CBRE Pushes New Business Lines, Predicts Fourth-Quarter Recession
CBRE Group, the world’s largest commercial real estate brokerage, pushed to develop new business in the second quarter as it predicts a recession by year’s end that could disrupt portions of the industry.
The firm’s forecast for the second half of the year — an economic slowdown in the third quarter followed by a recession in the fourth quarter — comes after CBRE reported the highest net per-share increase in stockholder equity in its history. Equity increased more than a third to $1.83 per share in the second quarter from a year earlier, revenue rose 20% to nearly $7.8 billion, and it boosted its expectations on per-share earnings for later this year.
“All three business segments posted double-digit revenue and segment operating profit growth, despite the significant currency headwinds that affected all US-based global companies,” Bob Sulentic, president and CEO of Dallas-based CBRE, told investors during Thursday’s earnings call. He said core earnings per share rose 37% from last year’s second quarter and were slightly higher than last year’s record fourth quarter, reflecting “the benefits of our diversification strategy and an economic backdrop that was still generally supportive despite heightened macro concerns.”
CBRE isn’t the only global brokerage preparing for