercel.comcommunity.vercel.com
CCH Connections: User Conference (Tax and Accounting, US)Wolters KluwerTax, accounting and audit professionalsNext editionOct 25–28, 2026●○○○Under 10,000 peopleMore than 1,400 promised (2026, organizer's promotional wording)B
wolterskluwer.comwolterskluwer.com
DevConWorkdayDevelopersMost recent editionJun 1–4, 2026○○○○No count publishedA
workday.com
Workday RisingWorkdayWorkday customers and partners in HR, finance and ITNext editionSep 27–30, 2027●●●○20,000–50,000 peopleB
newsroom.workday.com
RelateZendeskWeakly sourcednot foundinferredMost recent editionMay 18–20, 2026○○○○No count publishedNot found–
cxtoday.com
ZoomtopiaZoomCustomers, partners and SMB ownersMost recent editionOct 20–22, 2026○○○○No count published–
zoomtopia.com
Financial Services & Fintech 12 events
Event and companyWho it is forWhenSizeGrade
Meeting of the MindsADPHR, payroll and workforce leadersNext editionMar 9–11, 2027●○○○Under 10,000 people'Over 2,000 attendees from 500 companies' (ADP page, year not stated)A
motm.adp.com
Brex Mode: The Intelligent Finance SummitBrexWeakly sourcedFinance leaders and operatorsMost recent editionAug 25, 2026 (series)●○○○Under 10,000 peoplenot found; band is an estimate for a half-day single roomB
events.brex.comevents.brex.com
Schwab IMPACT (36th annual)Charles SchwabIndependent registered investment advisorsNext editionOct 27–29, 2026●○○○Under 10,000 people5,400 (2025, trade press, unlabeled)C
pressroom.aboutschwab.com
State of Crypto SummitCoinbasePolicymakers, financial leaders and technology innovatorsMost recent editionJun 12, 2025●○○○Under 10,000 people600+ (2025, media report)C
alphamonk10.substack.com
Fiserv Forum Client ConferenceFiservFiserv clients: banks, credit unions, merchants and fintechsMost recent editionAug 17–19, 2026○○○○No count published'largest annual event for clients' (organizer)–
fiserv.com
Jack Henry ConnectJack HenryFinancial institutions and fintech partnersUnder wayOct 19–21, 2026○○○○No count published2025: 'nearly 500 higher' than the prior year; no total–
kcconvention.comjackhenry.com
nSightnCinoBank, credit union and mortgage decision-makersNext editionMay 11–13, 2027●○○○Under 10,000 peoplenSight 2023: almost 2,000; current page: over 1,700 (year not stated)A
www2.ncino.cominfo.ncino.com
EffectsPlaidWeakly sourcedPlaid customersMost recent editionMay 2026○○○○No count publishedNot found–
plaid.complaid.com
CONNECTQ2 HoldingsFinancial institutions, customers and partnersNext editionJun 1–3, 2027●○○○Under 10,000 peopleAbout 1,400 (CONNECT 23, Q2 blog); 1,200+ (undated)A
connect.q2.comhub.q2.com
HOOD Summit '26: Engines of CreationRobinhoodActive traders and investorsMost recent editionSep 29–30, 2026○○○○No count published–
robinhood.com
Stripe SessionsStripeBuilders, founders, leaders and executivesMost recent editionApr 28–30, 2026●○○○Under 10,000 people5,700+ (2024, organizer)A
moscone.comstripe.com
Visa Payments Forum (20th anniversary)VisaPayments leaders: banks, merchants, fintechs and developersMost recent editionJun 9–11, 2026○○○○No count published'thousands' (organizer)–
moscone.com
Franchise, Dealer & Direct Selling 40 events
Event and companyWho it is forWhenSizeGrade
Ace Spring Convention (Spring and Fall)Ace HardwareAce retailers and vendorsMost recent editionSpring 2026, dates not found●○○○Under 10,000 peopleC
hardwareretailing.com
Amway China Leadership SeminarAmwayHigh-performing Amway China sellers on an incentive tripMost recent editionApril 2025●●○○10,000–20,000 peopleA
businessevents.australia.com
Biennial Conference & ExpoAnytime Fitness (Self Esteem Brands)Franchise owners, gym managers, coachesMost recent editionOct 2–4, 2025○○○○No count publishedNot found–
na.eventscloud.com
MORE Sales ConventionBerkshire Hathaway HomeServicesWeakly sourcedBHHS network agentsMost recent editionMay 2026●○○○Under 10,000 peopleAbout 5,000 network agents (RISMedia, May 2026)C
rismedia.com
BWH Hotels International ConventionBWH Hotels (Best Western)BWH hoteliers, operators and partnersMost recent editionOctober 2025●○○○Under 10,000 peopleA
bestwestern.comhospitalitynet.org
70th Annual ConventionChoice HotelsFranchise owners, operators and vendorsMost recent editionMay 6, 2026○○○○No count published'Thousands' (organizer); no figure–
lodgingmagazine.com
Compass RetreatCompassWeakly sourcedTop-producing Compass agents and staffinferredMost recent editionJun 3–5, 2025○○○○No count publishedC
