CBRE beats quarterly estimates as data centers fuel real estate demand

⁠Real estate services firm ‌CBRE beat Wall Street expectations for ‌first-quarter profit and revenue on Thursday. (Reta Ismail/CTV News London)

⁠Real estate services firm ‌CBRE beat Wall Street expectations for ‌first-quarter profit and revenue on Thursday, helped ‌by strong demand for its leasing and facilities management services amid rapid expansion of data centers.

Surging investments to build artificial intelligence infrastructure have revived parts of ​the commercial ​real estate market, boosting ‌site acquisitions, construction ⁠and long-term leasing.

Shares of the Dallas, Texas-based company were up about three per cent in premarket trading.

The U.S. Federal Reserve’s expected ⁠rate cut by the end of this year could boost commercial real estate activity, including leasing and ⁠property sales.

The company’s revenue from its building operations and experience segment rose 20 per cent to US$6.49 billion during the ​quarter.

Total revenue for the ‌quarter came in ⁠at $10.53 billion, from $8.88 ⁠billion in the prior year.

Analysts expected first-quarter revenue of $10.16 ⁠billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

For the quarter ended March ‌31, CBRE posted core earnings per share of $1.61, ⁠compared with 89 ‌cents a year ago. Analysts on an average expected $1.13 per share.

(Reporting by ‌Megavarshini G. Somasundaram ‌and Anshuman Tripathy in ​Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)