CBRE Group Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• Strong Q2 performance: CBRE’s Core EPS rose 30% and revenue increased 16%, with operating profit growing more than 25% across all four segments.
• Infrastructure and data centers drove growth: Infrastructure Services revenue climbed over 45% to nearly $1.2 billion, while Data Center Services revenue rose nearly 30% to more than $700 million.
• 2026 outlook raised: CBRE increased its Core EPS forecast to $7.80–$7.90, representing approximately 23% growth at the midpoint, while continuing stock repurchases and maintaining confidence in at least 15% EPS growth in 2027.

CBRE Group NYSE: CBRE reported continued momentum in the second quarter of 2026, with Core EPS rising 30% and revenue increasing 16%, as both its resilient and transactional businesses posted double-digit growth.

Chair and CEO Bob Sulentic said each of the company’s operating segments—Advisory, Building Operations & Experience, Project Management, and Real Estate Investments—grew segment operating profit by more than 25%. He said the company’s investments were being directed toward businesses that support current performance and long-term growth.

“The momentum in CBRE’s business continued in the second quarter,” Sulentic said, pointing particularly to the company’s infrastructure and data center services operations.

Data Center and Infrastructure Services Expand

Infrastructure Services generated nearly $1.2 billion of revenue during the quarter, an increase of more than 45% from a year earlier. Data Center Services revenue exceeded $700 million, rising nearly 30%, according to Sulentic. The reported figure reflects service revenue and excludes data center development land sales.

CBRE provides services including data center construction, maintenance and operational oversight. Sulentic said the company expects Data Center Services revenue to remain elevated at roughly 25% annual growth over the next five years and then grow at more than 15% as the data center construction cycle matures.

Looking further ahead, Sulentic said CBRE believes its Infrastructure business could reach $10 billion in revenue and more than $1 billion in EBITDA by 2030, with data centers representing a disproportionate share of that opportunity. He identified project and program management through Turner & Townsend, as well as Building Operations & Experience services, as the primary sources of growth.

More than half of CBRE’s data center revenue currently comes from downstream work, including managing, refitting and performing project work at operating data centers, Sulentic said.

Advisory, Operations and Project Management Results

Chief Financial Officer Emma Giamartino said Advisory Services revenue rose 18%, exceeding the company’s expectations. Global leasing revenue increased 24%, supported by office and industrial activity, while global property sales revenue rose 20%.

• U.S. leasing revenue increased 24%, including a 29% gain in office leasing and a 17% increase in industrial leasing.
• U.S. property sales revenue grew 24%, with double-digit increases across most major property types.
• Leasing revenue rose 27% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 19% in Asia-Pacific.
• Mortgage origination revenue increased 8%, as private-capital volume partly offset lower agency lending activity.

Giamartino said CBRE generated its highest U.S. office leasing revenue for a second quarter, driven by large transactions in gateway markets. Legal and financial-services tenants have been upgrading and expanding space, while industrial demand was supported by third-party logistics providers and advanced manufacturing companies.

Sulentic said leasing conditions have largely moved beyond the disruption caused by the pandemic. He said companies are increasingly focused on office space as a tool for productivity, employee engagement and training. He also cited strong activity from law firms, which he said are using artificial intelligence for certain functions while maintaining headcount needs in other areas.

In Building Operations & Experience, revenue growth was led by Critical Infrastructure Services, where revenue increased 68%. Data Center Solutions grew nearly 30%, aided by hyperscaler demand and contributions from Pearce Services, which CBRE acquired in November 2025. Local Facilities Management posted high-teens revenue growth across regions, including nearly 35% growth in the Americas.

Project Management revenue rose 19%, including 30% growth in infrastructure-related activity and 13% growth in real estate-related services. Giamartino said transportation and utility projects in the U.K., Europe and the Middle East supported infrastructure performance, while hyperscaler and technology clients were active across regions. Project Management segment operating profit increased 28%, though she said operating leverage is expected to moderate in the second half because of cost timing.

Investment Management, Development and Capital Allocation

Within Real Estate Investments, development operating profit exceeded the prior-year level without the benefit of data center land sales. CBRE said it had approximately $900 million of embedded gains in its development portfolio.

Investment Management operating profit increased modestly, while assets under management ended the quarter at approximately $155 billion. The business raised $1.6 billion of new capital, compared with $1.3 billion in the first quarter, but Giamartino said the amount was below company expectations as some investors, particularly those in the Middle East, remained cautious amid global volatility.

Trailing 12-month free cash flow totaled nearly $1.7 billion. CBRE said it remains on track to achieve near the high end of its 75% to 85% full-year free-cash-flow conversion target.

Since the end of the first quarter, the company repurchased more than $450 million of stock, bringing year-to-date repurchases to nearly $1 billion. Giamartino said CBRE continues to prioritize mergers and acquisitions, with share repurchases serving as a use of excess cash flow when acquisition opportunities do not materialize. She added that there is no significant incremental capital allocation assumed in the company’s updated guidance and that buyback activity is expected to taper off.

Outlook Raised for 2026

CBRE raised its 2026 Core EPS outlook to $7.80 to $7.90, from a prior range of $7.60 to $7.80. At the midpoint, the revised forecast represents 23% growth. The company expects more than 20% Core EPS growth in the third quarter, while fourth-quarter performance is expected to be comparable with the prior year, when CBRE recorded significant profits from its data center land program.

Assuming no material changes in macroeconomic conditions or interest rates, CBRE said it remains confident it can deliver at least 15% Core EPS growth in 2027. Giamartino said the company expects low-double-digit segment operating profit growth in Building Operations & Experience and Project Management, while Advisory growth is expected to moderate from 2026 levels but remain above mid-cycle levels.

Sulentic said the company expects property sales and debt origination to remain relatively strong through the remainder of the year, though higher interest rates or greater volatility could affect activity. He said CBRE’s broader growth strategy does not depend on a strong capital-markets environment.

About CBRE Group (NYSE:CBRE)

CBRE Group, Inc is a global commercial real estate services and investment firm that provides a broad range of advisory, transactional and property-related services to occupiers, investors and owners. Its core activities include leasing and sales brokerage, facilities and property management, valuation and advisory, project and development services, and capital markets execution. The firm serves corporate occupiers, institutional investors, private owners and public entities across office, industrial, retail, multifamily and specialized property types.

In addition to traditional brokerage and management services, CBRE offers investment management capabilities and outsourced real estate solutions, combining market research, technology and data analytics to support portfolio strategy, transaction execution and asset operations.

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