How CBRE Makes Money

CBRE earns money in four ways, which it reports as separate segments. Advisory Services collects commissions and fees on leasing, property sales, debt origination, loan servicing, and valuations; it is the most cyclical part of the business. Building Operations & Experience (created in 2025 with the Industrious acquisition) earns contract fees for running facilities, data centers, and flexible workplaces for corporate occupiers and property owners. Project Management, which includes Turner & Townsend, is paid to plan and oversee construction and fit-out programs. Real Estate Investments combines CBRE Investment Management's asset-management fees with Trammell Crow Company's development profits. CBRE groups the contract-based lines as 'resilient' businesses and leasing and capital markets as 'transactional' businesses; both grew more than 13% in 2025. A large share of reported revenue is pass-through costs (for example, facility staff and subcontractors billed to clients), which is why CBRE emphasizes net revenue, Core EBITDA, and Core EPS.

CBRE is steering capital toward recurring, contract-based services and critical infrastructure. In 2025 it bought flexible-workspace operator Industrious and created the Building Operations & Experience segment, then acquired Pearce Services for about $1.2 billion to service data centers and power infrastructure, expecting more than $350 million of Core EBITDA from digital and power infrastructure services in 2026. In September 2026 CBRE Investment Management added a net-lease platform by acquiring Tenet Equity, with a $1.6 billion portfolio of 208 properties. Trammell Crow Company continues to develop industrial, data center, and multifamily projects, and Turner & Townsend targets large infrastructure and energy programs.