news.inman.comnews.agent-intelligence.co
Fall Market and Spring MarketDo it Best Corp. (with True Value)Independent hardware, lumber and building-materials dealers, vendors and exhibitorsMost recent editionSep 25–28, 2026●●○○10,000–20,000 people10,000 forecast (convention listing, 2025)A
truevaluecompany.comdoitbestonline.comicclos.com
Worldwide Rally (biennial)Domino'sFranchisees, team members and leadersMost recent editionMay 12–14, 2026○○○○No count published–
media.dominos.comexpofp.com
doTERRA ConventiondoTERRAdoTERRA wellness advocates (distributors)Most recent editionSep 18–20, 2025●●○○10,000–20,000 peopleC
sfexaminer.comexperiencegoldcoast.com
eXpcon 2026eXp RealtyeXp agents, leaders and partnersScheduled, not confirmed heldOct 7–9, 2026●○○○Under 10,000 peopleC
rismedia.com
ExtravaganzaHerbalifeIndependent distributorsMost recent editionJul 10–12, 2026●●●○20,000–50,000 peopleB
icclos.com
Stronger TogetherHomeServices of AmericaTop-performing agentsMost recent editionFall 2025○○○○No count publishedNot foundA
businesswire.com
Americas Owners ConferenceHyattHotel owners, operators and developersMost recent editionDates not found (2025)○○○○No count published–
businesswire.comhotel-online.com
Family ReunionKeller WilliamsReal estate agents at any career stageMost recent editionFeb 17–21, 2025●○○○Under 10,000 peopleB
bizbash.comlegalunitedstates.com
International Convention 2026LegalShieldWeakly sourcedLegalShield associatesinferredMost recent editionApr 9–12, 2026○○○○No count publishedC
neworleans.com
Global ConventionLifeVantageIndependent LifeVantage consultantsMost recent editionApr 24–26, 2025●○○○Under 10,000 peopleA
stocktitan.net
CONNECT 2026: Marriott Select Brands Owner and Franchisee ConferenceMarriottWeakly sourcedHotel owners, operators and franchisees of Marriott's select brandsMost recent editionDates not found (2026)○○○○No count published–
hospitalitynet.org
Mary Kay SeminarMary KayWeakly sourcedMary Kay independent beauty consultantsMost recent edition2023, dates not retrieved●●○○10,000–20,000 peopleNearly 20,000 (2023, organizer)A
csrwire.comdallasconventioncenter.comdallaswestend.org
Worldwide Convention 2026McDonald'sFranchisees, suppliers and employees worldwideMost recent editionJun 1–4, 2026●●○○10,000–20,000 peopleA
essential-business.ptlvmonorail.com
Annual ConventionMelaleucaIndependent marketing executives and customersinferredMost recent editionMay 2026○○○○No count published'Thousands' (East Idaho News, May 2026)C
eastidahonews.com
MONATions UnitedMONAT GlobalMarket Partners (independent distributors) and guests aged 12 and overMost recent editionAug 20–23, 2026○○○○No count publishedB
monations.comassets.swoogo.commonations.com
Annual Meeting (Association of Agents)Northwestern MutualWeakly sourcedNorthwestern Mutual financial advisors, corporate staff and guestsinferredMost recent editionJul 18–21, 2026●●○○10,000–20,000 peopleMore than 11,000 (BizTimes, 2026)C
biztimes.com
Nu Skin L!VE WestNu SkinWeakly sourcedNu Skin sales leaders and customersMost recent editionJuly 2024●●○○10,000–20,000 peopleC
stocktitan.netexecutivevisions.com
Momentum ConventionOrangetheory FitnessFranchise owners, regional leaders, studio team membersMost recent editionSep 15–17, 2025○○○○No count publishedNot found–
na.eventscloud.com
Get Loud ConventionPlexus WorldwidePlexus ambassadorsMost recent editionJun 17–19, 2025○○○○No count publishedNot foundA
plexus.getregistered.netdallasconventioncenter.comdirectsellingnews.com
Primerica International Convention (biennial)PrimericaPrimerica sales forceMost recent editionJul 10–13, 2024●●●○20,000–50,000 peopleB
businesswire.comstocktitan.netbusinesswire.com
V-ConventionQNETIndependent distributors and entrepreneursMost recent editionJuly 2026●○○○Under 10,000 peopleMore than 8,000 entrepreneurs from 30 countries (QNET release, 2026)A
aap.com.au
R4 (REMAX R4)RE/MAXTop-performing RE/MAX agentsMost recent editionFeb 22–25, 2026●○○○Under 10,000 peopleA
news.remax.comstocktitan.netnews.remax.com
California Convention 2026RIMANWeakly sourcedRIMAN distributorsinferredMost recent editionMar 2026●○○○Under 10,000 peopleMore than 3,500 distributors and guests (Direct Selling News)C
directsellingnews.com
Family Reunion 2026ScentsyWeakly sourcedScentsy ConsultantsinferredMost recent editionJul 14–17, 2026○○○○No count publishedC
incandescentwaxmelts.com
