Leasing and deal activity kept rising at Cushman & Wakefield in the third quarter. The commercial real estate services firm reported Nov. 4, 2026 that leasing revenue grew 15% from a year earlier and capital markets revenue grew 18%. Both lines were stronger in the Americas: leasing rose 19% and capital markets 24%.
Total revenue for the three months ended Sept. 30 was $2.8 billion, up $201.9 million, or 8%, according to the company’s earnings release. Adjusted earnings per share were $0.37, up 28%. Diluted EPS of $0.22 was flat with a year earlier, because net income barely moved: $52.1 million, up $0.7 million, or 1%.
Where the growth came from
Leasing, where brokers earn commissions on office, industrial and retail space, brought in $625.9 million. The company said the 15% gain was “principally driven by 19% growth in the Americas spread across all deal sizes, with continued strength in office and industrial leasing, including data centers.”
Capital markets, the business of brokering property sales and arranging financing, brought in $241.3 million. The company attributed the 18% increase “primarily” to 24% revenue growth in the Americas, which it said “experienced growth in all major asset classes.”
Services is the firm’s largest and steadiest line, covering facilities management, project management and other property work. It brought in $1.82 billion, up 5%, which the company said reflected growth across all segments, led by facilities management and project management, especially in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia-Pacific (APAC). Valuation and other revenue was flat at $118.9 million.
By region, the gains were concentrated in the Americas:
- Americas: revenue of $2.05 billion, up 7%; adjusted EBITDA of $146.1 million, up 18% from $124.2 million.
- APAC: revenue of $484.4 million, up 15%; adjusted EBITDA of $20.6 million, up 34%.
- EMEA: revenue of $269.5 million, up 4%; adjusted EBITDA of $17.0 million, down 15% from $20.0 million.
Companywide adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, with certain items excluded) rose $24.1 million, or 15%, to $183.7 million. Adjusted net income rose 29% to $87.8 million from $68.1 million.
The balance-sheet story
CEO Michelle MacKay’s comments put the balance sheet up front.
“Today we reported our seventh consecutive quarter of double-digit adjusted earnings per share growth, showcasing the power of our balanced platform and strategy,” MacKay said. “With $800 million in debt paydowns since 2024 our balance sheet has been transformed, and we enter this next stage of growth with increased strength, stability and optionality.”
The paydowns show up in the income statement. Net interest expense fell $6.8 million, or 12%, to $49.2 million. The release attributes the drop to lower principal after 2025 term-loan prepayments and 2026 partial redemptions of the company’s 2028 notes, plus lower rates from repricings in 2025 and 2026. On Oct. 21, 2026, after the quarter ended, the company redeemed the remaining $150.0 million of the 2028 notes. It said that “there are no long-term debt arrangements maturing prior to 2030.”
Liquidity at Sept. 30 was $1.5 billion: $1.0 billion of undrawn revolving credit and $0.5 billion of cash. Free cash flow for the 12 months ended Sept. 30 was $200.2 million, on $281.7 million of operating cash flow. For the first nine months of 2026, free cash flow was negative $34.1 million.
The company kept its full-year 2026 guidance for adjusted EPS growth of 18% to 23%. For the first nine months, revenue was $8.11 billion, up 10%, and adjusted EPS was $0.87, up 28%. Net income for the nine months fell 17% to $92.2 million.
What the quarter says about the market
Brokerage results are an early, if imperfect, read on commercial property demand, because fees follow signed leases and closed sales. Cushman’s quarter points the same way as a rival’s: JLL reported a 39% jump in U.S. leasing revenue for the third quarter.
On our reading, the 24% rise in Americas capital markets revenue is the more notable number, because capital markets fees depend on properties actually changing hands or being refinanced. A single quarter of fee growth at one brokerage is not a market-wide recovery, and the release gives no transaction volumes. Cushman’s results cover only its own deals. More on the sector is in our commercial real estate coverage.
Cushman & Wakefield, which the release identifies as Cushman & Wakefield Ltd. (NYSE: CWK), says it has about 53,000 employees in more than 350 offices in nearly 60 countries, and it reported $10.3 billion of revenue in 2025.
