Cushman & Wakefield brought in more revenue to start 2026 than in any first quarter in the company's history, driven largely by leasing demand in artificial intelligence.

The Chicago-based firm reported a revenue of $2.5B, a 9% increase from the first quarter of 2025.

Cushman & Wakefield rode the same transaction uptick as other major brokerages, but the impact was somewhat muted by paying a $16.6M non-cash settlement related to a pension buyout in the UK, resulting in a net loss of $12.6M for the period.

The company was the only one among the four major brokerages to post a net loss for the period, although Cushman's adjusted net income was $34M, a 69% increase from a year prior.

While Cushman brought in more cash through all of its business lines, its growth hasn't quite kept pace with some of its competitors. JLL posted an 11% increase in revenue year-over-year, CBRE revenue increased by 19%, and Newmark's revenue jumped more than 27%.

Shares at Cushman & Wakefield were down more than 4% Thursday after the earnings call that morning. Its stock is trading below its peers, William Blair analyst Stephen Sheldon said in a note analyzing the company's earnings.

That is likely due to Cushman & Wakefield's debt load, which is larger than the other major brokerages, Sheldon noted. The company had $2.1B of net debt at the end of the quarter but this week elected to pay $100M of its senior debt due in 2028.

Cushman & Wakefield's top growth driver was leasing, which posted a 17% revenue increase, marking the highest growth in leasing across global industries in company history, CEO Michelle MacKay said on the earnings call.

The company credits leasing tailwinds in the office and industrial sectors to artificial intelligence, expecting it to drive a net increase of 330M SF of additional demand over the next 10 years.

“We believe that AI expands the size of the economy, and that translates, long term, into more demand for space,” MacKay said.

MacKay pointed to markets like Manhattan and San Francisco with strong tech ecosystems being among the leaders of office absorption in the first quarter.

Industrial demand is also up 52% year-over-year in the first quarter, with a focus on modern facilities designed for AI and automation, MacKay said.

“AI will be a net positive for demand, but there's some nuances that you need to pay attention to,” she said. “Office will continue to shift toward high-quality, Class-A space, flexible and tech centric spaces. Industrial will shift toward modern, more power intensive facilities.”

The faith in AI uplifting demand adds to the conversation of growing concerns over its capability to take over jobs and shrink the workforce.

Just this week, U.S. cryptocurrency exchange company Coinbase announced it would lay off around 14% of its staff, about 700 employees, as AI efficiency grows in the workplace. Meta is cutting 8,000 employees, about 10% of its workforce, to improve efficiency and focus on generative AI.