Annual ConventionSERVPROWeakly sourcedFranchise owners and teammatesMost recent editionJun 28–Jul 2, 2026●○○○Under 10,000 peopleAnticipated 3,000 (San Diego tourism authority, 2026)C
sandiego.orgsandiego.org
National HuddleSport Clips HaircutsWeakly sourcedStylists, managers, franchisees and support team membersMost recent edition2026 (date not found)●○○○Under 10,000 people2025: more than 3,000 stylists, franchisees and support staff (Sport Clips, May 2025)A
sportclips.comsportclips.com
SUBCONSubway (Australia and New Zealand)Franchisees, suppliers, partners and staffMost recent editionMar 28–30, 2025●○○○Under 10,000 peopleMore than 1,000 franchisees, suppliers, partners and staff (Subway ANZ, 2025)A
regional.newsroom.subway.com
RISEThe Real BrokerageReal Brokerage agentsMost recent editionOct 19–21, 2026●○○○Under 10,000 peopleNearly 2,000 expected (company, pre-event)B
finviz.combusinesswire.com
USANA Live Global ConventionUSANAWeakly sourcedUSANA associatesMost recent editionAug 20–23, 2025○○○○No count published'hundreds' at networking sessions only–
na.eventscloud.com
Global Franchise ConventionWendy'sFranchisees, top general managers and suppliersScheduled, not confirmed heldSep 27–29, 2026●○○○Under 10,000 peopleA
wendys.comvikingcloud.com
Wyndham Global ConferenceWyndham Hotels & ResortsHotel owners, suppliers and team membersMost recent editionMay 2025○○○○No count published'Thousands' (2025, trade press); no figure–
lodgingmagazine.comhospitalitynet.orglodgingmagazine.com
Awaken Tour 2026 (replaced the single Grand Convention)Young LivingWeakly sourcedBrand Partners (independent distributors)inferredMost recent editionJun 5–Aug 2, 2026 (tour stops)○○○○No count publishedC
commonscentsmom.comdirectsellingnews.comvisitsaltlake.com
Global Franchise ConventionYum! BrandsWeakly sourcedFranchiseesMost recent editionApril 2025●○○○Under 10,000 people'Nearly 1,000' (headline) vs 'over 600' franchisees (body), Yum/3BL, 2025A
3blmedia.com
Healthcare, Pharma & Life Sciences 6 events
Event and companyWho it is forWhenSizeGrade
Medidata NEXT New York 2026Dassault Systemes (Medidata)Weakly sourcedLife sciences professionals: sponsors, research organizations and sitesMost recent editionMar 10–11, 2026●○○○Under 10,000 people1,000+ (organizer parent company release)B
caidya.com
Users Group Meeting (UGM)Epic SystemsExecutives, directors and clinicians at Epic customersNext editionAug 16–19, 2027●○○○Under 10,000 people7,000+ (2024, local TV); an earlier 20,000+ figure is unsupportedC
beckershospitalreview.comugm.epic.com
Oracle Health and Life Sciences SummitOracleOracle Health customers and prospects, clinical and C-suite leadersNext editionSep 20–22, 2027○○○○No count publishedRestricted to customers and prospects–
oracle.com
Commercial SummitVeeva SystemsLife sciences professionals in sales, medical and marketingMost recent editionMay 19–20, 2026●○○○Under 10,000 peopleA
veeva.com
R&D and Quality SummitVeeva SystemsLife sciences professionals in clinical, regulatory and qualityMost recent editionOct 20–21, 2026●○○○Under 10,000 people2,500+ (organizer)A
veeva.com
Vizient Connections SummitVizientWeakly sourcedHealthcare decision makersMost recent editionSep 22–24, 2026○○○○No count published–
web.cvent.comstryker.com
Hospitality, Travel & Food 4 events
Event and companyWho it is forWhenSizeGrade
Host Summit (first national North America summit)AirbnbWeakly sourcedProfessional hosts and property managers (invite-only)Most recent editionSep 30–Oct 2, 2025●○○○Under 10,000 peopleInvitation-only; about 150 per attendee reports (unofficial)C
skift.com
Explore 26 (partner conference)Expedia GroupExpedia travel partnersMost recent editionMay 19, 2026●○○○Under 10,000 people2,000+ (2026, organizer recap)A
partner.expediagroup.com
All Suites & Focused Service Leadership ConferenceHiltonWeakly sourcedOwners and operators of Hilton's all-suite and focused-service brandsinferredMost recent editionSept 2025●○○○Under 10,000 peopleAbout 9,000 (BizBash, third party)C
bizbash.comhiltoneventreadyplaybook.com
Starbucks Leadership ExperienceStarbucksStarbucks North America coffeehouse leadersMost recent editionJun 10–11, 2025●●○○10,000–20,000 peopleA
about.starbucks.com
Industrial, Energy & Infrastructure 13 events
Event and companyWho it is forWhenSizeGrade
