BGC Group, Inc. - Quarter Report: 2019 March (Form 10-Q)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

For the Quarterly Period Ended March 31, 2019

OR

Commission File Numbers: 0-28191

BGC Partners, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(212) 610-2200

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    ☒  Yes     ☐  No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).    ☒  Yes    ☐  No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.    ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    ☐  Yes    ☒  No

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

On May 6, 2019, the registrant had 295,005,663 shares of Class A common stock, $0.01 par value, and 45,884,380 shares of Class B common stock, $0.01 par value, outstanding.

BGC PARTNERS, INC.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SPECIAL NOTE ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (“Form 10-Q”) contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, which we refer to as the “Securities Act,” and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which we refer to as the “Exchange Act.” Such statements are based upon current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. For example, words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “possible,” “potential,” “continue,” “strategy,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” “intends,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

Our actual results and the outcome and timing of certain events may differ significantly from the expectations discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause or contribute to such a discrepancy include, but are not limited to, the factors set forth below:

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The foregoing risks and uncertainties, as well as those risks and uncertainties set forth in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, may cause actual results and events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. The information included herein is given as of the filing date of this Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and future results or events could differ significantly from these forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

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WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. These filings are available to the public from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Our website address is www.bgcpartners.com. Through our website, we make available, free of charge, the following documents as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC: our Annual Reports on Form 10-K; our proxy statements for our annual and special stockholder meetings; our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q; our Current Reports on Form 8-K; Forms 3, 4 and 5 and Schedules 13D with respect to our securities filed on behalf of Cantor, CF Group Management, Inc. (“CFGM”), our directors and our executive officers; and amendments to those documents. Our website also contains additional information with respect to our industry and businesses. The information contained on, or that may be accessed through, our website is not part of, and is not incorporated into, this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

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PART I—FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ITEM 1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

BGC PARTNERS, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION

(in thousands, except per share data)

(unaudited)

The accompanying Notes to the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

are an integral part of these financial statements.

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BGC PARTNERS, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(in thousands, except per share data)

(unaudited)

The accompanying Notes to the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

are an integral part of these financial statements.

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BGC PARTNERS, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)

(in thousands)

(unaudited)

The accompanying Notes to the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

are an integral part of these financial statements.

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BGC PARTNERS, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(in thousands)

(unaudited)

The accompanying Notes to the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

are an integral part of these financial statements.

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BGC PARTNERS, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS—(Continued)

(in thousands)

(unaudited)

The accompanying Notes to the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

are an integral part of these financial statements.

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BGC PARTNERS, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2019

(in thousands, except share amounts)

(unaudited)

The accompanying Notes to the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements are an integral part of these financial statements.

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BGC PARTNERS, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2018

(in thousands, except share amounts)

(unaudited)

The accompanying Notes to the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements are an integral part of these financial statements.

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BGC PARTNERS, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(unaudited)

Business Overview

BGC Partners, Inc. (together with its subsidiaries, “BGC Partners,” “BGC” or the “Company”) is a leading global brokerage and financial technology company servicing the global financial markets. Through the Company’s financial service brands, including BGC, GFI, Sunrise Brokers, Besso, Ed Broking, Poten & Partners and R.P. Martin, among others, the Company specializes in the brokerage of a broad range of products, including fixed income (rates and credit), foreign exchange, equities, energy and commodities, insurance, and futures. It also provides a wide range of services, including trade execution, broker-dealer services, clearing, trade compression, post trade, information, and other back-office services to a broad range of financial and non-financial institutions. BGC Partners’ integrated platform is designed to provide flexibility to customers with regards to price discovery, execution and processing of transactions, and enables them to use voice, hybrid, or in many markets, fully electronic brokerage services in connection with transactions executed either over-the-counter (“OTC”) or through an exchange. Through the Company’s electronic brands including Fenics, BGC Trader, CreditMatch, Fenics Market Data, BGC Market Data, kACE2, EMBonds, Capitalab, Swaptioniser, CBID and Lucera, BGC Partners offers fully electronic brokerage, financial technology solutions, market data, post-trade services and analytics related to financial instruments and markets.

The Company’s customers include many of the world’s largest banks, broker-dealers, investment banks, trading firms, hedge funds, governments, corporations, and investment firms. BGC Partners has dozens of offices globally in major markets including New York and London, as well as in Bahrain, Beijing, Bogotá, Brisbane, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Copenhagen, Dubai, Dublin, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Madrid, Melbourne, Mexico City, Moscow, Nyon, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago, São Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, and Toronto.

Newmark Group, Inc. (which may be referred to as “Newmark” or “NKF”) is a leading commercial real estate services firm. Newmark offers a full suite of services and products for both owners and occupiers across the entire commercial real estate industry. Newmark’s investor/owner services and products include capital markets, which consists of investment sales, debt and structured finance and loan sales, agency leasing, property management, valuation and advisory, diligence and underwriting and government sponsored entity (“GSE”) lending and loan servicing. Newmark’s occupier services and products include tenant representation, real estate management technology systems, workplace and occupancy strategy, global corporate consulting, project management, lease administration and facilities management. Newmark enhances these services and products through innovative real estate technology solutions and data analytics that enable our clients to increase their efficiency and profits. Newmark has relationships with many of the world’s largest commercial property owners, real estate developers and investors, as well as Fortune 500 and Forbes Global 2000 companies.

On November 30, 2018, (the “Distribution Date”), BGC completed its previously announced pro-rata distribution (the “Spin-Off”) to its stockholders of all of the shares of common stock of Newmark owned by BGC Partners as of immediately prior to the effective time of the Spin-Off, with shares of Newmark Class A common stock distributed to the holders of shares of BGC Partners Class A common stock (including directors and executive officers of BGC Partners) of record as of the close of business on November 23, 2018 (the “Record Date”), and shares of Newmark Class B common stock distributed to the holders of shares of BGC Partners Class B common stock (consisting of Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. (“Cantor”) and CF Group Management, Inc. (“CFGM”)) of record as of the close of business on the Record Date. The Spin-Off was effective as of 12:01 a.m., New York City time, on the Distribution Date.

