Real Estate IndustryReviews

National and global commercial brokerages

The same six firms, sorted by how they make money. A firm that earns three-quarters of its revenue running buildings will act differently on your lease than one that lives on commissions.

Last updated: 2026-10-20

The lens

Every share below is arithmetic on the revenue lines each firm reports for FY2025. Scores are the same as on the main ranking.

Revenue mix at a glance

FirmOperating modelLeasing shareCapital markets shareManagement / services shareBasis
CBRE GroupOutsourcing-led giant11.1%6.6%76.2%Facilities, project and property management lines
JLLOutsourcing-led giant11.5%9.3%76.6%Real Estate Management Services segment
Cushman & WakefieldLeasing-led giant21%8%66%Service-line shares of revenue as stated in the 10-K (incl. reimbursables)
ColliersDiversified: real estate, engineering and investment managementnot splitnot splitn/aCRE 59.2%, Engineering 31.2%, Investment Management 9.6%
Newmark GroupCapital-markets-led30.4%31.8%37.8%Management services, servicing fees and other
Marcus & MillichapPrivate-client investment salesn/a97.5%n/aBrokerage commissions 83.8% plus financing fees 13.8%

The shares are our arithmetic on the revenue lines each firm reports for FY2025 (see sources). Firms define their lines differently. Cushman & Wakefield’s figures are the shares its 10-K states. For CBRE, capital markets is advisory sales plus mortgage origination. For Marcus & Millichap, it is brokerage commissions plus financing fees.

By operating model

Outsourcing-led giants

Most revenue comes from managing buildings, facilities and projects for clients, not from deals. Pick these when you want one vendor across many markets.

#1 overall · Public (NYSE: CBRE)

CBRE Group

7.8/10Recommend

CBRE is the world's largest commercial real estate services firm by 2025 revenue, per its own 10-K. The filing also shows that most of that revenue is not brokerage. Facilities management alone brought in 50.9% of revenue. Leasing brought in 11.1%, and property sales 5.2%.

● Best forLarge occupiers and investors that want leasing, capital markets, facilities and project management under one contract across many markets.
● Not ideal forIn our view, a small owner with one local deal. The 10-K says CBRE serves local clients one deal at a time, but its scale is built around multi-market contracts. A boutique may give a single deal more senior attention.
#2 overall · Public (NYSE: JLL)

JLL

7.5/10Recommend

JLL looks like CBRE at about two-thirds of the size. The segment mix is close: management services are about three-quarters of revenue, and leasing is about 11.5%. JLL differs in reporting a separate software and technology segment, and in running LaSalle, with $86.4 billion of assets under management at year-end 2025.

● Best forOccupiers that want a full-service global platform and care about the technology and data offering, which JLL reports as its own segment.
● Not ideal forBuyers who want a firm whose investment-management arm is growing. LaSalle's AUM and segment revenue both fell in 2025.

Leasing-led giant

Leasing is 30% of service-line fee revenue, the highest share of the three giants.

#4 overall · Public (NYSE: CWK)

Cushman & Wakefield

6.5/10Conditional recommend

Cushman & Wakefield leans on leasing more than the other two giants. Leasing is 30% of its service-line fee revenue and 21% of total revenue, against about 11% at CBRE and JLL. On a fee basis, it is the most leasing-led of the three.

● Best forOccupiers and landlords whose main need is leasing, either tenant or agency work, who still want a global services platform behind it.
● Not ideal forBuyers who need the widest country coverage. Cushman & Wakefield reports nearly 60 countries, against more than 100 for CBRE.

Diversified with engineering

Real estate is 59% of revenue. Engineering and investment management make up the rest.

#3 overall · Public (Nasdaq and TSX: CIGI)

Colliers

6.8/10Conditional recommend

Colliers has three businesses, and engineering is 31% of revenue. Colliers describes a “partnership philosophy” that “ensures meaningful inside ownership,” so local leaders hold equity. In the same release it announced a deal to acquire Ayesa Engineering.

● Best forOwners and occupiers who also need engineering or project work, and buyers who value local leaders with equity in the firm.
● Not ideal forBuyers who want the deepest single-vendor facilities outsourcing bench. CBRE, JLL and Cushman & Wakefield report much larger management businesses.

Capital-markets-led

Capital markets and loan servicing are at the center of the business.

#5 overall · Public (Nasdaq: NMRK)

Newmark Group

5.8/10Not recommended

Newmark earns more from capital markets than from leasing: 31.8% of revenue against 30.4%. It also services a $211.2 billion loan and asset management portfolio. Its 10-K discloses that in July 2025 the board hired a leadership advisory firm for long-term CEO succession planning.

● Best forInvestors and lenders whose deal is mostly capital markets work: investment sales, debt placement or loan servicing, including GSE/FHA loan servicing.
● Not ideal forOccupiers who want a broad global footprint. 87% of Newmark's revenue is from the U.S.

Private-client investment sales

Investment sales and financing for $1M to $10M properties.

#6 overall · Public (NYSE: MMI)

Marcus & Millichap

5.2/10Not recommended

Of the six firms, Marcus & Millichap is the only one whose 10-K shows the commission it earns. Its average commission rate in 2025 was 1.82%, on an average deal of $5.77 million. About 64% of brokerage commissions came from the $1M to $10M private client market.

● Best forPrivate owners selling or buying a $1M to $10M investment property, such as a small apartment, net-lease or retail asset, who want a large buyer pool.
● Not ideal forOccupiers who need leasing or facilities services. Marcus & Millichap is an investment sales and financing shop, not an occupier services firm.

Questions

Which national brokerages are most dependent on deal volume?

On FY2025 revenue, Marcus & Millichap is the most deal-dependent: brokerage commissions and financing fees were about 97.5% of revenue. Newmark is next, with leasing and capital markets at about 62%. Management lines made up about three-quarters of revenue at both CBRE (76.2%) and JLL (76.6%).

Which national firm has the most offices?

Of the figures in the filings we read, Cushman & Wakefield reports over 350 company and affiliated offices in nearly 60 countries. CBRE reports operations in more than 100 countries but gives no office count in the passages we read.

Last verified 2026-10-20. Figures were re-read from the linked sources that day.

View changelog
  • National hub published. Scores carried over unchanged from the main ranking.

Sources

  1. CBRE Group 10-K for FY2025 (SEC) · accessed 2026-10-20
  2. JLL FY2025 results release (Feb 18, 2026) · accessed 2026-10-20
  3. Colliers FY2025 results release (Feb 13, 2026) · accessed 2026-10-20
  4. Cushman & Wakefield Ltd. 10-K for FY2025 (SEC) · accessed 2026-10-20
  5. Newmark Group 10-K for FY2025 (SEC) · accessed 2026-10-20
  6. Marcus & Millichap 10-K for FY2025 (SEC) · accessed 2026-10-20