AVEVA World — AVEVA. PI System community, customers and partners. Next edition: May 18–20, 2027. No count published for 2026; 3,500+ attendees in Paris in 2024 (organizer). Source grade A. AVEVA calls World its annual flagship software conference; the historical attendance figure is not a current-edition estimate.
https://events.aveva.com/aw-2026
https://www.aveva.com/en/about/news/press-releases/2024/aveva-unveils-its-connected-roadmap-for-the-future-of-industrial-intelligence-at-aveva-world-paris/
Annual MeetingBaker HughesInvited Baker Hughes customers and guestsNext editionJan 31–Feb 2, 2027○○○○No count publishedInvitation-only–
bakerhughes.com
Year in Infrastructure (with YII Awards)Bentley SystemsBentley software users, finalists and executivesMost recent editionOct 6–7, 2026○○○○No count published–
bentley.com
3DEXPERIENCE WorldDassault SystemesSOLIDWORKS and 3DEXPERIENCE usersNext editionFeb 14–17, 2027○○○○No count published'Thousands' (Dassault release)–
businesswire.com
Emerson ExchangeEmersonIndustrial automation professionalsNext editionJun 21–24, 2027●○○○Under 10,000 peopleB
emerson.com
Hitachi Social Innovation ForumHitachiCustomers, partners and experts across industriesMost recent editionSep 3–4, 2026○○○○No count publishedFree with registration, Japanese-language sessions–
hitachi.com
Honeywell Users Group (HUG) AmericasHoneywellWeakly sourcedIndustrial automation leaders, engineers and Honeywell usersMost recent editionJun 8–10, 2026○○○○No count published–
process.honeywell.com
PTC NEXTPTCWeakly sourcedCustomers, partners and product leadersNext editionDec 1–2, 2026○○○○No count publishedNot foundB
ptc.com
Automation FairRockwell AutomationExecutives, managers and technical professionals in industrial operationsNext editionNov 16–19, 2026●●○○10,000–20,000 peopleA
rockwellautomation.com
Innovation Summit North AmericaSchneider ElectricBusiness leaders and innovators across energy and industryNext editionApr 5–7, 2027●○○○Under 10,000 people2,500+ convened (2025, organizer release)B
se.com
Transform UK & IrelandSiemensDecision-makers, Siemens experts and industry innovatorsMost recent editionJul 15–16, 2026○○○○No count published'thousands' (organizer)–
siemens.com
Realize LIVE AmericasSiemens Digital Industries SoftwareSiemens software customers, users and partnersNext editionJun 7–10, 2027●○○○Under 10,000 peopleA
news.siemens.com
DimensionsTrimbleAEC and land survey leadersNext editionNov 9–11, 2026●○○○Under 10,000 peopleMore than 8,000 expected (Trimble release, Jul 2026)B
news.trimble.com
Media, Entertainment & Gaming 16 events
Event and companyWho it is forWhenSizeGrade
Amazon UpfrontAmazonAdvertiser upfrontAdvertisersinferredMost recent editionMay 11, 2026○○○○No count publishedAttendance not published–
advertising.amazon.com
BlizzConBlizzard (Microsoft)Esports / fan eventBlizzard game fans and communityinferredMost recent editionSep 12–13, 2026●●●○20,000–50,000 people30,000 expected, sold out (2026, consumer press)C
dexerto.comen.wikipedia.org
D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan EventDisneyEsports / fan eventDisney's most passionate fans (D23 members)Most recent editionAug 14–16, 2026●●●○20,000–50,000 people'Tens of thousands' (organizer; edition unconfirmed)B
thewaltdisneycompany.comthewaltdisneycompany.com
Disney Advertising UpfrontDisneyAdvertiser upfrontAdvertisersinferredMost recent editionMay 12, 2026○○○○No count publishedAttendance not published–
espnpressroom.com
Unreal FestEpic GamesDevelopers and the Epic communityNext editionNov 3–4, 2026○○○○No count publishedNot found–
unrealengine.comunrealengine.com
FOX Advertising UpfrontFoxAdvertiser upfrontAdvertisersinferredMost recent editionMay 11, 2026○○○○No count publishedAttendance not published–
foxcorporation.com
Xbox Games ShowcaseMicrosoft / XboxShowcase / launchXbox fans worldwideinferredMost recent editionJun 7, 2026○○○○No count publishedLivestream plus in-person FanFest–
purexbox.com
NBCUniversal UpfrontNBCUniversal (Comcast)Advertiser upfrontAdvertisers and brandsinferredMost recent editionMay 11, 2026○○○○No count published–
thewrap.com
Netflix UpfrontNetflixAdvertiser upfrontAdvertisersinferredMost recent editionMay 13, 2026○○○○No count publishedAttendance not published–
about.netflix.comnetflix.com
Tudum (Live Event)NetflixShowcase / launchNetflix fansMost recent editionMay 31, 2025○○○○No count published'Thousands' at a sold-out Kia Forum (organizer)–
about.netflix.com