See Note 1—“Organization and Basis of Presentation” to our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K as of December 31, 2018, for further information regarding the transactions related to the IPO and Spin-Off of Newmark. A summary of the key transactions is provided below.

Acquisition of Berkeley Point and Investment in Real Estate LP

On September 8, 2017, the Company and one of its operating partnerships, BGC Partners, L.P., closed (the “Closing”) on the acquisition of Berkeley Point Financial LLC (“Berkeley Point”) pursuant to a Transaction Agreement, dated as of July 17, 2017, with Cantor and certain of Cantor’s affiliates, including Cantor Commercial Real Estate Company, L.P. (“CCRE”) and Cantor Commercial Real Estate Sponsor, L.P., the general partner of CCRE.

Concurrently with the Berkeley Point acquisition, on September 8, 2017, the Company invested $100.0 million in a newly formed commercial real estate-related financial and investment business, CF Real Estate Finance Holdings, L.P. (“Real Estate LP”), which is controlled and managed by Cantor and is accounted for under the equity method. Real Estate LP may conduct activities in any real estate related business or asset-backed securities-related business or any extensions thereof and ancillary activities thereto.

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Separation and Distribution Agreement and Newmark IPO

On December 13, 2017, prior to the closing of the Newmark initial public offering (the “Newmark IPO”), BGC, BGC Holdings, BGC Partners, L.P. (“BGC U.S. OpCo”), Newmark, Newmark Holdings, L.P. (“Newmark Holdings”), Newmark Partners, L.P. (“Newmark OpCo”) and, solely for the provisions listed therein, Cantor and BGC Global Holdings, L.P. (“BGC Global OpCo”) entered into an amended and restated Separation and Distribution Agreement (the “Separation and Distribution Agreement”). The Separation and Distribution Agreement sets forth the agreements among BGC, Cantor, Newmark and their respective subsidiaries regarding, among other things:

On December 15, 2017, Newmark announced the pricing of the Newmark IPO of 20 million shares of Newmark’s Class A common stock at a price to the public of $14.00 per share, which was completed on December 19, 2017. Newmark’s Class A shares began trading on December 15, 2017 on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “NMRK”. In addition, Newmark granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 3 million shares of Newmark’s Class A common stock at the IPO price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. On December 26, 2017, the underwriters of the Newmark IPO exercised in full their overallotment option to purchase an additional 3 million shares of Newmark’s Class A common stock from Newmark at the initial public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commission (the “option”).

As part of the Separation described above, BGC contributed its interests in both Berkeley Point and Real Estate LP to Newmark.

Assumption and repayment of Indebtedness by BGC Group and Newmark Group

In connection with the Separation, on December 13, 2017, Newmark OpCo assumed all of BGC U.S. OpCo’s rights and obligations under the 2042 Promissory Note in relation to the 8.125% Senior Notes and the 2019 Promissory Note in relation to the 5.375% Senior Notes. Newmark repaid the $112.5 million outstanding principal amount under the 2042 Promissory Note on September 5, 2018, and repaid the $300.0 million outstanding principal amount under the 2019 Promissory Note on November 23, 2018. In addition, as part of the Separation, Newmark assumed the obligations of BGC as borrower under the Term Loan and Converted Term Loan.  Newmark repaid the outstanding balance of the Term Loan as of March 31, 2018, and repaid the outstanding balance of the Converted Term Loan as of November 6, 2018. In addition, on March 19, 2018, the Company borrowed $150.0 million under the BGC Credit Agreement from Cantor, and loaned Newmark $150.0 million under the Intercompany Credit Agreement on the same day. All borrowings outstanding under the Intercompany Credit Agreement were repaid as of November 7, 2018. See Note 17—“Notes Payable, Other and Short-Term Borrowings” for a more information on the Company’s long-term debt.

Spin-Off of Newmark

As described above, on November 30, 2018 the Company completed the Spin-Off of Newmark. Based on the number of shares of BGC Partners common stock outstanding as of the close of business on the Record Date, BGC Partners’ stockholders as of the Record Date received in the Spin-Off 0.463895 of a share of Newmark Class A common stock for each share of BGC Partners Class A common stock held as of the Record Date, and 0.463895 of a share of Newmark Class B common stock for each share of BGC Partners Class B common stock held as of the Record Date. No fractional shares of Newmark common stock were distributed in the Spin-Off. Instead, BGC Partners stockholders received cash in lieu of any fraction of a share of Newmark common stock that they otherwise would have received in the Spin-Off.

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In the aggregate, BGC Partners distributed 131,886,409 shares of Newmark Class A common stock and 21,285,537 shares of Newmark Class B common stock to BGC Partners’ stockholders in the Spin-Off. These shares of Newmark common stock collectively represented approximately 94% of the total voting power of the outstanding Newmark common stock and approximately 87% of the total economics of the outstanding Newmark common stock in each case as of the Distribution Date.

On November 30, 2018, BGC Partners also caused its subsidiary, BGC Holdings, to distribute pro-rata (the “BGC Holdings distribution”) all of the 1,458,931 exchangeable limited partnership units of Newmark Holdings held by BGC Holdings immediately prior to the effective time of the BGC Holdings distribution to its limited partners entitled to receive distributions on their BGC Holdings units who were holders as of the Record Date (including Cantor and executive officers of BGC). The Newmark Holdings units distributed to BGC Holdings partners in the BGC Holdings distribution are exchangeable for shares of Newmark Class A common stock, and in the case of the 449,917 Newmark Holdings units received by Cantor also into shares of Newmark Class B common stock, at the current exchange ratio of 0.9558 shares of Newmark common stock per Newmark Holdings unit (subject to adjustment).

