The first quarter was largely a success for the big commercial real estate companies, several of them operating under new reorganizations to better align facility management with other client services, and despite economic uncertainties caused by the Trump administration's changing tariff policies. 

CBRE, Jones Lang Lasalle, Cushman & Wakefield and Colliers posted strong top-line growth in the quarter, with a significant part of that growth coming from their divisions that provide facilities management services to clients. 

Sector giant CBRE reported 14% growth, supported by the company’s building operations segment, which grew 13.9% on the strength of its facilities management enterprise business.  

JLL also saw 14% growth, in its newly formed real estate management services segment, and Colliers saw 14% top-line growth on the strength of its newly formed engineering segment, which includes facilities management operations. Cushman & Wakefield’s similar strong growth came largely from its occupier services division, which recently increased its focus on mechanical and engineering services compared to its custodial services. 

To the extent the companies have been impacted by tariffs, it’s on the leasing side of their business, with clients hesitating to enter into long-term leases until the economic landscape becomes clearer.  

One company that also reported strong earnings is building systems maker Johnson Controls. The company reported 7% growth for the quarter despite its exposure, as a manufacturer, to tariffs, in part because of its strong order backlog. 

“We don’t see any slowdown in some of the areas where you might think there would be slowdowns,” CEO Joakim Weidemanis said on his company’s earnings call last week.  

The earnings performance of these companies offering products and services in the facilities management space can be taken as indicators of how the building operations sector is faring. To help you form a picture of what’s ahead for yourself, we’ve compiled our coverage of the companies’ first-quarter earnings reports here.