Q1'24 Press Release
Q1'24 Press Release
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dallas, TX – May 3, 2024 — CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE) today reported financial results for the
first quarter ended March 31, 2024.
The following table presents highlights of CBRE performance (dollars in millions, except per share data;
totals may not add due to rounding):
% Change
Q1 2024 Q1 2023 USD LC (1)
Operating Results
Revenue $ 7,935 $ 7,411 7.1 % 6.9 %
Net revenue (2) 4,444 4,181 6.3 % 6.1 %
GAAP net income 126 117 8.0 % 10.3 %
GAAP EPS 0.41 0.37 10.4 % 12.8 %
Core adjusted net income (3) 241 290 (16.7)% (15.8)%
Core EBITDA (4) 424 533 (20.3)% (20.0)%
Core EPS (3) 0.78 0.92 (14.8)% (13.9)%
“We started 2024 by delivering core earnings that exceeded our expectations heading into the year, driven,
in part, by solid net revenue growth,” said Bob Sulentic, CBRE’s chair and chief executive officer.
“Leasing outperformed expectations, driven by office leasing growth globally that reflects a resilient
economy and companies making progress on bringing their employees back to the office. At the same
time, persistent inflation kept interest rates higher than expected, which led to underperformance in our
property sales transaction activity.
“Our Global Workplace Solutions segment again delivered double-digit net revenue growth, even as
margins fell short of expectations. We have initiated actions to bring our costs in this segment quickly
back into line with revenue trajectory.”
During the first quarter of 2024, CBRE’s revenue rose 8% for its Resilient Businesses(6) and 1% for its
Transactional Businesses.(6)
Looking ahead, CBRE still expects to generate core earnings per share in the range of $4.25 to $4.65 in
2024.
“Our confidence in achieving our earnings outlook is underpinned by our Resilient Businesses’ continued
strong performance, our rapid actions on costs, and the fact that the Advisory Segment remains on track to
achieve its growth target for the year, despite a more uncertain economic outlook,” Mr. Sulentic said.
% Change
Note: all percent changes cited are vs. first-quarter 2023, except where noted.
Property Leasing
• Global leasing revenue rose 4% (same local currency), exceeding expectations.
• Americas leasing revenue rose 4% (same local currency) with the U.S. achieving solid growth for
the first time in six quarters.
• Asia-Pacific (APAC) set the pace with growth of 9% (13% local currency), led by Australia, India
and South Korea. Japan leasing revenue grew modestly, despite an outsized year-over-year
increase in first-quarter 2023.
• Leasing revenue increased 4% (1% local currency) in Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA),
driven by Continental Europe, notably France and Spain.
• Globally, office leasing grew by double digits, as continued economic resilience and progress on
return-to-office plans emboldened tenants to make occupancy decisions.
CBRE Press Release
May 3, 2024
Page 3
Capital Markets
• Sales activity remained under pressure from high interest rates and tight credit conditions. Global
sales revenue declined 11% (10% local currency), slightly more than expected.
• EMEA bucked the downward global trend with sales revenue up 8% (4% local currency), driven
by the U.K., where property values have made the most progress toward resetting, as well as
Spain.
• Conversely, sales revenue fell 15% (same local currency) in the Americas and 14% (7% local
currency) in APAC, although Japan continued to perform well.
• Globally, office sales had the least pronounced decline followed by multifamily.
• Mortgage origination revenue jumped 34% (33% local currency), attributable to higher loan fees
and interest earnings on escrow balances.
% Change
Q1 2024 Q1 2023 USD LC
Revenue $ 5,809 $ 5,338 8.8 % 8.5 %
Net revenue 2,342 2,130 9.9 % 9.6 %
Segment operating profit 232 230 0.9 % 0.4 %
Segment operating profit on revenue margin 4.0% 4.3% (0.3 pts) (0.3 pts)
Segment operating profit on net revenue margin 9.9% 10.8% (0.9 pts) (0.9 pts)
Note: all percent changes cited are vs. first-quarter 2023, except where noted.
• Facilities management net revenue increased 11% (same local currency), paced by the continued
strength in the Local business.
• Project management net revenue rose 7% (same local currency), slightly below trend, reflecting a
difficult comparison with first-quarter 2023, when net revenue rose 18%.
• Weak operating leverage in the quarter reflected certain one-time expenses, including higher-than-
anticipated medical claims, and increased costs, which the company is now focused on
substantially reducing.
• Even with a second consecutive quarter of very strong business wins, the pipeline remained
elevated, notably driven by the industrial & logistics, media & technology and financial &
professional services sectors.