Following the Spin-Off and the BGC Holdings distribution, BGC Partners ceased to be a controlling stockholder of Newmark, and BGC Partners and its subsidiaries no longer held any shares of Newmark common stock or other equity interests in Newmark or its subsidiaries. Cantor continues to control Newmark and its subsidiaries following the Spin-Off and the BGC Holdings distribution.

Basis of Presentation

The Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“U.S. GAAP”). The Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the Company’s accounts and all subsidiaries in which the Company has a controlling interest. Intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Certain reclassifications have been made to previously reported amounts to conform to the current presentation.

As of March 31, 2018, the Company changed the line item formerly known as “Long-term debt and collateralized borrowings” to “Notes payable and other borrowings” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of financial condition.  During the year ended December 31, 2018, the Company changed the line item formerly known as “Allocations of net income and grant of exchangeability to limited partnership units and FPUs” to “Allocations of net income and grant of exchangeability to limited partnership units and FPUs and issuance of common stock” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations. Reclassifications have been made to previously reported amounts to conform to the current presentation.

For the three months ended March 31, 2019 the Company has changed the line item formerly known as “Allocations of net income and grant of exchangeability to limited partnership units and FPUs and issuance of common stock” to “Equity-based compensation and allocations of net income to limited partnership units and FPUs” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations and unaudited condensed consolidated statements of cash flows. The change resulted in the reclassification of amortization charges related to equity-based awards such as REUs and RSUs from “Compensation and employee benefits” to “Equity-based compensation and allocations of net income to limited partnership units and FPUs”. This change in presentation had no impact on the Company’s “Total compensation and employee benefits” nor “Total expenses”. Certain reclassifications have been made to previously reported amounts to conform to the current presentation.

“Equity-based compensation and allocations of net income to limited partnership units and FPUs” include the following items:

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The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements contain all normal and recurring adjustments that, in the opinion of management, are necessary for a fair presentation of the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of financial condition, the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations, the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive income (loss), the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of cash flows and the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of changes in equity of the Company for the periods presented.

Discontinued Operations

As described earlier, on November 30, 2018, the Company completed the Spin-Off of Newmark, and distributed to its stockholders all of the Class A common shares and Class B common shares of Newmark that the Company then owned in a manner that is intended to qualify as generally tax-free for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The shares of Class A common stock of Newmark held by the Company were distributed to the holders of shares of Class A common stock of BGC, and shares of Class B common stock of Newmark held by the Company were distributed to the holders of shares of Class B common stock of BGC. Therefore, the Company no longer consolidates Newmark within its financial results subsequent to the Spin-Off.

The Company has determined that the Spin-Off of Newmark met the criteria for reporting the financial results of Newmark as discontinued operations within BGC’s unaudited condensed consolidated results for all periods through the November 30, 2018 Spin-Off date. Newmark’s results are presented in “Consolidated net income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax” and the related noncontrolling interest in Newmark and its subsidiaries is presented in “Net income (loss) from discontinued operations attributable to noncontrolling interest in subsidiaries” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2018. Unless otherwise noted, discussion within these Notes to the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements relates to the Company’s continuing operations. See Note 25—“Discontinued Operations” for more information.

Prior to the Spin-Off of Newmark, the Company’s operations consisted of two reporting segments, Financial Services and Real Estate Services. As a result of the Spin-Off, the Company no longer has distinct reporting segments.

Additionally, the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive income (loss) and unaudited condensed consolidated statements of cash flows have been adjusted to reflect Newmark as discontinued operations for all periods presented.

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which relates to how an entity recognizes the revenue it expects to be entitled to for the transfer of promised goods and services to customers. The ASU replaced certain previously existing revenue recognition guidance. The FASB has subsequently issued several additional amendments to the standard, including ASU No. 2016-08, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Principal versus Agent Considerations (Reporting Revenue Gross versus Net), which clarifies the guidance on principal versus agent analysis based on the notion of control and affects recognition of revenue on a gross or net basis. The Company adopted the new revenue recognition guidance on its required effective date of January 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective transition approach applied to contracts that were not completed as of the adoption date. Accordingly, the new revenue standard is applied prospectively in the Company’s financial statements from January 1, 2018 onward and reported financial information for historical comparable periods is not revised and continues to be reported under the accounting standards in effect during those historical periods. The new revenue recognition guidance does not apply to revenues associated with financial instruments, including loans and securities that are accounted for under other U.S. GAAP, and as a result, it did not have an impact on the elements of the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations most closely associated with financial instruments such as revenues from Principal transactions. As a result, the adoption of the new revenue recognition guidance as of January 1, 2018 did not have a material impact on the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements. Further, the adoption of the new guidance on principal versus agent considerations impacted the Company’s presentation of revenues versus expenses incurred on behalf of customers for certain commissions contracts. The Company concluded that it controls the services provided by a third party on behalf of the customers and, therefore, acts as a principal under those contracts. Accordingly, upon adoption on January 1, 2018 and going forward, for these commissions contracts the Company began to present expenses incurred on behalf of its customers along with a corresponding reimbursement revenue on a gross basis in its consolidated statements of operations, with no impact to net income (loss) available to common stockholders.

In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-01, Financial Instruments—Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities. This ASU requires entities to measure equity investments that do not result in consolidation and are not accounted for under the equity method at fair value and recognize any changes in fair value in net income (loss) unless the investments qualify for the new measurement alternative. The guidance also requires entities to record changes in instrument-specific credit risk for financial liabilities measured under the fair value option in other comprehensive income

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(loss). In February 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-03, Technical Corrections and Improvements to Financial Instruments—Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities, to clarify transition and subsequent accounting for equity investments without a readily determinable fair value, among other aspects of the guidance issued in ASU 2016-01. The amendments in ASU 2018-03 were effective for fiscal years beginning January 1, 2018 and interim periods beginning July 1, 2018. The amendments and technical corrections provided in ASU 2018-03 could be adopted concurrently with ASU 2016-01, which was effective for the Company on January 1, 2018. The Company adopted both ASUs on January 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective approach for equity securities with a readily determinable fair value and the prospective method for equity investments without a readily determinable fair value. As a result, upon transition the Company recognized a cumulative-effect adjustment as a decrease to both retained deficit and accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) and an increase in noncontrolling interest in subsidiaries of approximately $ 2.1 million, $ 2.9 million, and $ 0.8 million, respectively, on a pre-tax basis. The tax effect of the impact of the adoption was an increase to both retained deficit and accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) and a decrease in noncontrolling interest in subsidiaries of approximately $ 0.4 million, $ 0.6 million, and $ 0.2 million, respectively.

