Newmark reports Q3 earnings down 25%

CEO likens brokerage to “Navy SEAL” of M&A on call with investors

Newmark CEO Barry Gosin (Getty, iStock)
Newmark CEO Barry Gosin (Getty, iStock)

Newmark reported earnings of $152.1 million in the third quarter, down 25 percent from the same time last year. The brokerage said it experienced a drop in sales and leasing commissions due to Covid-related challenges.

On Thursday’s call with investors, the company’s chief executive addressed a question on potential mergers and acquisitions. CEO Barry Gosin likened Newmark’s M&A activity to an elite stealth operator.

“We kind of consider ourself more in the Navy SEAL category,” Gosin said. He added, “We’ve done fairly well by doing acquisitions of the right people that fill the right space in our company.” He noted Newmark acquired 50 smaller companies over the years.

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M&A activity has been a hot topic of discussion in the commercial brokerage space lately. Newmark reportedly rejected a takeover bid from Cushman & Wakefield recently.

Earlier this week, JLL CEO Christian Ulbrich said the company has a growing pipeline of M&A deals, but hadn’t “seen anything we think would be worth spending our shareholder’s money on.”

JLL and Cushman had reportedly been in talks about a merger, but they ultimately fell apart.