CBRE Press Release
May 3, 2024
Page 4
% Change
Q1 2024 Q1 2023 USD LC
Revenue $ 228 $ 223 1.9 % 0.5 %
Segment operating profit 34 131 (73.8)% (73.6)%
Note: all percent changes cited are vs. first-quarter 2023, except where noted.
Investment Management
• Total revenue edged up 1% (flat local currency), with flat asset management fees.
• Operating profit fell 14.0% (same local currency) to approximately $37 million, slightly better than
expected.
• Assets Under Management (AUM) totaled $144.0 billion, a decrease of $3.5 billion from year-end
2023. The decrease was driven by lower asset values and adverse foreign currency movement.
• Non-core operating loss totaled $71 million, primarily due to the lower value of the company’s
investment in Altus Power, Inc. (NYSE:AMPS), reflecting a decline in its share price during the
quarter.
• Core corporate operating loss increased 5%, or roughly $5 million.
$820 million. This acquisition was partially funded by a $500 million senior notes offering
completed during the quarter. The notes have an interest rate of 5.5% and are due in 2029.
As of
March 31, 2024
Total debt $ 4,128
Less: Cash (12) 1,044
Net debt (11) $ 3,084
• Liquidity – As of March 31, 2024, the company had approximately $3.9 billion of total liquidity,
consisting of approximately $1.04 billion in cash, plus the ability to borrow an aggregate of
approximately $2.85 billion under its revolving credit facilities, net of any outstanding letters of
credit.
Conference Call Details
The company’s first quarter earnings webcast and conference call will be held today, Friday, May 3, 2024
at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Investors are encouraged to access the webcast via this link or they can click
this link beginning at 8:15 a.m. Eastern Time for automated access to the conference call.
Alternatively, investors may dial into the conference call using these operator-assisted phone numbers:
877.407.8037 (U.S.) or 201.689.8037 (International). A replay of the call will be available starting at
1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on May 3, 2024. The replay is accessible by dialing 877.660.6853 (U.S.) or
201.612.7415 (International) and using the access code: 13745735#. A transcript of the call will be
available on the company's Investor Relations website at https://ir.cbre.com.
CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Dallas, is the world’s largest
commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2023 revenue). The company has more than 130,000 employees
(including Turner & Townsend employees) serving clients in more than 100 countries. CBRE serves a diverse range of clients
with an integrated suite of services, including facilities, transaction and project management; property management; investment
management; appraisal and valuation; property leasing; strategic consulting; property sales; mortgage services and development
services. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com. We routinely post important information on our website, including
corporate and investor presentations and financial information. We intend to use our website as a means of disclosing material,
non-public information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Such disclosures will be
included in the Investor Relations section of our website at https://ir.cbre.com. Accordingly, investors should monitor such
CBRE Press Release
May 3, 2024
Page 6
portion of our website, in addition to following our press releases, Securities and Exchange Commission filings and public
conference calls and webcasts.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the economic outlook, the company’s future growth
momentum, operations and business outlook. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause the company’s actual results and performance in future periods to be materially
different from any future results or performance suggested in forward-looking statements in this press release. Any forward-
looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and, except to the extent required by applicable securities laws,
the company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any of them to reflect actual results, any changes in
expectations or any change in events. If the company does update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should
be drawn that it will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements. Factors that could
cause results to differ materially include, but are not limited to: disruptions in general economic, political and regulatory
conditions and significant public health events, particularly in geographies or industry sectors where our business may be
concentrated; volatility or adverse developments in the securities, capital or credit markets, interest rate increases and
conditions affecting the value of real estate assets, inside and outside the United States; poor performance of real estate
investments or other conditions that negatively impact clients’ willingness to make real estate or long-term contractual
commitments and the cost and availability of capital for investment in real estate; foreign currency fluctuations and changes in
currency restrictions, trade sanctions and import/export and transfer pricing rules; our ability to compete globally, or in specific
geographic markets or business segments that are material to us; our ability to identify, acquire and integrate accretive
companies; costs and potential future capital requirements relating to companies we may acquire; integration challenges arising
out of companies we may acquire; increases in unemployment and general slowdowns in commercial activity; trends in pricing
and risk assumption for commercial real estate services; the effect of significant changes in capitalization rates across different
property types; a reduction by companies in their reliance on outsourcing for their commercial real estate needs, which would
affect our revenues and operating performance; client actions to restrain project spending and reduce outsourced staffing levels;