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230)—Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments, which makes changes to how cash receipts and cash payments are presented and classified in the statement of cash flows. The new standard became effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2018 and required adoption on a retrospective basis. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of cash flows.

In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230)—Restricted Cash, which requires that the statement of cash flows present the change during the period in the total of cash, cash equivalents and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents. The new standard became effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2018 and required adoption on a retrospective basis. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of cash flows.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-01, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Clarifying the Definition of a Business, which clarifies the definition of a business with the objective of providing additional guidance to assist entities with evaluating whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions (or disposals) of assets or businesses. The standard became effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2018 and is applied on a prospective basis. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

In February 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-05, Other Income—Gains and Losses from the Derecognition of Nonfinancial Assets (Subtopic 610-20): Clarifying the Scope of Asset Derecognition Guidance and Accounting for Partial Sales of Nonfinancial Assets, which clarifies the scope and application of Accounting Standards Codification 610-20, Other Income—Gains and Losses from Derecognition of Nonfinancial Assets, and defines in substance nonfinancial assets. The ASU also impacts the accounting for partial sales of nonfinancial assets (including in substance real estate). Under this guidance, when an entity transfers its controlling interest in a nonfinancial asset but retains a noncontrolling ownership interest, the entity is required to measure the retained interest at fair value, which results in a full gain or loss recognition upon the sale of a controlling interest in a nonfinancial asset. The Company adopted the standard on its required effective date of January 1, 2018. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

In May 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-09, Compensation—Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Scope of Modification Accounting, which amends the scope of modification accounting for share-based payment arrangements and provides guidance on the types of changes to the terms or conditions of share-based payment awards to which an entity would be required to apply modification accounting. Under this guidance, an entity would not apply modification accounting if the fair value, the vesting conditions, and the classification of the awards (as equity or liability) are the same immediately before and after the modification. The new standard was effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2018 on a prospective basis for awards modified on or after the adoption date. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). This standard requires lessees to recognize a right-of-use (“ROU”) asset and lease liability for all leases with terms of more than 12 months. Recognition, measurement and presentation of expenses will depend on classification as a finance or operating lease. The amendments also require certain quantitative and qualitative disclosures. Accounting guidance for lessors is mostly unchanged. In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-10, Codification Improvements to Topic 842, Leases, to clarify how to apply certain aspects of the new leases standard. The amendments address the rate implicit in the lease, impairment of the net investment in the lease, lessee reassessment of lease classification, lessor reassessment of lease term and purchase options, variable payments that depend on an index or rate and certain transition adjustments, among other issues. In addition, in July 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-11, Leases (Topic 842), Targeted Improvements, which provided an additional (and optional) transition method to adopt the new leases standard. Under the new transition method, a reporting entity would initially apply the new lease requirements at the effective date and recognize a cumulative-effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings in

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the period of adoption; continue to report comparative periods presented in the financial statements in the period of adoption in accordance with legacy U.S. GAAP (i.e., ASC 840, Leases); and provide the required disclosures under ASC 840 for all periods presented under legacy U.S. GAAP. Further, ASU 2018-11 contains a practical expedient that allows lessors to avoid separating lease and associated non-lease components within a contract if certain criteria are met. In December 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-20, Leases (Topic 842), Narrow-Scope Improvements for Lessors, to clarify guidance for lessors on sales taxes and other similar taxes collected from lessees, certain lessor costs and recognition of variable payments for contracts with lease and non-lease components. In March 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-01, Leases (Topic 842), Codification Improvements, to clarify certain application and transitional disclosure aspects of the new leases standard. The amendments address determination of the fair value of the underlying asset by lessors that are not manufacturers or dealers and clarify interim period transition disclosure requirements, among other issues. The guidance in ASUs 2016-02, 2018-10, 2018-11 and 2018-20 was effective beginning January 1, 2019, with early adoption permitted; whereas the guidance in ASU 2019-01 is effective beginning January 1, 2020, with early adoption permitted. The Company adopted the abovementioned standards on January 1, 2019 using the effective date as the date of initial application. Therefore, pursuant to this transition method financial information was not updated and the disclosures required under the new leases standards were not provided for dates and periods before January 1, 2019. The new guidance provides a number of optional practical expedients to be utilized by lessees upon transition. Accordingly, BGC elected the ‘package of practical expedients,’ which permitted the Company not to reassess under the new standard its prior conclusions about lease identification, lease classification and initial direct costs. BGC did not elect the use-of-hindsight or the practical expedient pertaining to land easements, with the latter not being applicable to the Company. The new standard also provides practical expedients for an entity’s ongoing accounting as a lessee. BGC elected the short-term lease recognition exemption for all leases that qualify. This means, for those leases that qualify, the Company will not recognize ROU assets and lease liabilities, and this includes not recognizing ROU assets and lease liabilities for existing short-term leases of those assets upon transition. The Company also elected the practical expedient to not separate lease and non-lease components for all of leases other than leases of real estate.  As a result upon adoption, acting primarily as a lessee, BGC recognized an approximately $192.4 million ROU asset and an approximately $206.0 million lease liability on its unaudited condensed consolidated statements of financial condition for its real estate and equipment operating leases. The adoption of the new guidance did not have an impact on the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations, unaudited condensed consolidated statements of changes in equity and unaudited condensed consolidated statements of cash flows. See Note 24 —“Leases” for additional information on the Company’s leasing arrangements.