Paramount Advertising upfront eventsParamount SkydanceAdvertiser upfrontWeakly sourcedAdvertisersinferredMost recent editionSpring 2026○○○○No count publishedAbout 100 Omnicom advertisers at one New York event (TheWrap)–
skydance.com
Roblox Developers Conference (RDC)RobloxRoblox developers, brands and creatorsNext editionSep 10–12, 2026○○○○No count publishedInvitation-only hybrid–
events.roblox.comdevforum.roblox.com
State of PlaySony / PlayStationShowcase / launchPlayStation fansinferredMost recent editionSep 3, 2026○○○○No count publishedLivestream only–
insider-gaming.com
TwitchCon North AmericaTwitch (Amazon)Esports / fan eventStreamers, viewers, industry professionals and esports playersNext editionNov 13–15, 2026●●●○20,000–50,000 people34,000 anticipated (2025, tourism bureau)C
en.wikipedia.orgstreamscharts.com
Discovery Global UpfrontWarner Bros. DiscoveryAdvertiser upfrontAdvertisersinferredMost recent editionMay 13, 2026○○○○No count publishedAttendance not published–
wbd.com
BrandcastYouTube (Google)Advertiser upfrontAdvertisers and brandsinferredMost recent editionMay 13, 2026○○○○No count publishedIn person, Lincoln Center–
blog.youtube
Retail & Consumer Brands 5 events
Event and companyWho it is forWhenSizeGrade
Amazon Accelerate (seller conference)AmazonAmazon sellersMost recent editionSep 22–24, 2026○○○○No count published–
sellersprite.com
eBay OpeneBaySellersMost recent editionOct 15, 2026○○○○No count published$25 tickets–
community.ebay.comvalueaddedresource.net
SEPHORiA 2026: A Beauty MultiverseSephora USShowcase / launchBeauty fansMost recent editionMar 20–21, 2026○○○○No count publishedTicketed public event–
businesswire.com
Associates WeekWalmartWalmart associates (Associates Week) and shareholdersMost recent editionJun 2–5, 2026○○○○No count publishedShareholders' meeting virtual only; Associates Week 'thousands'–
corporate.walmart.comwalmartworld.com
Marketplace Seller SummitWalmartWeakly sourcedMarketplace sellers and solution providersinferredMost recent editionSep 1–3, 2026○○○○No count published–
geekseller.com
Semiconductors, Telecom & Hardware 13 events
Event and companyWho it is forWhenSizeGrade
Advancing AI 2026AMDDevelopers, customers and channel partnersMost recent editionJul 22–23, 2026○○○○No count publishedIn person, walk-ins noted–
wccftech.com
Arm EverywhereArmShowcase / launchInvestors, analysts and industry partnersMost recent editionMar 24, 2026○○○○No count publishedLimited in person, plus webcast–
businesswire.com
CadenceLIVE Silicon ValleyCadence Design SystemsEngineers and industry leadersMost recent editionApr 15–16, 2026○○○○No count publishedNot found–
events.cadence.com
Partner SummitCiscoCisco's partners, invitation-onlyNext editionOct 26–28, 2026○○○○No count publishedNot found–
cisco.com
Dell Technologies WorldDell TechnologiesIT leadersinferredNext editionMay 24–27, 2027○○○○No count published–
dell.com
HPE Discover Las VegasHPEHPE customers and partners: managers, architects, engineers and C-suiteNext editionJun 21–24, 2027○○○○No count published'thousands' (organizer, generic)–
hpe.com
HUAWEI CONNECT 2026HuaweiIndustry leaders, technical experts and developersMost recent editionSep 17–19, 2026●●●○20,000–50,000 people20,000+ globally (trade press; in-person versus online unclear)C
www-file.huawei.comstoragenewsletter.com
Intel Foundry Direct Connect 2026IntelCustomers, ecosystem partners and technologists (invite-only)Most recent editionMar 24, 2026●○○○Under 10,000 people'Hundreds' (organizer, pre-event); invitation-onlyB
intel.com
Lenovo Tech World @ CES 2026LenovoShowcase / launchBusiness leaders, innovators, media and tech enthusiastsMost recent editionJan 6, 2026●●○○10,000–20,000 people10,000+ at the keynote (2026, trade press)C
businesswire.com
Snapdragon Summit 2026QualcommNot stated by the organizerMost recent editionSep 22–24, 2026○○○○No count published–
m.gsmarena.com
Galaxy Unpacked (July 2026)Samsung ElectronicsShowcase / launchGeneral consumersinferredMost recent editionJul 22, 2026○○○○No count publishedIn person in London plus livestream–
us.smartprix.com
ConvergeSynopsysTechnology and engineering leaders; invite-only CxO forumMost recent editionMar 11–12, 2026○○○○No count publishedNot found–
news.synopsys.com
North America Technology SymposiumTSMCWeakly sourcedTechnical customers and partnersinferredMost recent editionApr 22, 2026○○○○No count published–
sharedaudiences.com
Continue to the analysis ↓