our ability to further diversify our revenue model to offset cyclical economic trends in the commercial real estate industry; our
ability to attract new occupier and investor clients; our ability to retain major clients and renew related contracts; our ability to
leverage our global services platform to maximize and sustain long-term cash flow; our ability to continue investing in our
platform and client service offerings; our ability to maintain expense discipline; the emergence of disruptive business models
and technologies; negative publicity or harm to our brand and reputation; the failure by third parties to comply with service
level agreements or regulatory or legal requirements; the ability of our investment management business to maintain and grow
assets under management and achieve desired investment returns for our investors, and any potential related litigation,
liabilities or reputational harm possible if we fail to do so; our ability to manage fluctuations in net earnings and cash flow,
which could result from poor performance in our investment programs, including our participation as a principal in real estate
investments; the ability of our indirect subsidiary, CBRE Capital Markets, Inc., to periodically amend, or replace, on
satisfactory terms, the agreements for its warehouse lines of credit; declines in lending activity of U.S. GSEs, regulatory
oversight of such activity and our mortgage servicing revenue from the commercial real estate mortgage market; changes in
U.S. and international law and regulatory environments (including relating to anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, trade
sanctions, tariffs, currency controls and other trade control laws), particularly in Asia, Africa, Russia, Eastern Europe and the
Middle East, due to the level of political instability in those regions; litigation and its financial and reputational risks to us; our
exposure to liabilities in connection with real estate advisory and property management activities and our ability to procure
sufficient insurance coverage on acceptable terms; our ability to retain, attract and incentivize key personnel; our ability to
manage organizational challenges associated with our size; liabilities under guarantees, or for construction defects, that we
incur in our development services business; variations in historically customary seasonal patterns that cause our business not to
perform as expected; our leverage under our debt instruments as well as the limited restrictions therein on our ability to incur
additional debt, and the potential increased borrowing costs to us from a credit-ratings downgrade; our and our employees’
ability to execute on, and adapt to, information technology strategies and trends; cybersecurity threats or other threats to our
information technology networks, including the potential misappropriation of assets or sensitive information, corruption of data
or operational disruption; our ability to comply with laws and regulations related to our global operations, including real estate
licensure, tax, labor and employment laws and regulations, fire and safety building requirements and regulations, as well as data
privacy and protection regulations and ESG matters, and the anti-corruption laws and trade sanctions of the U.S. and other
countries; changes in applicable tax or accounting requirements; any inability for us to implement and maintain effective
internal controls over financial reporting; the effect of implementation of new accounting rules and standards or the impairment
of our goodwill and intangible assets; and the performance of our equity investments in companies that we do not control.
CBRE Press Release
May 3, 2024
Page 7
Additional information concerning factors that may influence the company’s financial information is discussed under “Risk
Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” “Quantitative and
Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” and “Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements” in our Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, our latest quarterly report on Form 10-Q, as well as in the company’s press
releases and other periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Such filings are available publicly and
may be obtained on the company’s website at www.cbre.com or upon written request from CBRE’s Investor Relations
Department at [email protected].
The terms “net revenue,” “core adjusted net income,” “core EBITDA,” “core EPS,” “business line operating profit (loss),”
“segment operating profit on revenue margin,” “segment operating profit on net revenue margin,” “net debt” and “free cash
flow,” all of which CBRE uses in this press release, are non-GAAP financial measures under SEC guidelines, and you should
refer to the footnotes below as well as the “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” section in this press release for a further
explanation of these measures. We have also included in that section reconciliations of these measures in specific periods to
their most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP for those periods.
Totals may not sum in tables in millions included in this release due to rounding.
Note: We have not reconciled the (non-GAAP) core earnings per share forward-looking guidance included in this release to the
most directly comparable GAAP measure because this cannot be done without unreasonable effort due to the variability and
low visibility with respect to costs related to acquisitions, carried interest incentive compensation and financing costs, which are
potential adjustments to future earnings. We expect the variability of these items to have a potentially unpredictable, and a
potentially significant, impact on our future GAAP financial results.
(1) Local currency percentage change is calculated by comparing current-period results at prior-period exchange rates versus prior-period
results.
(2) Net revenue is gross revenue less costs largely associated with subcontracted vendor work performed for clients. These costs are
reimbursable by clients and generally have no margin.