In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities. The guidance intends to better align an entity’s risk management activities and financial reporting for hedging relationships through changes to both the designation and measurement guidance for qualifying hedging relationships and the presentation of hedge results. To meet that objective, the amendments expand and refine hedge accounting for both nonfinancial and financial risk components and align the recognition and presentation of the effects of the hedging instrument and the hedged item in the financial statements. In October 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-16, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Inclusion of the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) Overnight Index Swap (OIS) Rate as a Benchmark Interest Rate for Hedge Accounting Purposes. Based on concerns about the sustainability of LIBOR, in 2017, a committee convened by the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York identified a broad Treasury repurchase agreement (repo) financing rate referred to as the SOFR as its preferred alternative reference rate. The guidance in ASU No. 2018-16 adds the OIS rate based on SOFR as a U.S. benchmark interest rate to facilitate the LIBOR to SOFR transition and provide sufficient lead time for entities to prepare for changes to interest rate risk hedging strategies for both risk management and hedge accounting purposes. The amendments in this ASU were required to be adopted concurrently with the guidance in ASU No. 2017-12. The new guidance became effective for the Company on January 1, 2019 and was required to be applied on a prospective and modified retrospective basis. The adoption of this new guidance did not have a material impact on BGC’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

In February 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-02, Income Statement—Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income. The guidance helps organizations address certain stranded income tax effects in accumulated other comprehensive income resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act by providing an option to reclassify these stranded tax effects to retained earnings in each period in which the effect of the change in the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (or portion thereof) is recorded. The new standard became effective for BGC on January 1, 2019. The guidance was required to be applied either in the period of adoption or retrospectively to each period (or periods) in which the effect of the change in the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is recognized. The Company adopted the new guidance starting on January 1, 2019. The adoption of the new standard did not have an impact on the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-07, Compensation—Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting. The guidance largely aligns the accounting for share-based payment awards issued to employees and nonemployees, whereby the existing employee guidance will apply to nonemployee share-based transactions (as long as the transaction is not effectively a form of financing), with the exception of specific guidance related to the attribution of compensation cost. The cost of nonemployee awards will continue to be recorded as if the grantor had paid cash for the goods or services. In addition, the contractual term will be able to be used in lieu of an expected term in the option-pricing model for nonemployee awards. The new standard became effective for the Company on January 1, 2019. The ASU was required to be applied on a prospective basis

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to all new awards granted after the date of adoption. In addition, any liability-classified awards that were not settled and equity-classified awards for which a measurement date had not been established by the adoption date were remeasured at fair value as of the adoption date with a cumulative effect adjustment to opening retained earnings in the year of adoption. BGC adopted this standard on its effective date. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

New Accounting Pronouncements

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326)—Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which requires financial assets that are measured at amortized cost to be presented, net of an allowance for credit losses, at the amount expected to be collected over their estimated life. Expected credit losses for newly recognized financial assets, as well as changes to credit losses during the period, are recognized in earnings. For certain purchased financial assets with deterioration in credit quality since origination, the initial allowance for expected credit losses will be recorded as an increase to the purchase price. Expected credit losses, including losses on off-balance-sheet exposures such as lending commitments, will be measured based on historical experience, current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts that affect the collectability of the reported amount. The new standard will become effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2020, under a modified retrospective approach, and early adoption is permitted. In November 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-19, Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses, to clarify that operating lease receivables accounted for under ASC 842, Leases, are not in the scope of the new credit losses guidance, and, instead, impairment of receivables arising from operating leases should be accounted for in accordance with ASC 842, Leases. The amendments in this ASU are required to be adopted concurrently with the guidance in ASU No. 2016-13. Management is currently evaluating the impact of the new guidance on the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements. Given the objective of the new standard, it is generally expected allowances for credit losses for the financial instruments within its scope would increase, however, the amount of any change will be dependent on the composition and quality of the Company’s portfolios at the adoption date as well as economic conditions and forecasts at that time.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment, which eliminates the requirement to determine the fair value of individual assets and liabilities of a reporting unit to measure goodwill impairment. Under the amendments in the new ASU, goodwill impairment testing will be performed by comparing the fair value of the reporting unit with its carrying amount and recognizing an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value. The new standard will become effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2020 and will be applied on a prospective basis, and early adoption is permitted. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework—Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement. The guidance is part of the FASB’s disclosure framework project, whose objective and primary focus are to improve the effectiveness of disclosures in the notes to financial statements. The ASU eliminates, amends and adds certain disclosure requirements for fair value measurements. The FASB concluded that these changes improve the overall usefulness of the footnote disclosures for financial statement users and reduce costs for preparers. The new standard will become effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2020 and early adoption is permitted for eliminated and modified fair value measurement disclosures. Certain disclosures are required to be applied prospectively and other disclosures need to be adopted retrospectively in the period of adoption. As permitted by the transition guidance in the ASU, the Company early adopted, eliminated and modified disclosure requirements as of September 30, 2018 and plans to adopt the remaining disclosure requirements effective January 1, 2020. The early adoption of this standard did not impact the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements. See Note 12—“Fair Value of Financial Assets and Liabilities” for additional information.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-15, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other—Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Customer’s Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service Contract (a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force). The guidance on the accounting for implementation, setup, and other upfront costs (collectively referred to as implementation costs) applies to entities that are a customer in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract. The amendments align the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software (and hosting arrangements that include an internal-use software license). The accounting for the service element of a hosting arrangement that is a service contract is not affected by the guidance in this ASU. The new standard will become effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2020, should be applied either retrospectively or prospectively to all implementation costs incurred after the date of adoption, and early adoption is permitted. Management is currently evaluating the impact of the new guidance on the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

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In October 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-17, Consolidation (Topic 810): Targeted Improvements to Related Party Guidance for Variable Interest Entities (“VIE”). The guidance was issued in response to stakeholders’ observations that Topic 810, Consolidation, could be improved in the areas of applying the variable interest entity guidance to private companies under common control and in considering indirect interests held through related parties under common control for determining whether fees paid to decision makers and service providers are variable interests. The new standard will become effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2020, with early adoption permitted, and must be applied retrospectively with a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings at the beginning of the earliest period presented. Management is currently evaluating the impact of the new guidance on determining whether a decision-making fee is a variable interest on the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

