Cushman & Wakefield posted record fourth-quarter and full-year revenue and said it expects higher earnings in 2026 as the real estate recovery gains momentum.
Chicago-based Cushman, the world’s third-largest brokerage, reported $2.9 billion in fourth-quarter revenue, an 11% year-over-year increase, driven by a jump in revenue from property sales, debt transactions and leasing.
Cushman posted $10.3 billion in revenue for the full year as it logged its fifth straight quarter of double-digit capital markets revenue growth, Chief Executive Officer Michelle MacKay said during a conference call Thursday to discuss the results.
Property sales and debt transactions revenue jumped 15% year over year in the quarter and leasing revenue rose 5%, driven mainly by improving office, industrial and retail deal activity in its Americas and Europe, Middle East and Africa regions.
“We exited the year with momentum, especially in capital markets,” MacKay said. “Commercial real estate end markets are healthy, supported by solid demand across all major asset classes, and improved pricing and liquidity."
Cushman is the fifth real estate services firm to report improved results as the industry sees recovery, with leasing and sales demand for several firms meeting or surpassing pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
The results come after the shares of some commercial real estate services firms fell last week on initial concern that artificial intelligence could hurt demand for their services before the stocks began to rebound. CBRE, JLL, Colliers and Marcus & Millichap also posted revenue growth and raised their outlooks for 2026.
Greystone deal slows growth
For the full year, Cushman posted an $88.2 million profit and increased its adjusted earnings per share by 34% to $1.22. The company posted a $22.3 million loss for the fourth quarter, mainly due to a $177 million write-down in its expected earnings from a joint venture formed with national multifamily finance and investment firm Greystone.
Cushman paid $500 million to acquire a 40% stake in Greystone's multifamily agency lending and servicing business in late 2021. The investment coincided with an industrywide slowdown in apartment sales.
“We made the Greystone acquisition in 2021, when market conditions and interest rates were much different,” Chief Financial Officer Neil Johnston told investors on Thursday. “We continue to expect Greystone to be a solid contributor to earnings going forward, just at a slower pace than we originally forecasted.”
Cushman said it expects 6% to 8% annual revenue growth to fuel a 20% jump in adjusted earnings per share this year as Cushman boosts investments in personnel and technology.
Cushman expects to add more institutional capital and leasing professionals this year, continuing a hiring spree that started last year.
“We have a substantial budget for recruiting going into 2026,” MacKay said.
Valuation business grows along with deals
Cushman saw particular strength in office and retail sales and financing in the Americas as borrowing markets loosened and pent-up demand prompted buyers and sellers to close more deals.
The growth in sales also helped push up valuation, appraisal and consulting revenue by 12% in the quarter from the year-ago period.
MacKay expects the firm’s capital markets business to grow steadily over the next year — though probably not at the peak recovery rates seen in 2022 after the pandemic-era market disruptions.
“We think there’s just going to be continued growth, asset values are going to increase and transaction volume over time is going to increase as well,” MacKay told analysts.
Newmark, the last commercial real estate services firm to report quarterly and annual results, is scheduled to have its call next Wednesday, Feb. 25.