(3) Core adjusted net income and core earnings per diluted share (or core EPS) exclude the effect of select items from GAAP net income and
GAAP earnings per diluted share as well as adjust the provision for (benefit from) income taxes and impact on non-controlling interest
for such charges. Adjustments during the periods presented included non-cash depreciation and amortization expense related to certain
assets attributable to acquisitions and restructuring activities, certain carried interest incentive compensation expense to align with the
timing of associated revenue, costs incurred related to legal entity restructuring, write-off of financing costs on extinguished debt,
integration and other costs related to acquisitions, asset impairments, and costs associated with efficiency and cost-reduction initiatives.
It also removes the fair value changes and related tax impact of certain strategic non-core non-controlling equity investments that are not
directly related to our business segments (including venture capital “VC” related investments).
(4) Core EBITDA represents earnings, inclusive of non-controlling interest, before net interest expense, write-off of financing costs on
extinguished debt, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, asset impairments, adjustments related to certain carried interest
incentive compensation expense to align with the timing of associated revenue, costs incurred related to legal entity restructuring,
integration and other costs related to acquisitions and costs associated with efficiency and cost-reduction initiatives. It also removes the
fair value changes, on a pre-tax basis, of certain strategic non-core non-controlling equity investments that are not directly related to our
business segments (including venture capital “VC” related investments).
(5) Free cash flow is calculated as cash flow provided by operations, less capital expenditures (reflected in the investing section of the
consolidated statement of cash flows).
(6) Net revenue from Resilient Businesses includes the entire Global Workplace Solutions segment, property management, loan servicing,
asset management fees in the investment management business, and valuations. Net revenue from Transactional Businesses includes
sales, leasing, mortgage origination, carried interest and incentive fees in the investment management business, and development fees.
(7) Segment operating profit (loss) is the measure reported to the chief operating decision maker (CODM) for purposes of making decisions
about allocating resources to each segment and assessing performance of each segment. Segment operating profit represents earnings,
inclusive of non-controlling interest, before net interest expense, write-off of financing costs on extinguished debt, income taxes,
depreciation and amortization and asset impairments, as well as adjustments related to the following: certain carried interest incentive
compensation expense to align with the timing of associated revenue, costs incurred related to legal entity restructuring, and integration
and other costs related to acquisitions, and costs associated with efficiency and cost-reduction initiatives.
(8) Segment operating profit on revenue and net revenue margins represent segment operating profit divided by revenue and net revenue,
respectively.
CBRE Press Release
May 3, 2024
Page 8
Global
Advisory Workplace Real Estate Total
Services Solutions Investments Corporate (1) Total Core Other Consolidated
Revenue:
Net revenue $ 1,832 $ 2,130 $ 223 $ (4) $ 4,181 $ — $ 4,181
Pass through costs also recognized as
revenue 22 3,208 — — 3,230 — 3,230
Total revenue 1,854 5,338 223 (4) 7,411 — 7,411
_______________
(1) Includes elimination of inter-segment revenue.
CBRE Press Release
May 3, 2024
Page 12
CBRE GROUP, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in millions)
(Unaudited)
(1)
Represents loan receivables, the majority of which are offset by borrowings under related warehouse line of credit facilities.
CBRE Press Release
May 3, 2024
Page 13
CBRE GROUP, INC.
Acquisition of businesses (cash paid for acquisitions more than three months after purchase date) (8) (60)
Units repurchased for payment of taxes on equity awards (97) (46)
Non-controlling interest contributions 1 —
CBRE Press Release
May 3, 2024
Page 14
Three Months Ended March 31,
2024 2023
These measures are not recognized measurements under United States generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). When
analyzing our operating performance, investors should use these measures in addition to, and not as an alternative for, their
most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. Because not all companies use
identical calculations, our presentation of these measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other
companies.
Our management generally uses these non-GAAP financial measures to evaluate operating performance and for other
discretionary purposes. The company believes these measures provide a more complete understanding of ongoing operations,
enhance comparability of current results to prior periods and may be useful for investors to analyze our financial performance
because they eliminate the impact of selected charges that may obscure trends in the underlying performance of our business.
The company further uses certain of these measures, and believes that they are useful to investors, for purposes described
below.
With respect to net revenue, net revenue is gross revenue less costs largely associated with subcontracted vendor work
performed for clients. We believe that investors may find this measure useful to analyze the company’s overall financial
performance because it excludes costs reimbursable by clients that generally have no margin, and as such provides greater
visibility into the underlying performance of our business.