BGC Partners is a holding company with no direct operations and conducts substantially all of its operations through its operating subsidiaries. Virtually all of the Company’s consolidated net assets and net income are those of consolidated variable interest entities. BGC Holdings is a consolidated subsidiary of the Company for which the Company is the general partner. The Company and BGC Holdings jointly own BGC U.S. OpCo and BGC Global OpCo, the two operating partnerships. In addition, Newmark Holdings is a consolidated subsidiary of Newmark for which Newmark is the general partner. Newmark and Newmark Holdings jointly own Newmark OpCo, the operating partnership. Listed below are the limited partnership interests in BGC Holdings and Newmark Holdings. The founding/working partner units, limited partnership units and limited partnership interests held by Cantor (“Cantor units”), each as described below, collectively represent all of the “limited partnership interests” in BGC Holdings and Newmark Holdings.

Immediately prior to the completion of the Newmark IPO, the Company entered into the Separation and Distribution Agreement with Cantor, Newmark, Newmark Holdings, Newmark OpCo, BGC Holdings, BGC U.S. OpCo, and BGC Global OpCo. As a result of the Separation and Distribution Agreement, the limited partnership interests in Newmark Holdings were distributed to the holders of limited partnership interests in BGC Holdings, whereby each holder of BGC Holdings limited partnership interests at that time held a BGC Holdings limited partnership interest and a corresponding Newmark Holdings limited partnership interest, which was equal to a BGC Holdings limited partnership interest multiplied by one divided by 2.2 (the “contribution ratio”), divided by the exchange ratio (which is the ratio by which a Newmark Holdings limited partnership interest can be exchanged for a number of Newmark Class A common stock (the “exchange ratio”)). Initially, the exchange ratio equaled one, so that each Newmark Holdings limited partnership interest was exchangeable for one Newmark Class A common stock. For reinvestment, acquisition or other purposes, Newmark may determine on a quarterly basis to distribute to its stockholders a smaller percentage than Newmark Holdings distributes to its equity holders (excluding tax distributions from Newmark Holdings) of cash that it received from Newmark OpCo. In such circumstances, the Separation and Distribution Agreement provides that the exchange ratio will be reduced to reflect the amount of additional cash retained by Newmark as a result of the distribution of such smaller percentage, after the payment of taxes. The exchange ratio as of March 31, 2019 equaled 0.9558.

Founding/Working Partner Units

Founding/working partners have a limited partnership interest in BGC Holdings and Newmark Holdings. The Company accounts for founding/working partner units (“FPUs”) outside of permanent capital, as “Redeemable partnership interest,” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of financial condition. This classification is applicable to founding/working partner units because these units are redeemable upon termination of a partner, including a termination of employment, which can be at the option of the partner and not within the control of the issuer.

Founding/working partner units are held by limited partners who are employees and generally receive quarterly allocations of net income. Upon termination of employment or otherwise ceasing to provide substantive services, the founding/working partner units are generally redeemed, and the unit holders are no longer entitled to participate in the quarterly allocations of net income. Since these allocations of net income are cash distributed on a quarterly basis and are contingent upon services being provided by the unit holder, they are reflected as a component of compensation expense under “Equity-based compensation and allocations of net income to limited partnership units and FPUs” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations.

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Limited Partnership Units

Certain employees hold limited partnership interests in BGC Holdings and Newmark Holdings (e.g., REUs, RPUs, PSUs, PSIs, and LPUs, collectively the “limited partnership units”). Prior to the Separation and Distribution Agreement, certain employees of both BGC and Newmark received limited partnership units in BGC Holdings. As a result of the Separation and Distribution Agreement, these employees were distributed limited partnership units in Newmark Holdings equal to a BGC Holdings limited partnership unit multiplied by the contribution ratio. Subsequent to the Separation and Distribution Agreement, BGC employees only receive limited partnership units in BGC Holdings and Newmark employees only receive limited partnership units in Newmark Holdings.

Generally, such limited partnership units receive quarterly allocations of net income, which are cash distributed and generally are contingent upon services being provided by the unit holders. As prescribed in U.S. GAAP guidance, prior to the Spin-Off of Newmark, the quarterly allocations of net income on BGC Holdings limited partnership units held by all employees and the quarterly allocations of net income on Newmark Holdings limited partnership units held by BGC employees are reflected as a component of compensation expense under “Equity-based compensation and allocations of net income to limited partnership units and FPUs” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations. In addition, prior to the Spin-Off of Newmark, the quarterly allocation of net income on such limited partnership units in Newmark Holdings held by Newmark employees are reflected as a component of “Consolidated net income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations. Following the Spin-Off of Newmark, the quarterly allocations of net income on BGC Holdings and Newmark Holdings limited partnership units held by BGC employees are reflected as a component of compensation expense under “Equity-based compensation and allocations of net income to limited partnership units and FPUs” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations, and the quarterly allocations of net income on BGC Holdings limited partnership units held by Newmark employees are reflected as a component of “Net income (loss) from continuing operations attributable to noncontrolling interest in subsidiaries” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations. From time to time, the Company issues limited partnership units as part of the consideration for acquisitions.

Certain of these limited partnership units in BGC Holdings and Newmark Holdings entitle the holders to receive post-termination payments equal to the notional amount of the units in four equal yearly installments after the holder’s termination. These limited partnership units held by BGC employees are accounted for as post-termination liability awards, and in accordance with U.S. GAAP guidance, the Company records compensation expense for the awards based on the change in value at each reporting date in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations as part of “Compensation and employee benefits.”

