How much capital has been raised for Encore+, what are the targets, and what is the magnitude of future co-investments needed to drive capital raising?

Christian Ulbrich explained that JLL's own investment (EUR 100 million) drives confidence and momentum for third-party capital raising. Kelly Howe confirmed it's an open-ended core European fund, expecting meaningful third-party capital, but did not provide specific capital raise targets at this moment. “What I would say is that there has been a ongoing trend, which has developed over several years now that when you as a fund manager kicks out those funds with your own investment that drives a lot of confidence into the product and that usually then brings a couple of other investors coming alongside and you have this sum start, which you want to see to get enough momentum in your capital raising.”

Are there any pushouts or delays in capital markets deals due to rate volatility or geopolitical/macro concerns, and has momentum continued into Q2?

Christian Ulbrich stated that Capital Markets started the year with significant momentum, which continued into Q2. The U.S. market is largely unaffected, but Europe has seen some deals canceled or delayed, which took away from "additional outperformance." Asia Pacific also shows strong momentum. The overall impact of the conflict is seen as taking away potential upside rather than causing a significant slowdown. “The U.S. market is pretty much unimpressed by the geopolitical environment so far. The European market, we have seen some deals being canceled. We have seen some deals being delayed. But the overall momentum was still so strong, that's just taking away an additional outperformance, which we would see otherwise.”

How is JLL managing AI rollout, and what are the concerns about potential disintermediation in the space? How much of the sales team uses AI?

Christian Ulbrich highlighted JLL's decade-long investment in its data platform, which he believes is industry-leading. He noted high adoption rates (75% across core products, 25,000 employees daily, 60% YoY increase in usage). He stated that AI is currently a tailwind, providing proprietary data benefits, and JLL does not see disintermediation risks, especially given the importance of brand in valuation services. “For now, we are not concerned about any potential disintermediation. In fact, for now, we are very clear that AI is a tailwind for our organization, first and foremost, because we have this very, very rich data platform, which allows us to provide a lot of proprietary data to the benefit of our clients.”

JLL

Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) Q1 FY26 earnings call: guidance and Q&A

Earnings call· Mar 2026 (Q1 FY26)· Real Estate· Apr 30, 2026

Source: earnings call transcript

Executive summary

Jones Lang LaSalle Q1 FY26 — Record Revenue & Earnings Driven by Strong Advisory and Resilient Businesses

JLL delivered a very strong Q1 FY26, achieving record revenue and earnings, propelled by robust performance in its advisory businesses and high single-digit organic growth in resilient revenues. The company is actively executing its Accelerate 2030 strategy, making strategic investments in LaSalle and committing to significant share repurchases. While navigating some contract turnover and macro uncertainties, JLL maintains a positive outlook, leveraging its data and AI advantage for continued growth.

Highlights

Achieved record first quarter revenue and earnings, driven by market-leading advisory businesses and resilient revenue base.
Adjusted EBITDA increased 24% and adjusted EPS was up 56% year-over-year.
Robust growth across core advisory businesses, led by momentum in office and industrial leasing, and broad growth across capital market services.
Resilient revenues, including workplace management and project management, grew organically by high single digits.
Repurchased $300 million of shares at an average price of $301, reducing share count by nearly 2%.

Concerns

Property management business experienced a mid-single digit decline in management fees due to elevated contract turnover, though 60% of targeted Asia Pacific contracts have been exited or repositioned.
Continued pullback of discretionary technology solutions spend from certain large existing clients partially offset high single-digit software revenue growth.
Leasing advisory adjusted EBITDA and margin expansion were tempered by producers hitting higher commission tiers earlier in the year.
Fluidity of the macro environment limits late-year visibility into economically sensitive businesses, despite strong Q1 results.

