Cushman & Wakefield and Marcus & Millichap posted double-digit revenue gains as demand for office space recovers to levels not seen since the onset of the pandemic.
Cushman said revenue rose 11% to $2.5 billion from the year-earlier period, the highest for a first quarter in the company’s history. A 19% jump in leasing revenue was fueled by a surge in demand for office and industrial space in the Americas, particularly from data centers, Chief Executive Officer Michelle MacKay told investors Thursday.
The amount of U.S. office sublease space put back on the market is down about 25% from its peak as more employers require workers to go back to offices, she said.
“Businesses are taking their space back,” MacKay added. “But we also have this really interesting supply dynamic that exists in the industrial market, where the U.S. construction pipeline is 85% below its 2020 peak, so that dynamic is driving demand into the best located space.”
Marcus & Millichap's revenue rose about 18% to $171.5 million from the prior-year period as office deals rose to their highest level in several years, CEO Hessam Nadji told investors.
But it wasn’t enough to dodge a $3.1 million quarterly loss, due in part to higher costs, that ended a run of two straight profitable quarters for the Calabasas, California-based firm.
Chicago-based Cushman also lost money during the quarter, posting a $12.6 million loss, down from a $1.9 million profit in the prior-year period, in part due to a pension buyout settlement in the United Kingdom, higher inflation costs and lower earnings from equity investments.
Still, the two firms are the latest commercial real estate companies to post near-record revenue as the office market rebounds, joining Colliers, Newmark and larger rivals CBRE and JLL as a rebound in dealmaking that started last year picks up steam.
Marcus & Millichap bulks up brokerage
For Marcus & Millichap, the quarterly loss was in part a result of higher commission payouts to senior sales and financing staff, and investments in technology and broker training and support.
The firm has invested heavily over the past two years to recruit, train and retain brokers to stem high turnover and capitalize on the real estate rebound. The firm saw operating expenses rise about 9% in the first quarter to $177.2 million from the prior-year period.
Marcus & Millichap completed nearly 1,400 brokerage transactions in the first quarter, up 15% year over year, and total volume rose 19% to $7.9 billion. Brokers in the firm's Institutional Property Advisors division, which handles the larger deals, saw a deeper pool of buyers and an increasing investor appetite for buildings across all sizes and quality levels, Nadji said.
"We're encouraged by the improvement we are seeing and the fundamentals supporting continued recovery, driven by more realistic pricing and an increasingly liquid credit environment," Nadji said. "This reflects improving market conditions, a more robust recovery in our private client business and further momentum in our financing division."
Total real estate brokerage commission revenue increased 11.7% to $138.1 million in the quarter, driven mainly by an 18.5% jump in total investment sales volume.
The firm’s average commission rate dipped slightly compared to the first quarter of 2025, in part due to the increase in the number of large transactions, which typically earn lower commission rates.
The firm made several leadership changes last spring as part of a management reorganization to increase sales and streamline decision-making. The company has focused on recruiting, training and retaining brokers to stem high turnover in recent quarters.
Cushman points to AI tailwinds
Cushman & Wakefield's property sales and other capital markets revenue rose 15% year over year to $181.6 million, marking the sixth straight quarter of double-digit growth.
Cushman is seeing clients shift capital and demand toward fast-growing property sectors such as logistics, life sciences and artificial intelligence-related industries, MacKay said.
“AI is a structural tailwind for the business, supporting leasing activity across geographies, and fueling growth in our data center-related services,” she added.
The firm is involved in 50 data center projects underway in its Asia Pacific region alone, MacKay said.
“With expanding global mandates, this is a long-duration opportunity that continues to scale,” she added.