The Company has also awarded certain preferred partnership units (“Preferred Units”). Each quarter, the net profits of BGC Holdings and Newmark Holdings are allocated to such units at a rate of either 0.6875% (which is 2.75% per calendar year) or such other amount as set forth in the award documentation (the “Preferred Distribution”). These allocations are deducted before the calculation and distribution of the quarterly partnership distribution for the remaining partnership units and are generally contingent upon services being provided by the unit holder. The Preferred Units are not entitled to participate in partnership distributions other than with respect to the Preferred Distribution. Preferred Units may not be made exchangeable into the Company’s Class A common stock and are only entitled to the Preferred Distribution, and accordingly they are not included in the Company’s fully diluted share count. The quarterly allocations of net income on Preferred Units are reflected the same as the limited partnership units described above in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations. After deduction of the Preferred Distribution, the remaining partnership units generally receive quarterly allocations of net income based on their weighted-average pro rata share of economic ownership of the operating subsidiaries.

Cantor Units

Cantor holds limited partnership interests in BGC Holdings. Cantor units are reflected as a component of “Noncontrolling interest in subsidiaries” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of financial condition. Cantor receives allocations of net income (loss), which are cash distributed on a quarterly basis and are reflected as a component of “Net income (loss) from continuing operations attributable to noncontrolling interest in subsidiaries” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations. In addition, Cantor holds limited partnership interests in Newmark Holdings, which was reflected as a component of “Noncontrolling interest in subsidiaries” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of financial condition until the Spin-Off of Newmark. The allocations of net income (loss) Cantor received for its interests in Newmark Holdings, which are cash distributed on a quarterly basis, was reflected as a component of “Net income (loss) from discontinued operations attributable to noncontrolling interest in subsidiaries” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations until the Spin Off of Newmark.

General

Certain of the limited partnership interests, described above, have been granted exchangeability into BGC Class A common stock, and additional limited partnership interests may become exchangeable for BGC and/or Newmark Class A common stock. In

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addition, certain limited partnership interests have been granted the right to exchange into another partnership unit with a capital account (HDUs). HDUs have a stated capital account which is initially based on the closing trading price of Class A common stock at the time the HDU is issued. HDUs participate in quarterly partnership distributions and are not exchangeable into shares of Class A common stock unless such exchange rights are granted. Limited partnership interests held by Cantor in BGC Holdings are generally exchangeable for up to 23.6 million shares of BGC Class B common stock. Prior to the Newmark IPO, BGC Holdings limited partnership interests could become exchangeable for a BGC Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis (subject to adjustment). Following the Newmark IPO and prior to the Spin-Off of Newmark on November 30, 2018, in order for a partner or Cantor to exchange a limited partnership interest in BGC Holdings or Newmark Holdings into a Class A or Class B common stock of BGC, such partner or Cantor was required to exchange both one BGC Holdings limited partnership interest and a number of Newmark Holdings limited partnership interest equal to a BGC Holdings limited partnership interest multiplied by the quotient obtained by dividing Newmark Class A and Class B common stock, Newmark OpCo interests, and Newmark Holdings limited partnership interests held by BGC as of such time by the number of BGC Class A and Class B common stock outstanding as of such time (the “distribution ratio”), divided by the exchange ratio. Because the paired limited partnership interests are included in the Company’s fully diluted share count, if dilutive, any exchange of limited partnership interests into BGC Class A or Class B common shares would not impact the fully diluted number of shares and units outstanding. Because these limited partnership interests generally receive quarterly allocations of net income, such exchange would have no significant impact on the cash flows or equity of the Company. Initially the distribution ratio was equivalent to the contribution ratio (one divided by 2.2 or 0.4545), and at the time of the Spin-Off, the distribution ratio equaled 0.463895. As a result of the change in the distribution ratio, certain BGC Holdings limited partnership interests no longer had a corresponding Newmark Holdings limited partnership interest.  The exchangeability of these BGC Holdings limited partnership interests along with any new BGC Holdings limited partnership interests issued after the Separation and Distribution Agreement (together referred to as “standalone”) into BGC Class A or Class B common stock was contingent upon the Spin-Off. Following the Spin-Off of Newmark, on November 30, 2018, a partner or Cantor is no longer required to have paired BGC Holdings and Newmark Holdings limited partnership interests to exchange into BGC Class A or Class B common stock. Subsequent to the Spin-Off, limited partnership interests in BGC Holdings held by a partner or Cantor may become exchangeable for BGC Class A or Class B common stock on a one-for-one basis, and limited partnership interests in Newmark Holdings held by a partner of Cantor may become exchangeable for a number of Newmark Class A or Class B common stock equal to the number of limited partnership interests multiplied by the then exchange ratio. Therefore, these standalone BGC limited partnership interests which were previously excluded from the Company’s fully diluted number of shares and units outstanding, are now included in the Company’s fully diluted number of shares and units outstanding.

Each quarter, net income (loss) is allocated between the limited partnership interests and the common stockholders. In quarterly periods in which the Company has a net loss, the loss allocation for FPUs, limited partnership units and Cantor units in BGC Holdings is allocated to Cantor and reflected as a component of “Net income (loss) from continuing operations attributable to noncontrolling interest in subsidiaries” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations. In subsequent quarters in which the Company has net income, the initial allocation of income to the limited partnership interests in BGC Holdings is to “Net income (loss) from continuing operations attributable to noncontrolling interests in subsidiaries,” to recover any losses taken in earlier quarters, with the remaining income allocated to the limited partnership interests. This income (loss) allocation process has no impact on the net income (loss) allocated to common stockholders. In addition, in quarterly periods in which Newmark has a net loss, the loss allocation for FPUs, limited partnership units and Cantor units in Newmark Holdings is allocated to Cantor. In subsequent quarters in which Newmark has net income, the initial allocation of income to limited partnership interests in Newmark Holdings is allocated to Cantor to recover any losses taken in earlier quarters, with the remaining income allocated to the limited partnership interests.  These allocations to Cantor on Newmark have no impact to BGC’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations following the Spin-Off of Newmark.  