Research draft · Updated October 25, 2026. This replacement includes all 208 supplied records and retains the author’s unresolved checks and placeholders. The manuscript later mentions 37 weakly sourced rows, while its opening count and the supplied records show 39. That difference remains to be reconciled; claims have not been independently reverified.

What we counted

We set out to list the events that companies throw for themselves, as opposed to the trade shows and association meetings that companies attend. The list ended at 208 events in twelve verticals, running from big technology and enterprise software through automotive, retail, financial services, health care, media, industrial, hospitality and, added last, the franchise, dealer and direct-selling networks. Of the 208, 185 are what an events professional would call a conference: customers, partners, developers or distributors in a building for several days. The rest are other kinds of gathering that companies also own and stage, namely 12 product showcases and launches, 3 fan conventions, and 8 advertiser upfronts. We left out investor days and shareholder meetings, which are staged for investors, and tournaments, festivals and concerts open to the general public, where the event is the product itself, since none is a gathering of a company's customers, partners, distributors or people. The list was built in four passes. The first 99 rows were sourced one by one; the 109 added afterward come from faster passes in which many organizer pages would not load, so more of them rest on a third-party listing or a pre-event page, and 39 of the 208 are now shaded as weakly sourced. We left out events owned as a standalone asset by an individual or an independent producer, and candidates for which we could not verify a company-hosted edition from 2025 or later, so a missing name is a gap in our sourcing and not a finding that the event does not exist.

Each row also names the audience the event is built for, in the organizer's own words where we could find them and marked as inferred where we could not. Each row carries the date of the last edition, the date of the next one where it has been announced, the executive who fronts the event, the stated objective, and whatever number the company or a third party has put on the crowd. A cell reads "Not published" or "not found" when no source we retrieved said. Nothing is filled from memory, and where sources disagree the row says so instead of choosing.

Fewer, bigger, plus small

Two surveys of different people point the same way. In the American Express Global Business Travel forecast, reported by Skift Meetings on October 22, more than 9 in 10 planners expect meetings and events spending to rise in 2027, and more than 8 in 10 expect higher costs for conferences with trade shows. The report does not publish its sample size or survey dates. Forrester's Q1 2026 survey of more than 400 B2B event decision-makers supplies the other half of the picture: nearly 7 in 10 are cutting the number of events they run, a majority plan more small in-person gatherings of fewer than 200 people, and fewer than 2 in 10 plan more large hosted events. The share of organizations whose budgets grew by more than 10 percent has doubled in a year, yet two-thirds still report flat or falling budgets.

On our reading, that describes a portfolio being rebuilt rather than simply enlarged: money concentrating in a few tentpoles, the middle of the calendar cut, and small rooms multiplying at the edges. Our own list shows the pattern at the top of the market. Sixty-one of the 208 events carry a regional or companion edition in the sources we retrieved, a few of them one-day city tours instead of full shows. The older entries show the pattern best. Nvidia's GTC has a Berlin edition, Cisco Live runs in Las Vegas, Melbourne and London, Zscaler's Zenith Live runs in Las Vegas, Vienna and Tokyo, and VMware Explore, HPE Discover, Elastic, Schneider Electric, Cvent and doTERRA each extend beyond one city. The true number is higher, because "not found" does not mean none exist.

The conundrum

The more a company invests in owning its gathering, the more it depends on venues, hotels and calendar weeks it does not control. A flagship is the one event a company can design completely and the one it can least easily move.

A caution on the evidence. Forrester's respondents are B2B marketers generally, not only companies that own flagship events, and neither survey counts flagships. They support the shape of the shift, not its size.

