CBRE GROUP, INC. (CBRE) Q3 2025 Earnings Summary
Executive Summary
- Q3 2025 delivered broad-based strength: revenue $10.26B (+13.5% YoY), GAAP EPS $1.21 (+65.8% YoY), Core EPS $1.61 (+34.2% YoY), Core EBITDA $821MM (+19.3% YoY) .
- Beat S&P Global consensus: EPS 1.61 vs 1.46 estimate*, revenue $10.26B vs $10.11B estimate*; both on higher Advisory and Capital Markets activity and operating leverage.
- Raised FY2025 Core EPS guidance to $6.25–$6.35 (from $6.10–$6.20); CFO expects ~$1.8B FY free cash flow and continued deleveraging (net leverage 1.2x at Q3) .
- Data centers were a key driver: ~$700MM revenue in Q3 (~10% of quarterly EBITDA) with multi-segment contributions and an emerging Digital Infrastructure Services line in BOE .
- Liquidity increased to $5.2B; net leverage 1.23x; trailing 12-month free cash flow nearly $1.5B—funding M&A and buybacks while pipelines remain strong .
Values retrieved from S&P Global for consensus figures (marked with *).
What Went Well and What Went Wrong
What Went Well
- Advisory momentum exceeded expectations: global leasing +18% YoY; global property sales +30% YoY; U.S. sales +32% driven by data centers, office, industrial, and multifamily .
- Robust BOE and Project Management growth: BOE revenue +12.6% YoY (property management +30% aided by Industrious), Project Management revenue +20.4% YoY with U.K. government and hyperscaler demand .
- CEO on secular tailwinds and scale: “We produced nearly $700 million of revenue from data centers…accounting for about 10% of overall EBITDA for the quarter” and Japan/India combined revenue “rose more than 30% to nearly $400 million”—supporting the guidance raise .
What Went Wrong
- REI revenue declined: segment revenue down 30% YoY (incentive fees in prior-year quarter); Investment Management OP $43MM was lower YoY due to prior-period incentive fees, though co-investment returns were better than expected .
- Loan servicing revenue -2% YoY; lower escrow earnings from reduced short-term rates offset higher servicing fees; servicing portfolio >$450B (+4% QoQ) .
- Incremental margins in Advisory were slightly lower this quarter due to higher incentive compensation amid strong performance, tempering incremental margin flow-through .
Financial Results
Revenue, EPS, EBITDA – vs prior year and prior quarters
Margins
Values retrieved from S&P Global (marked with *).
Consensus vs Actual (S&P Global)
Values retrieved from S&P Global (marked with *).
Segment Breakdown
KPIs and Operating Metrics
Guidance Changes
Note: CBRE does not provide formal revenue or margin guidance; Core EPS is a non-GAAP metric with reconciliation impracticable prospectively due to variable items .
Earnings Call Themes & Trends
Management Commentary
- CEO (prepared remarks): “We produced nearly $700 million of revenue from data centers in the third quarter…accounting for about 10% of overall EBITDA for the quarter.” Also, “Japan and India…combined revenue rose more than 30% to nearly $400 million,” supporting scale-driven growth .
- CFO (prepared remarks): Raised FY Core EPS to $6.25–$6.35; expects ~$1.8B FY free cash flow; net leverage at 1.2x and delevering; development site dispositions embedded in outlook .
- CEO (strategy): Combining management of data centers and DirectLine into a Digital Infrastructure Services line within BOE to capture the build and operate cycles durably .
Q&A Highlights
- Comps and pull-forward: “We haven't seen a significant pull forward…comps get tougher,” with strong pipelines into Q4; Advisory incremental margins lower due to incentive comp .
- Buybacks vs M&A: Not an active decision to avoid buybacks; pipeline of resilient, well-run targets; guidance excludes M&A/buybacks .
- Data center monetization sensitivity: EPS range bottom/top “really dependent on the development monetization” .
- Facilities management TAM: TAM expanding through data centers, healthcare, government, DirectLine; “we’re nowhere near bumping up against our total addressable market” .
- Power constraints for DC land: Access to power is the key constraint; strategy focuses on entitlements and positioning with utilities .
Estimates Context
- S&P Global consensus vs actual: EPS 1.46* vs 1.61*, Revenue $10.11B* vs $10.26B*. Beat driven by stronger-than-expected leasing/sales and operating leverage in Advisory, BOE, and Project Management .
- Post-quarter estimate implications: Guidance raise and commentary on data center monetizations suggest upward bias to FY Core EPS; watch for model updates on BOE margin trajectory and Advisory incentives .
Values retrieved from S&P Global for consensus figures (marked with *).
Key Takeaways for Investors
- Momentum across segments with outsized Capital Markets and Leasing strength; data centers are a durable multi-year growth vector, not a one-off pop .
- Raised FY Core EPS guidance and higher FCF outlook are catalysts; high end of EPS range hinges on development monetizations closing in 4Q .
- BOE and Project Management integration/synergy work sets up 2026 margin expansion; near-term BOE pipeline suggests elevated 2H sales and 2H’26 revenue lift from conversions .
- Balance sheet optionality (liquidity $5.2B; net leverage 1.23x) supports disciplined M&A while maintaining buyback capacity if pipeline timing slips .
- Near-term trading: the beat-and-raise plus data center narrative should be supportive; monitor Q4 comps deceleration in sales and execution on DC site monetizations .
- Medium-term thesis: multi-segment scale, resilient revenue mix, and infrastructure adjacency (digital + physical) expand TAM and underpin sustained EPS/FCF growth .
Appendix: Non-GAAP Considerations
- Core EPS/EBITDA exclude items including amortization, acquisition/integration costs, carried interest timing, wind-downs, indirect tax settlements, and fair-value adjustments on strategic non-core investments; reconciliations provided in the release .
- Forward reconciliation impracticable due to variability of acquisition-related and financing items .