CBRE Posts 16% Revenue Growth In Q2 As Data Center Business Shines

CBRE outperformed industry expectations during the second quarter as its core earnings per share rose 30% on a 16% revenue increase thanks to a strong performance by the company’s infrastructure and data center services businesses.

The world's largest commercial real estate company raised its 2026 core earnings per share guidance to $7.80 to $7.90, implying growth of 23% at the midpoint, according to its second-quarter earnings results. Core earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 34% year-over-year to $836M during the quarter. 

“Our strategy is working the way we intended,” CBRE Chair and CEO Bob Sulentic said during an earnings call with analysts Wednesday. “Resources and investments are being productively directed into areas that drive current growth and position us for long-term growth.”

Sulentic said CBRE's infrastructure and data center services businesses are performing particularly well and provide an excellent forward-looking opportunity for the company.

Infrastructure services revenue increased by more than 45% to almost $1.2B during the quarter. Within that, data center services revenue rose nearly 30% to $700M, accounting for nearly 60% of the quarter’s total infrastructure services revenue. 

“During this period of significant AI investment, we expect our data center services revenue to remain elevated at about 25% annually for the next five years, and then above 15% as the build cycle matures," Sulentic said.

By 2030, CBRE could have more than $1B in EBITDA related to infrastructure, driven by expected growth in the data center market. 

Despite projected growth, Sulentic said the data center sector still faces headwinds, including NIMBYism, water and power issues, and challenges related to supply chain and talent. 

“There's challenges everywhere with regard to growing the base of data centers around the world,” Sulentic said. “There's enormous demand, and even in light of those challenges, there'll be considerable growth in the number of data centers and the size of the data centers out there.”

To achieve that growth, Sulentic said supply chains will have to adjust as projects find new areas that enable continued development. 

CBRE's revenue increase came as its resilient and transactional businesses each delivered double-digit growth. The firm’s cash flow from operations was nearly $1.4B for the quarter, and free cash flow was close to $1.7B on a trailing 12-month basis.

Q2 was the fifth consecutive quarter that the company achieved core earnings per share growth of at least 18%.

Global and U.S. leasing each grew by 24% during the quarter across CBRE's office and industrial markets. U.S. office leasing led the way with an increase of 29%.

Industry analysts said the Dallas-based brokerage firm’s performance is a positive sign for the broader sector and commercial real estate giants like JLL, Colliers and Cushman & Wakefield that have not yet reported their second-quarter earnings.

“This appears to be a high-quality beat that was led by higher-margin transactional service lines,” William Blair analyst Stephen Sheldon wrote in a note to investors Wednesday morning. “Both property sales (up 19% versus our estimate of 17%) and leasing (up 24% versus our estimate of 15%) outperformed our expectations despite a slightly more challenging backdrop of higher rates and geopolitical uncertainty throughout the quarter.”

CBRE's stock rose about 2% in early afternoon trading as the global brokerage firm's earnings report moved the needle for investors. 

Over the past six months, CBRE’s stock has fallen nearly 13% from what analysts have called the “artificial intelligence scare trade.” During that time, investors have pulled away from companies with business models that rely on human expertise and information advantages, which are the exact qualities real estate brokerages have relied on for decades.

“The re-rating lower in CBRE stock has been dramatic in the last six months related mostly to getting caught up in the AI/disintermediation risk trade,” JPMorgan Chase analyst Anthony Paolone wrote in a note to investors Wednesday. “We think growth in the meantime has become more visible, especially with it producing run-rate free cash flow of about $2 billion annually that can be used to buy back stock or make accretive acquisitions.”

During the second quarter, CBRE bought back more than $450M worth of shares, Chief Financial Officer Emma Giamartino said during the call. That brings its year-to-date total to nearly $1B. 

“This level of buyback activity underscores our conviction that our stock price meaningfully undervalues the enduring, long-term growth we see ahead for the business,” Giamartino said.