Trade shows and company shows

The question every exhibitor asks is whether a company's own show is eating the industry's. The best current evidence says the trade show business is recovering slowly and its customers are not leaving in numbers. The CEIR Index for 2025, built on Oxford Economics data and presented by Tourism Economics, stood at 93.6, about 6 percent below 2019. Attendance grew by less than 5 percent, but real revenue was still more than 10 percent below the pre-pandemic level. CEIR's 2026 Marketing Spend Decision Report, as summarized by Smart Meetings on May 11, found that exhibitors put about 4 in 10 of their marketing dollars into B2B exhibitions, that nearly half expect to attend the same number of shows this year while nearly 3 in 10 expect to add shows, and that about 1 in 10 are reassessing their schedules. The coverage does not state the survey's sample size or dates.

Those numbers do not describe an exodus. They describe exhibitors who still spend roughly 4 in 10 marketing dollars on shows and mostly plan to keep doing so. They also leave open the question we most wanted answered, which is how much of what companies spend on their own flagships came out of the trade show budget rather than somewhere else. We found no one measuring it. The precedent is old: when Hewlett-Packard announced its own umbrella user conference in 2004, an analyst told Trade Show Executive that every major technology company already had its own event without harming smaller shows. Whether that still holds is the open question, and the one we would most like to see settled with data. One hybrid sits on our own list: Lenovo announced a Tech World keynote at the Sphere in Las Vegas timed to CES in January, a company show borrowing a trade show's audience instead of competing for it.

The conundrum

Exhibitors need the trade show's audience, while the companies paying them are building audiences of their own. On our reading, a trade show matters less to a company as its own gathering grows, yet it remains where that company finds the people it does not already know.

The calendar crush

The corporate flagship lives in a few buildings and a few weeks. By our reading of the sources attached to each row, ten of the 208 events fall at San Francisco's Moscone Center in 2026: Snowflake Summit, Databricks's Data + AI Summit, Stripe Sessions, the Visa Payments Forum, AMD's Advancing AI, Cloudflare Connect, Dreamforce, Microsoft Ignite and Figma's Config and Salesforce's TDX, the last two from third-party listings. Atlassian's Team '27 adds an eleventh next April. [Editor: confirm each against the venue's own calendar before publication; the venue's events page did not load for us.] Fifty-seven of the 208 rows name Las Vegas for their most recent or next edition, among them Cisco Live, Dell Technologies World, HPE Discover, Fal.Con, VMware Explore, Oktane and McDonald's Worldwide Convention.

Las Vegas is also where the city's own figures show what is happening to the convention business. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported 38.5 million visitors in 2025, down 7.5 percent from 2024, with convention attendance of about 6.0 million, nearly level with the year before, and the Convention Center on pace for about 1.2 million tradeshow attendees in 2026 against 1.0 million in 2025. This spring, Hoodline reported, the authority told its board that group events were up 58 percent year over year, with 221 future events booked in February and March alone, nearly 4 in 10 of them new to the city. Its chief sales officer, as Hoodline paraphrased her, credited retention and repeat customers for much of the surge. The city is leaning on conventions while leisure softens, and the companies on our list are tenants in that bet. It is the pressure described in Gathering Architecture's The Deep Dive: Informa Buys Clarion, seen from the tenant's side.

The conundrum

The weeks that suit a company's customers are the weeks that suit every other company's customers. A flagship that cannot move off its week cannot grow past its building.

Public and private

Of the 208 events, 141 belong to public companies, 50 to private ones, and 17 to subsidiaries or listed subsidiaries of larger parents, such as Red Hat inside IBM, Twitch inside Amazon and Blizzard inside Microsoft. We checked ownership by search for five companies, Cvent, Huawei, Stripe, Databricks and Dayforce, which Thoma Bravo took private in February. The rest comes from general knowledge or from the company's own listing and needs confirming before anyone relies on it. [Editor: confirm ownership row by row.]

Public companies outnumber private ones by about three to one, which partly reflects how we found them: public companies publish more about their own events. Stripe Sessions, Databricks's Data + AI Summit and Epic's Users Group Meeting are the best-known private-company examples on our list. Whether a private company leans harder on its one flagship than a public company does is our hypothesis, not a finding, because the list is too small and too unevenly sourced to test it.

