Greg
Public Equities Commentary
Colliers International looks interesting at 10x forward earnings for a decent business that AI is unlikely to disrupt notably on a horizon the stock can be judged on. Revenue is inflation-protected and recurring, and asset management and engineering, about half of earnings, are less subject to disruption. Executives have real skin in the game, insiders bought heavily this year and Durable Capital is a top-12 holder. CBRE may be a better pure play on commercial real estate. x.com x.comÂ
CBRE is becoming a staffing and training operator for the AI data center buildout, whose real bottleneck is now skilled technicians rather than capital, land or power. Meta partnered with CBRE on LevelUp, a multiyear, paid four-week program to train thousands of fiber technicians and place them on Meta construction sites, rolling out nationally after a pilot at Louisiana Delta Community College. Meta has pledged $65B of AI capex, and UBS upgraded CBRE to Buy citing its AI positioning. x.comÂ
Jones Lang LaSalle looks especially attractive at 12.6 times earnings versus its historical 15.2 times, alongside sustained growth and stronger cash generation. EPS grew at least 25% and revenue at least 9% for 10 straight quarters; free cash flow doubled to $1.12 billion and shares outstanding fell 10% over five years. Analysts forecast 11% growth in 2027 and 12% in 2028. x.comÂ
CoStar Group looks too cheap for its growth, expanding margins and network-effect assets. Its unique data network and marketplaces have durable network effects, and it could lead in agentic real-estate tech, with Homes AI an early look. If earnings compound over 20% organically for three years, below consensus, a high-teens to 20x 2027 P/E is probably too cheap. Q1 EBITDA more than doubled on lower personnel costs and AI efficiencies, and residential should turn profitable in Q2. x.com x.com … Show more
Blackstone is proving that scale can still drive growth, making it a high-quality compounder at a fair price. Q2 distributable earnings rose 26%, fee-related earnings 22% and AUM 11%, with a $185B data-center platform and over $555B of perpetual capital. Private-credit concerns remain, but diversification, fundraising power and AI-infrastructure exposure strengthen the long-term case. At about 20x forward earnings with a 4%-plus forward yield, it looks attractive, though not deep value. x.comÂ
CoStar Group is a favored name because of its massive hold on commercial real estate. x.comÂ
