Updates from the Corporate Real Estate World: CBRE, JLL, Zillow and Others

CBRE Q3 Results Beat Estimates
The world’s largest real estate firm reported revenue of $5.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.73 billion, according to Nasdaq. The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 78 cents per share. CBRE expects full-year earnings in the range of $3.70 to $3.80 per share. CBRE shares have increased 39% since the beginning of the year. The stock has climbed 33% in the last 12 months.

Cushman & Wakefield Misses Earnings Estimates by 74 Percent
Cushman & Wakefield Q3 results showed that revenue fell marginally short of analyst estimates at US$2.1b. However, earnings missed forecasts by a whopping 74%, coming in at just US$0.05 per share. According to Business Wire, details of the Q3 earnings release were as follows: 

  • Revenue for the third quarter of 2019 was $2.1 billion, up 2% (3% local currencyi) from third quarter of 2018. Fee revenue was $1.5 billion, up 3% (4% local currency).
  • Net income for the third quarter of 2019 was $11.7 million, an improvement of $53.1 million over third quarter of 2018 with earnings per share of $0.05. Adjusted earnings per share was $0.37.
  • Adjusted EBITDA was $168.5 million, down 6% (5% local currency) from third quarter of 2018. Adjusted EBITDA margin of 10.9% was down 100 bps.
  • Year-to-date Revenue through the third quarter of 2019 was $6.1 billion, up 6% (8% local currency) year-over-year. Fee revenue was $4.5 billion, up 7% (9% local currency).
  • Year-to-date Net loss through the third quarter of 2019 was $2.9 million, an improvement of $164.9 million over third quarter of 2018 with loss per share of $0.01. Adjusted earnings per share was $0.87.
  • Year-to-date Adjusted EBITDA was $431.4 million through the third quarter of 2019, up 2% (3% local currency) year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA margin of 9.6% was down 50 bps.

Jones Lang LaSalle Q3 Earnings Beat Expectations
Chicago-based JLL reported revenues for the third quarter of around $4.5 billion, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.35 billion by 3.3%. According to Nasdaq, the reported figure improved 13.2%, year over year. Moreover, fee revenues were up 14.1% year over year to $1.8 billion.

In the Americas, revenues and fee revenues came in at $2.7 billion and $1 billion, respectively, indicating 22.1% and 34.8% year-over-year growth. Growth was strong and broad-based across all service lines. This was backed by Capital Markets, mainly reflecting revenue gain from the HFF acquisition.  Also, the company witnessed robust leasing performance across a number of U.S. markets and all major asset classes. Further, new project wins and expanded assignments with Corporate Solutions clients drove revenues from Project & Development Services. Segment fee revenue growth, excluding contributions from HFF, was strong at 12%. Results highlight robust Real Estate Services revenue growth. The company witnessed solid Americas’ leasing and Capital Markets performance, while Corporate Solutions growth boosted annuity base. The company gained from the HFF Inc. acquisition and progressed well with its integration in the quarter.

Revenues and fee revenues of the EMEA segment came in at $862.6 million and $401.0 million, up 7.1% and 1.1%, respectively, from the year-ago period. Results suggest solid annuity growth in Project & Development Services and Property & Facility Management. However, softness in U.K. Leasing and decline in regional capital markets volumes partly offset these positives.

For the Asia-Pacific segment, revenues and fee revenues came in at $833.8 million and $264.9 million, respectively, marking year-over-year uptick of 5.5% and 5%. Results reflect gains in Capital Markets, steered by large deals in Greater China and growth in Japan. Also, Project & Development Services reported growth, mainly aided by Corporate Solutions project wins across a number of geographical markets. Nevertheless, decline in leasing segment results partly marred the positives.

Revenues from the LaSalle segment plunged 35.3% year over year to $111.6 million. Growth in annuity revenues was more than offset by lower incentive fees.

At the end of third-quarter 2019, assets under management were $67.8 billion, down nearly 1% from the $68.4 billion recorded at the end of the last quarter.

Marcus & Millichap Q3 Brokerage Revenues Dip
Total revenues for the third quarter of 2019 were $198.2 million compared to $210.6 million for the same period in the prior year, a decrease of 5.9%, reported Nasdaq. The change in total revenues was primarily driven by a 6.1% decrease in real estate brokerage commissions to $180.2 million. This decrease in real estate brokerage commissions was primarily due to a decline in the number of investment sales transactions and average commissions rates, partially offset by an increase in sales volume.

Total operating expenses for the third quarter of 2019 decreased by 4.9% to $174.1 million, compared to $183.2 million for the same period in the prior year.

Selling, general and administrative expenses for the third quarter of 2019 decreased by 1.2% to $48.1 million, compared to the same period in the prior year.

Net income for the third quarter of 2019 was $19.3 million, or $0.49 per common share (basic and diluted), compared to net income of $20.9 million, or $0.53 per common share (basic and diluted), for the same period in the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter of 2019 decreased by 13.3% to $27.9 million, compared to adjusted EBITDA of $32.2 million for the same period in the prior year.

Reonomy CRE Startup Raises $60 Million in Funding
Reonomy, a commercial real estate analytics company headquartered in New York, announced that it’s raised $60 million in series D funding led by Georgian Partners. Existing investors including Sapphire Ventures contributed alongside Wells Fargo Strategic Capital and Citi Ventures, bringing the startup’s total capital raised to $128 million following a $30 million series C in June 2018.

The New York City startup uses public and proprietary data feeds and crowdsourced information, and then uses artificial intelligence to provide market intelligence that is used by CRE developers, investors, and buyers.

CEO Rich Sarkis said the fresh funding will bolster Reonomy’s R&D efforts while enabling it to scale its business to Canada, the U.K., and other international markets following “strong” customer demand. “There is no end to the number of individuals, companies and enterprises that have properties at the core of their businesses,” said Sarkis. “Despite real estate being the world’s largest asset class, the industry has been largely starved of cutting-edge solutions to core business problems because of the opaque nature of property information. We’re building a platform that connects the world of property information and empowers a new era of applications to unlock insights and opportunities for everyone.”

Zillow Sales Surge and Shares Pop
Zillow Group Inc. shares gained more than 10% in after-hours trading last Thursday after the online real-estate company reported that sales more than doubled from the year before in the most recent quarter thanks to the company’s push to buy and sell homes. Still, Zillow reported a loss of $64.6 million, or 31 cents a share, on sales of $745.2 million, up from $343.1 million a year ago, according to Market Watch. The big sales boost came from the Zillow Offers business, which launched in 8 new markets in the quarter for a total of 26, but it also pushed the company to a loss by posting a net loss of $87.9 million on sales of $384.6 million. The company reported adjusted Ebitda of $15.8 million, down from $66.2 million a year ago but ahead of the average analyst projection for a loss of $7 million. Zillow stock closed with a 0.6% decline at $33.44, then topped $38 in extended trading after the results were released.