The franchise networks

The last vertical we added holds some of the largest gatherings on the list, and the ones least like the rest. A franchise or direct-selling convention is not selling the company's product to a customer. It is holding together a network of owners or independent sellers who are neither employees nor customers. McDonald's Worldwide Convention drew more than 14,000 franchisees, employees and suppliers to Barcelona in 2024, by the company's own account, and the 2026 edition was listed for Las Vegas in June by the venue's monorail partner. Primerica's biennial convention expected as many as 40,000 of its sales force in Atlanta in 2024, a pre-event projection from the company, and it has said it returns to Atlanta in 2027. Mary Kay's seminar drew nearly 20,000 independent beauty consultants to Dallas in 2023, by the company's own account, down from more than 27,000 in 2015. The Amway China Leadership Seminar brought 16,000 delegates to Melbourne in six waves in 2025, according to a convention bureau case study that reflects the company's own account.

These are rallies in the old sense, recognition ceremonies and pep talks with product training attached. Most keep current details behind distributor logins, which is why so many of their sizes read "Not published." Of the forty events in this vertical, fourteen are shaded as weakly sourced. The franchise hotel and restaurant companies are easier to document. Wyndham, Best Western's BWH Hotels, Domino's, Wendy's and Hyatt's owners conference are each on the list, though few of them publish an attendance figure for their own gatherings.

Three readers

The argument lands differently depending on where you sit. What follows is our reading of each position, drawn from the evidence above. It is analysis, not interviews.

The event marketer who owns a flagship. The survey evidence says your company is probably cutting events while asking the remaining ones to carry more. Forrester found that about half of organizations say their events perform well, but only about 4 in 10 CMOs agree. The practical move is to decide which of your events are tentpoles and which are rooms, because the middle is where the cuts land, and to bring the proof your boss will ask for before the budget meeting instead of after it.

The attendee. A company's own show is designed, funded and counted by the company. That does not make it bad. It means the numbers and the program are the host's, so look for the signals the host will publish. Siemens, for one, reported that about 7 in 10 sessions at Realize LIVE Americas were presented by customers rather than by the company, a ratio worth asking any host for.

The boss who must be convinced. The case for concentrating on a few flagships is that spending intent is up while event counts are down. The case against is that nobody has measured whether flagship spending replaces trade show spending, supplements it or comes from somewhere else. Until someone does, a request to shift budget toward a company-owned event is an argument from the shape of the market, not from proof, and a careful boss will say so.

The conundrum

Every company is the only source of its own attendance number, and the company has a reason to make that number large. The more a flagship matters to a business, the less independent evidence exists about whether it works.

What we could not prove

The sharpest limit is attendance. The list holds 208 events, and we sort them into size bands instead of ranking them, grading every figure by where it came from.

The second limit is people. The "person in charge" column is almost always the executive who fronts the event, a chief executive or a keynote speaker, not the head of events who runs it. Only four rows name someone on the events side: Karin Flores at Okta, Michael Vargo at D23, Alex Perica at Keller Williams and Laura Beitler at Mary Kay, the last from a 2015 release that may be out of date. The third limit is time. We have no multi-year attendance for any single event, so we cannot say how fast any flagship is growing, and 37 rows are shaded as weakly sourced. The line that corporate gatherings are growing by leaps and bounds is not something this list can prove. [Placeholder: same-event multi-year attendance, to be added if we can source it.]

How to use the list, and sources

Use the list at the top of this page: group it by industry, switch to the calendar to see which weeks are crowded, filter by public or private company, and open any row for the person in charge, the last and next editions, the numbers with their source type, and the links we used. Size marks run from four dots (over 50,000) to one (under 10,000), and a letter grades the source: A is the organizer's own page or recap, B is the organizer before the event or without a year, C is a third party only. The marks show a range, not a rank. We will update the list as editions are confirmed, and we welcome corrections from the companies themselves. If you run a flagship, we would like you in the community we are building around these events. [Placeholder: how to join, contact address.]

Sources
Forrester, The Next Era Of B2B Events, Q1 2026 State Of B2B Events Survey
Skift Meetings, Bigger Meeting Budgets, Tighter Scrutiny (American Express Global Business Travel forecast), October 22, 2026
IAEE, The Numbers Are In on What's Next for B2B Exhibitions (CEIR Index)
Smart Meetings on CEIR's 2026 Marketing Spend Decision Report, May 11, 2026
LVCVA, Las Vegas Welcomes 38.5 Million Visitors
Hoodline, As Leisure Softens, Vegas Bets Big on Corporate Meeting Boom
Trade Show Executive, Shifting Landscape of Technology Shows, 2004
Salesforce, Dreamforce By Numbers, 2019
Event-level sources are listed in each row of the list above.

Person in charge is almost always the executive who fronts the event, not the head of events. Only Okta, D23, Keller Williams and Mary Kay name an events-side lead so far, and none of the 109 rows added later does.

Ownership was checked by search for Cvent, Huawei, Stripe, Databricks and Dayforce. The remaining labels come from general knowledge or the company's own listing and still need checking.

Dates are taken from the sources listed in each row. Where sources disagree, the row says so. Highlighted brackets in the text are placeholders for facts still to be sourced.

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