Jones Lang LaSalle NYSE: JLL executives highlighted what they described as a strong finish to 2025, pointing to sustained double-digit growth trends, record full-year cash generation, and improving momentum across several transaction-oriented businesses during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call.
Full-year results and fourth-quarter momentum
Chief Executive Officer Christian Ulbrich said JLL delivered its “seventh consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue gains” and “ninth consecutive quarter of double-digit EPS growth.” For the full year, management reported revenue increased 11% and Adjusted EBITDA was $1.45 billion, up 22% and “reaching the top end” of the company’s 2025 financial target. Ulbrich also said JLL achieved new highs in consolidated metrics including revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EPS, and free cash flow.
Fourth-quarter revenue rose 10%, which Ulbrich attributed to faster transactional revenue growth and continued expansion in resilient business lines. He said investment markets “demonstrated sustained momentum through the end of 2025,” with rising investor confidence and robust real estate debt markets, which the company expects will support further growth in 2026.
Segment performance: leasing and capital markets led transaction growth
In leasing, Ulbrich said demand improved, with office demand reaching its “highest level since 2019” and industrial demand “improving and diversifying across more industries.” Fourth-quarter leasing revenue increased 17%, led by the U.S. with contributions from India and the U.K.
Chief Financial Officer Karen Howe added that globally, office and industrial leasing revenue growth accelerated in the quarter, with office up 26% and industrial up 11%. She said office revenue growth “meaningfully outpaced” a 1% increase in market volume, according to JLL Research, and noted that on a two-year stacked basis, leasing revenue growth accelerated to 31%.
In capital markets, Howe said improved bidder dynamics and strong debt markets drove an acceleration in investment sales revenue growth to 27% and a 20% increase in debt advisory revenue in the fourth quarter. On a two-year stacked basis, she said investment sales rose 63% and debt advisory revenue increased 90%. Ulbrich cautioned that the transaction recovery is expected to continue in 2026, but “not a hockey stick,” noting Europe remains at “very, very low transaction levels” and could recover further.
Resilient businesses: REMS growth, healthcare costs, and property management turnover
Real Estate Management Services (REMS) revenue increased 9% in the fourth quarter and 11% for the full year, supported by Workplace Management and Project Management, executives said. Howe described Workplace Management growth as driven by a “reasonably balanced mix” of new client wins and mandate expansions.
Management also discussed an approximate $11 million fourth-quarter impact from higher U.S. healthcare actuarial costs tied to a “significant uptick in claims.” Howe said the higher costs increased pass-through expenses and resulted in lower management fees, creating a profitability headwind that was “largely offset by discrete cost management actions.” In response to an analyst question, Howe said those discrete cost actions are not expected to repeat, and that healthcare costs have been incorporated into the company’s 2026 planning.
Within property management, Howe said revenue growth continues to be tempered by elevated contract turnover that the company discussed previously. Ulbrich later explained that, after globalizing the business line, JLL identified certain contracts—particularly in China—that did not meet margin thresholds. He said the company is exiting those contracts if clients are not willing to pay higher fees, and expects this to pressure growth through mid-2026 before returning to a more normalized growth trajectory in the second half of 2026.
Technology, AI, and data center activity
Ulbrich spent part of his prepared remarks and Q&A discussing technology and AI. He said JLL has been focused on technology-related opportunities and risks for nearly a decade, including investments through JLL Spark, embedding technology into core services, and building proprietary datasets. He argued that scaled service providers with “proprietary data, unified platforms, and the best people” have historically outperformed, and said JLL sees “minimal risk of disintermediation” given the complexity of commercial real estate and the importance of local market expertise and fiduciary responsibility.
When asked about competitive advantages versus AI-focused startups, Ulbrich emphasized JLL’s proprietary data and said the company can use it to build tools that improve client outcomes and increase revenue per employee. He said JLL does not currently see competitive pressure from outside the industry and believes it is “extremely well positioned” to benefit from AI.
Executives also addressed data centers. Ulbrich said JLL had a “very strong fourth quarter” in the asset class across leasing and capital markets, and noted that work related to managing data centers in its workplace management business doubled year-over-year over the last 12 months. He declined to provide a precise revenue figure for data centers, saying reporting approaches vary among competitors.
Cash flow, leverage, buybacks, and 2026 outlook
Howe said full-year free cash flow reached an all-time high and cash conversion was “meaningfully above” the long-term average, citing earnings growth, working capital efficiency efforts, and discrete benefits such as lower cash taxes paid during the year. The company ended 2025 with reported net leverage of 0.2 times, and Howe said JLL’s full-year average leverage ratio was 0.9 times, generally consistent with how it expects to manage leverage over time.
On capital allocation, the company reiterated priorities including organic investment, selective acquisitions, and returning capital to shareholders. JLL repurchased $80 million of shares in the fourth quarter, bringing full-year repurchases to $212 million, which Howe noted was above stock compensation dilution and above the prior year’s $80 million repurchases. Ulbrich told analysts that with debt levels where the company wants them and the share price following a recent decline, share repurchases appear more attractive than many M&A opportunities, and he expects a “significant amount” of free cash flow to be allocated to buybacks in 2026.
For 2026, JLL provided an Adjusted EBITDA target range of $1.575 billion to $1.675 billion, which management said reflects 12% growth at the midpoint. While the company did not offer revenue guidance, Howe said it expects continued growth in REMS—more weighted to the second half—along with ongoing momentum in leasing and capital markets, while noting tougher year-over-year comparisons could mute reported growth rates in transactional businesses.
About Jones Lang LaSalle NYSE: JLL
Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated NYSE: JLL is a leading professional services firm specializing in real estate and investment management. The company provides a broad range of services including leasing, advisory, property and asset management, capital markets, project and development services, and valuation. Through its integrated platform, JLL serves corporate occupiers, institutional investors, real estate owners and developers, offering tailored solutions that span the entire real estate lifecycle.
Founded in 1783 in London as Jones Lang Wootton, the firm established a reputation for expertise in property management and brokerage.
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