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For a detailed discussion about the Company’s significant accounting policies, see Note 3—“Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” in our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018. Other than the following, during the three months ended March 31, 2019, there were no significant changes made to the Company’s significant accounting policies.

Leases:

BGC Partners enters into leasing arrangements in the ordinary course of business as a lessee of office space, data centers and office equipment.

The accounting policies described below were updated pursuant to the adoption of the new U.S. GAAP standard on Leases and related amendments on January 1, 2019. These policy updates have been applied prospectively in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements from January 1, 2019 onward. Financial information for the historical comparable periods was not revised and continues to be reported under the previous accounting guidance on leases in effect during those historical periods.

BGC determines whether an arrangement is a lease at inception. ROU lease assets represent the Company’s right to use an underlying asset for the lease term, and lease liabilities represent BGC’s obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Other than for leases with an initial term of twelve months or less, operating lease ROU assets and liabilities are recognized at commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. As most leases do not provide an implicit rate, the Company uses an incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. The operating lease ROU asset also includes any lease payments made and excludes lease incentives. Lease terms may include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that BGC will exercise those options. Lease expense pertaining to operating leases is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Refer to Note 24—“Leases” for additional information.

Poten & Partners Group

On November 15, 2018, the Company completed the acquisition of Poten & Partners Group, Inc. (“Poten”), a leading ship brokerage, consulting and business intelligence firm specializing in liquefied natural gas, tanker and liquefied petroleum gas markets.

Ed Broking Group Limited

On January 31, 2019, the Company completed the acquisition of Ed Broking Group Limited ("Ed"), an independent Lloyd's of London insurance broker with a number of insurance products including accident and health, aerospace, cargo, energy, financial and political risks, marine, professional and executive risk, property and casualty, specialty and reinsurance.

Other Acquisitions

During the three months ended March 31, 2019 and the year ended December 31, 2018, the Company completed several smaller acquisitions. The aggregate consideration paid for these acquisitions was not material to the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

Total Consideration

The total consideration for all acquisitions during the three months ended March 31, 2019 was approximately $102.3 million in total fair value comprised of cash, restricted shares of the Company’s Class A common stock, and RSUs. The excess of the consideration over the fair value of the net assets acquired has been recorded as goodwill of approximately $55.9 million.

The total consideration for acquisitions during the year ended December 31, 2018 was approximately $94.2 million in total fair value, comprised of cash, shares of the Company’s Class A common stock and limited partnership units of BGC Holdings, of which $18.0 million may be issued contingent on certain targets being met through 2021. The excess of the consideration over the fair value of the net assets acquired has been recorded as goodwill of approximately $39.7 million. During the three months ended March 31, 2019, the Company recorded measurement period adjustments of approximately $1.1 million to reduce this goodwill figure.

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The results of operations of the Company’s acquisitions have been included in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements subsequent to their respective dates of acquisition. The Company has made preliminary allocations of the consideration to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed as of the acquisition dates, and expects to finalize its analysis with respect to acquisitions within the first year after the completion of the respective transactions. Therefore, adjustments to preliminary allocations may occur.

U.S. GAAP guidance on Earnings Per Share (“EPS”) establishes standards for computing and presenting EPS. Basic EPS excludes dilution and is computed by dividing net income (loss) available to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding and contingent shares for which all necessary conditions have been satisfied except for the passage of time. Net income (loss) is allocated to the Company’s outstanding common stock, FPUs, limited partnership units and Cantor units (see Note 2—“Limited Partnership Interests in BGC Holdings and Newmark Holdings”).

Basic Earnings Per Share:

The following is the calculation of the Company’s basic EPS from continuing and discontinued operations (in thousands, except per share data):

Fully Diluted Earnings Per Share:

Fully diluted EPS is calculated utilizing net income (loss) available to common stockholders plus net income allocations to the limited partnership interests as the numerator. The denominator comprises of the Company’s weighted-average number of outstanding BGC shares of common stock and, if dilutive, the weighted-average number of limited partnership interests and other contracts to issue shares of BGC common stock, including RSUs. The limited partnership interests generally are potentially exchangeable into shares of BGC Class A common stock (see Note 2—“Limited Partnership Interests in BGC Holdings and Newmark Holdings”) and are entitled to remaining earnings after the deduction for the Preferred Distribution; as a result, they are included in the fully diluted EPS computation to the extent that the effect would be dilutive.

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Continuing Operations

The following is the calculation of the Company’s fully diluted EPS from continuing operations (in thousands, except per share data):

For the three months ended March 31, 2019, approximately 0.4 million potentially dilutive securities were excluded from the computation of fully diluted EPS from continuing operations, for being anti-dilutive. For the three months ended March 31, 2018, there were no potentially dilutive securities excluded from the computation of fully diluted EPS from continuing operations, for being anti-dilutive.

Discontinued Operations

The following is the calculation of the Company’s fully diluted EPS from discontinued operations (in thousands, except per share data):

For the three months ended March 31, 2018, there were no potentially dilutive securities excluded from the computation of fully diluted EPS from discontinued operations, for being anti-dilutive.

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For the three months ended March 31, 2019 there were no standalone BGC Holdings partnership units excluded from the fully diluted EPS weighted-average computation from continuing and discontinued operations. For the three months ended March 31, 2018, there were 5.5 million of standalone BGC Holdings partnership units excluded from the fully diluted EPS weighted-average computation from continuing and discontinued operations because the conversion into Class A common stock was contingent on the Newmark Spin-Off (see Note 2—“Limited Partnership Interests in BGC Holdings and Newmark Holdings” for further information on standalone BGC Holdings partnership units). Additionally, as of March 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, approximately 1.4 million and 3.1 million shares of contingent Class A common stock and limited partnership units were excluded from the fully diluted EPS computations from continuing and discontinued operations because the conditions for issuance had not been met by the end of the respective periods.

Class A Common Stock

Changes in shares of the Company’s Class A common stock outstanding for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018 were as follows: