JLL’s Q1 Earnings Top Estimates as Leasing Activity Drives Profits
The firm also announced CFO Karen Brennan will become CEO of JLL’s global leasing advisory business.
By Amanda Schiavo May 7, 2025 1:47 pm
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Strong leasing activity, particularly in the New York City office market, helped propel JLL to post solid earnings results for the first quarter of 2025.
JLL reported adjusted earnings of $2.31 per share and revenue of $5.7 billion. Analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research expected adjusted earnings of $2.02 per share and $5.5 billion in revenue, according to the Washington Post.
“The continued improvement of our leasing and investment sales, debt and equity advisory businesses was a key driver of higher profit and margin as momentum from the second half of 2024 supported stability in real estate fundamentals,” CEO Christian Ulbrich said Wednesday morning during JLL’s quarterly earnings call. “This growth of double-digit resilient revenue further amplified these gains, driving a strong start for our newly formed real estate management services sector.”
JLL’s leasing activity jumped 13 percent year-over-year for the 2025 first quarter, driven by strong demand in the U.S. thanks to more companies calling employees back to the office, Ublrich said.
“Corporations around the world are gaining more clarity on future space needs, and with historically low development pipelines in the U.S. and Europe, office fundamentals and trends are likely to continue to strengthen for top-tier buildings,” Ulbrich added.
Additionally, JLL announced some changes to its senior leadership team, which will take effect on July 1.
Karen Brennan, who has been serving as JLL’s chief financial officer since 2020, will become chief executive officer of JLL’s global leasing advisory business. Brennan will be succeeded as CFO by Kelly Howe, who is currently serving as CFO of the firm’s markets advisory business.
“I have enjoyed working closely with our investor community over the past five years, and look forward to continuing to work with you all in my new capacity as CEO of leasing advisory,” Brennan said on the call. “Kelly’s financial leadership and growth mindset position her well to lead and carry forward the strategic priorities of the CFOs office and our finance organization.”
Amanda Schiavo can be reached at aschiavo@commercialobserver.com.