Guidance & targets

Category	Target	Timeline	Confidence
Property Management contract churn impact	Largely offset by core business growth and new wins in the Americas medium materiality	FY26	Medium
Software and Technology Solutions revenue growth	Mid- to high single-digit growth medium materiality	FY26	High
Leasing & Advisory revenue growth	High single-digit growth high materiality	FY26	High
Capital Market Services revenue growth	Low double-digit growth high materiality	FY26	High
Investment Management advisory fee growth	Low single-digit growth medium materiality	FY26	Medium
Investment Management incentive and transaction fees	Towards the lower end of historical range, weighted to Q4 medium materiality	Q4 FY26	Medium
Free cash flow conversion ratio	Over 80% high materiality	FY26	High
Adjusted EPS	$21.80 to $23.50 (20% growth at midpoint) high materiality	FY26	High
Adjusted EBITDA	Aligns with range provided last quarter high materiality	FY26	High
Adjusted EPS outlook	Trending towards upper end of $21.80-$23.50 range high materiality	FY26	Medium
Primary annual targets	Segment revenue and adjusted EPS low materiality	Going forward	High
Leasing & Advisory commission headwind	Moderate through the year medium materiality	FY26	Medium
Leasing & Advisory overall margin rate	Relatively flat versus prior year high materiality	FY26	High
Capital Markets incremental margin	Strong incremental margin high materiality	FY26	High
Capital Markets incremental margin	Mid-30s high materiality	FY26	High
Property Management contract churn impact	Headwind offset by strength in Americas medium materiality	FY26	High

Segment performance

Segment	Revenue	YoY	QoQ	Margin
Real Estate Management Services Revenue increase led by workplace management (mandate expansions, new client wins) and project management (higher volumes in U.S., new data center wins). Healthy core business growth in Property Management tempered by elevated contract turnover, particularly in Asia Pacific. Software revenue growth partially offset by pullback in discretionary tech solutions spend. Workplace management growth: high single-digitProject management revenue growth: double-digitProject management management fee increase: high single-digitProperty Management management fees: declining mid-single digitsSoftware revenue growth: high single-digit	—	—	—	—
Leasing & Advisory Revenue growth led by momentum in office and industrial sectors, and a meaningful contribution from data centers. Adjusted EBITDA and margin expansion driven by revenue growth, partially tempered by higher commission tiers and business mix. Global leasing advisory revenue growth (2-year stacked basis): 29%Office leasing revenue growth: outpaced 1% decline in market volumes	—	—	—	—
Capital Market Services Investor bidding activity resilient, underpinned by robust liquidity and uptick in transactions. Revenue growth and lower loan-related expenses drove adjusted EBITDA and margin expansion. Investment sales revenue growth notably outpaced global market volumes. Investment sales revenue growth: 27%Debt advisory revenue growth: 30%Equity advisory revenue growth: 75%Investment sales growth (2-year stacked basis): 42%Debt advisory growth (2-year stacked basis): 81%	—	—	—	—

Orderbook & backlog

Global Decarbonization Fund (LPPF) EUR 300 million Q1 FY26

Initial size, fundraising ongoing. Focuses on retrofitting existing buildings and ground-up developments.

Deals & partnerships

LaSalle Incremental investment in a flagship European fund EUR 100 million

Investment in the LaSalle Encore+ Fund, an open-ended core European fund, to support its next phase of growth.

LaSalle Launch of a global decarbonization fund EUR 300 million

First close of the global decarbonization fund (LPPF), which will execute a retrofit-led approach for vacant/underperforming buildings to improve energy efficiency.

Risks & headwinds

Geopolitical conflict in the Middle East Ongoing, potential impact in H2 FY26

Middle East business represents a low single-digit percentage of revenue

Mitigation:Conservative approach to leverage, prepared for wide range of outcomes, monitoring first and second-order risks globally. No material commercial impact on consolidated results to date, but prolonged conflict could lead to higher energy prices and broader economic headwinds, especially outside the U.S.

Fluidity of the macro environment Late FY26

Limits late year visibility into economically sensitive businesses

Mitigation:Guidance reflects a range of scenarios, trending towards upper end but acknowledging uncertainty.

Elevated contract turnover in Property Management FY26 (expected to continue through year-end)

Mid-single digit decline in management fees

Mitigation:Strategically exiting/repositioning contracts (60% completed in Asia Pacific), renegotiating terms, offset by healthy core business growth and new wins in Americas.

Pullback of discretionary technology solutions spend Q1 FY26, implied to continue

Offset high single-digit software revenue growth

Mitigation:Targeting mid- to high single-digit revenue growth for the segment for FY26, weighted to H2.

Higher commission tiers for leasing producers Q1 FY26, expected to moderate through the year

Tempered adjusted EBITDA and margin expansion in Leasing & Advisory

Mitigation:Expected to moderate over the course of the year.