With respect to Core EBITDA, business line operating profit/loss, and segment operating profit on revenue and net revenue
margins, the company believes that investors may find these measures useful in evaluating our operating performance
compared to that of other companies in our industry because their calculations generally eliminate the accounting effects of
strategic acquisitions, which would include impairment charges of goodwill and intangibles created from such acquisitions, the
effects of financings and income tax and the accounting effects of capital spending. All of these measures may vary for different
companies for reasons unrelated to overall operating performance. In the case of Core EBITDA, this measure is not intended to
be a measure of free cash flow for our management’s discretionary use because it does not consider cash requirements such as
tax and debt service payments. The Core EBITDA measure calculated herein may also differ from the amounts calculated under
similarly titled definitions in our credit facilities and debt instruments, which amounts are further adjusted to reflect certain
other cash and non-cash charges and are used by us to determine compliance with financial covenants therein and our ability to
engage in certain activities, such as incurring additional debt. The company also uses segment operating profit and core EPS as
significant components when measuring our operating performance under our employee incentive compensation programs.
With respect to free cash flow, the company believes that investors may find this measure useful to analyze the cash flow
generated from operations after accounting for cash outflows to support operations and capital expenditures. With respect to net
debt, the company believes that investors use this measure when calculating the company’s net leverage ratio.
CBRE Press Release
May 3, 2024
Page 16
With respect to core EBITDA, core EPS and core adjusted net income, the company believes that investors may find these
measures useful to analyze the underlying performance of operations without the impact of strategic non-core equity
investments (Altus Power, Inc. and certain other investments) that are not directly related to our business segments. These can
be volatile and are often non-cash in nature.
Core net income attributable to CBRE Group, Inc. stockholders, as adjusted (or core adjusted net income), and core EPS, are
calculated as follows (in millions, except share and per share data):
Adjustments:
Non-cash depreciation and amortization expense related to certain assets attributable to acquisitions and restructuring
activities 41 49
Impact of adjustments on non-controlling interest — (10)
Net fair value adjustments on strategic non-core investments 71 26
Costs associated with efficiency and cost-reduction initiatives 29 139
Carried interest incentive compensation expense to align with the timing of associated revenue 14 7
Costs incurred related to legal entity restructuring 1 —
Integration and other costs related to acquisitions (1) (4) 18
Tax impact of adjusted items and strategic non-core investments (37) (56)
Core net income attributable to CBRE Group, Inc., as adjusted $ 241 $ 290
Core diluted income per share attributable to CBRE Group, Inc., as adjusted $ 0.78 $ 0.92
Weighted average shares outstanding for diluted income per share 308,502,456 315,358,147
Core EBITDA is calculated as follows (in millions, totals may not add due to rounding):
Adjustments:
Depreciation and amortization 158 162
Interest expense, net of interest income 36 28
(Benefit from) provision for income taxes (29) 28
Costs associated with efficiency and cost-reduction initiatives 29 139
Carried interest incentive compensation expense to align with the timing of associated revenue 14 7
Costs incurred related to legal entity restructuring 1 —
Integration and other costs related to acquisitions (1) (4) 18
Net fair value adjustments on strategic non-core investments 71 26
Core EBITDA $ 424 $ 533
________ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ __
(1) During the three months ended March 31, 2024, integration and other costs related to acquisitions include $17.5 million in deal and integration costs,
offset by reversal of $21.7 million in previously recognized transaction-related bonus expense due to change in estimate.
CBRE Press Release
May 3, 2024
Page 17
Core EBITDA for the trailing twelve months ended March 31, 2024 is calculated as follows (in millions):
Trailing
Twelve Months Ended
March 31, 2024
Adjustments:
Depreciation and amortization 618
Interest expense, net of interest income 157
Provision for income taxes 193
Costs incurred related to legal entity restructuring 14
Integration and other costs related to acquisitions (1) 40
Costs associated with efficiency and cost-reduction initiatives 50
One-time gain associated with remeasuring an investment in an unconsolidated subsidiary to fair value as of the date the
remaining controlling interest was acquired (34)
Net fair value adjustments on strategic non-core investments 13
(1) During the three months ended March 31, 2024, integration and other costs related to acquisitions include $17.5 million in deal and integration costs,
offset by reversal of $21.7 million in previously recognized transaction-related bonus expense due to change in estimate.
Revenue includes client reimbursed pass-through costs largely associated with employees that are dedicated to client facilities
and subcontracted vendor work performed for clients. Reimbursement related to subcontracted vendor work generally has no
margin and has been excluded from net revenue. Reconciliations are shown below (dollars in millions):
Below represents a reconciliation of REI business line operating profitability/loss to REI segment operating profit (in millions):