Above-average revenues from data centre services and a revitalisation of US office leasing were the main drivers of CBRE's strong results in the second quarter of 2026. This was announced by Emma Giamartino, Chief Financial Officer of CBRE, during a conference call on Wednesday morning. The world's largest commercial real estate services and investment company reported revenues of 11.2 billion US dollars for the second quarter, which met analysts' expectations. Annual revenues grew by 15.5 percent and exceeded first-quarter results by approximately 6.6 percent.
CBRE surpassed analysts' expectations with core earnings per share of 1.56 US dollars. Adjusted profit rose to 459 million US dollars from 361 million US dollars in the previous year, adjusted for one-off items such as fire protection repairs to buildings in the United Kingdom. The company's quarterly report showed over 700 million US dollars in revenue from data centre services. US office leasing also reached a record high for the second quarter, which represents a positive signal for the ongoing recovery of the commercial market.
Growth drivers and market potential
CBRE's more volatile segments, including property sales, mortgage lending and leasing, saw revenue growth of 19 percent year-on-year. US leasing revenue increased by 24 percent, led by office and industrial activity. Notably, US office leasing generated the highest second-quarter revenue ever recorded, according to Emma Giamartino. This strength was driven by gateway markets and by space upgrades from financial and legal tenants. CBRE's global property sales recorded a 20 percent increase in revenue, with the US seeing a 24 percent rise across most property types.
Despite the strong performance, there is still potential for recovery. Giamartino stated that on the leasing side, the company has not yet reached 2019 levels, but expects further growth for the current and coming year. On the sales side, it is still in an early phase; while strong growth is visible, it is not at the level of previous recovery periods. Infrastructure services, including data centres, developed into CBRE's fastest-growing business segments in the second quarter.
Future prospects for data centres and forecasts
Revenue in this segment rose annually by more than 45 percent to nearly 1.2 billion US dollars, as reported by Robert Sulentic, President and CEO of CBRE. Data centres contributed the majority of this growth, with revenues increasing by almost 30 percent year-on-year to over 700 million US dollars. Over half of the profits from data centres came from ongoing work such as facility management and remediation, excluding the sale of data centre space. CBRE currently has approximately 30 such sites in its US land bank, according to Giamartino.
Company management expects revenues from data centre services to continue growing annually by around 25 percent over the next five years due to significant AI investments. The business partnerships initiated by CBRE's data centre services are particularly fruitful, as Sulentic emphasised. He stated he could not recall the company ever being involved in a business segment where revenue synergies were as substantial as in the data centre business. CBRE's 'resilient' business segments, a source of recurring income such as facility management, valuations, and loan servicing, also reported positive results, with a 15 percent year-on-year increase in revenue, driven by data centres and the acquisition of critical infrastructure maintenance company Pearce Services in November 2025.
Weaknesses were evident in the company's real estate investment management segment, whose value decreased compared to the previous quarter. Sulentic noted that some investors, particularly from the Middle East, remain cautious given a volatile geopolitical environment. As a result of a recovering transaction market and revenues from data centre construction, CBRE's management raised its full-year guidance for core earnings per share to 7.80 to 7.90 US dollars, up from an earlier range of 7.60 to 7.80 US dollars.