What to watch in Q2 FY26

Property Management contract churn completion

By year-end FY26

Current Nearly 60% of targeted Asia Pacific contracts exited/repositioned.

Target Process wrapped up, headwind offset by Americas growth.

Why it matters

Completion of this transformation is key to stabilizing and growing Property Management segment profitability.

One of the things that we pleasantly -- that pleasantly surprised us as we got into that process was that many clients were actually interested in renegotiating terms of those contracts, which we view as a win. And so the upside is that, obviously, the outcome for us is better, but it's taking a bit longer to cycle through those and we expect that to go through the end of the year at this point.

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Q&A highlights

Is the full-year guidance for leasing and capital markets conservative, given strong Q1, or does it imply a return to normalized growth rates?

Kelly Howe stated that guidance reflects a range of scenarios, with Q1 trending towards the high end. The outlook for leasing and capital markets is in line with long-term expectations, but the back half faces tough comparables from strong prior-year quarters. Macroeconomic fluidity limits late-year visibility, and potential impacts from geopolitical events are factored into the guidance range.

“Our guidance obviously reflects a range of scenarios, as I noted. We are, at this point, trending towards the high end of our guidance. As it relates to leasing and capital markets, our outlook is roughly in line with where we would expect growth rates to be over a longer-term period in line with what we articulated at Investor Day.”

asked by Anthony Paolone · answered by Kelly Howe

3 min read 6 chapters

Detailed narrative

Accelerate 2030 Strategy Underway

JLL introduced its Accelerate 2030 strategy at an investor briefing in March, outlining long-term financial targets and an approach to advanced value creation. This strategy is built on a decade of progress, resulting in a resilient foundation, strong financial profile, and unique structural advantages, including scale in complex markets, balance sheet strength, and investments in proprietary data and AI.

The company aims to drive synergistic scale, increase resiliency, and deliver compelling value creation through this strategy.

Strategic Investments in LaSalle and Decarbonization Fund

JLL is strategically investing in its Investment Management business, LaSalle, to accelerate growth of its resilient revenue base and generate synergies with the broader JLL portfolio. This includes a EUR 100 million incremental investment in the LaSalle Encore+ Fund, a flagship European product, to support its next phase of growth.

LaSalle also launched a global decarbonization fund (LPPF) with an initial size of EUR 300 million, which will focus on retrofit-led approaches for vacant buildings and ground-up developments to address the scarcity of high-quality, energy-efficient properties.

Leveraging Data and AI Advantage

JLL emphasizes its decade-long investment in technology and a proprietary data platform, which it believes is industry-leading. The company reports a 75% adoption rate across its core enablement products and 25,000 employees using enterprise AI applications daily, representing a 60% year-over-year increase.

Management views AI as a significant tailwind, enhancing productivity and market share, and does not foresee disintermediation risks due to its rich data platform and strong brand reputation in areas like valuation.

Property Management Business Transformation

The company is progressing with the transformation of its property management business, having strategically exited or repositioned nearly 60% of targeted contracts in Asia Pacific. While this has led to a mid-single-digit decline in management fees, a portion of these contracts have been successfully renegotiated to more attractive terms, extending the timeline for completion to year-end.

The financial impact of this contract churn is expected to be largely offset by healthy core business growth and new client wins in the Americas.

Disciplined Capital Allocation

JLL's capital deployment priorities remain focused on driving organic growth and productivity across business lines, weighted to areas with the highest return on capital and long-term growth potential. Acquisition pursuits are focused on augmenting organic initiatives, enriching capabilities, and deepening client relationships.

The company repurchased $300 million of shares in Q1, including a $200 million accelerated share repurchase, reflecting its commitment to returning capital to shareholders and confidence in its valuation. The share repurchase authorization was increased by 275% to $3 billion.

Geopolitical Impact and Macro Outlook

JLL's business in the Middle East represents a low single-digit percentage of revenue, and the ongoing conflict has had no material commercial impact on consolidated results to date. However, the company is taking a conservative approach to leverage and monitoring first and second-order risks globally.

Management noted that a prolonged conflict could lead to higher energy prices and broader economic headwinds, particularly in energy-dependent regions outside the U.S., potentially limiting late-year visibility for economically sensitive businesses.

Summary of the company's earnings call; see how call summaries are prepared. Not investment advice.