CBRE GROUP, INC. - Annual Report: 2015 (Form 10-K)

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)

OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015

Commission File Number 001 - 32205

CBRE GROUP, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(213) 613-3333

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

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

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

N.A.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.    Yes  ¨    No  x

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  x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted 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 and post such files).    Yes  x    No  ¨.

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to the Form 10-K.  x

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

Large accelerated filer x    Accelerated filer ¨   Non-accelerated filer ¨   Smaller reporting company ¨

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

As of June 30, 2015, the aggregate market value of Class A Common Stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was $12.3 billion based upon the last sales price on June 30, 2015 on the New York Stock Exchange of $37.00 for the registrant’s Class A Common Stock.

As of February 12, 2016, the number of shares of Class A Common Stock outstanding was 334,240,869.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the proxy statement for the registrant’s 2016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held May 13, 2016 are incorporated by reference in Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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CBRE GROUP, INC.

ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K

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PART I

Item 1. Business

Company Overview

CBRE Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation, (which may be referred to in this Form 10-K as the “company,” “we,” “us” and “our”), is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm, based on 2015 revenue, with leading full-service operations in major metropolitan areas throughout the world. We offer a full range of services to occupiers, owners, lenders and investors in office, retail, industrial, multifamily and other types of commercial real estate. As of December 31, 2015, excluding independent affiliates, we operated in more than 400 offices worldwide, with more than 70,000 employees providing commercial real estate services under the “CBRE” brand name, investment management services under the “CBRE Global Investors” brand name and development services under the “Trammell Crow Company” brand name.

Our business is focused on several competencies, including commercial property, corporate facilities, project and transaction management, tenant/occupier and property/agency leasing, capital markets solutions (property sales, commercial mortgage origination, sales and servicing, and structured finance), real estate investment management, valuation, development services and proprietary research. We generate revenues from both management fees (large multi-year portfolio and per-project contracts) and from commissions on transactions. Our contractual, fee-for-services businesses generally involve property and facilities management, mortgage loan servicing, investment management and appraisal/valuation. In addition, our leasing services have contractual elements and work for clients in this service line is often recurring in nature. Our revenue mix has shifted in recent years toward more contractual revenue as occupiers and investors increasingly prefer to purchase integrated, account-based services from firms that meet their broad needs in local markets nationally and globally. We believe we are well-positioned to capture a growing share of this business.

In 2015, we generated revenue from a well-balanced, highly diversified base of clients, including more than 90 of the Fortune 100 companies. We have been included in the Fortune 500 since 2008 and among the Fortune Most Admired Companies in the real estate sector for four consecutive years. In 2015, we were ranked second among all companies on the Barron’s 500, which evaluates companies on growth and financial performance. Additionally, the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) has ranked us among the top few outsourcing service providers across all industries for five consecutive years.

CBRE History

CBRE marked its 109th year of continuous operations in 2015, tracing our origins to a company founded in San Francisco in the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake. Since then, we have grown into the largest global commercial real estate services and investment firm (in terms of 2015 revenue) through organic growth and a series of strategic acquisitions. Among these acquisitions are the purchases of Trammell Crow Company (December 2006); ING Group N.V.’s Real Estate Investment Management (REIM) operations in Europe and Asia (October 2011) and its U.S.-based global real estate listed securities business (July 2011); and Norland Managed Services Ltd (December 2013). In addition, CBRE acquired the Global Workplace Solutions (GWS) business from Johnson Controls, Inc. in September 2015. GWS is a leading provider of enterprise facilities management services worldwide.

Our Regions of Operation and Principal Services

CBRE Group, Inc. is a holding company that conducts all of its operations through its indirect subsidiaries. CBRE Services, Inc., our direct wholly-owned subsidiary, is also generally a holding company and is the primary obligor or issuer with respect to most of our long-term indebtedness.

We report our operations through the following segments: (1) Americas; (2) Europe, Middle East and Africa, or EMEA; (3) Asia Pacific; (4) Global Investment Management; and (5) Development Services.

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Information regarding revenue and operating income or loss, attributable to each of our segments, is included in “Segment Operations” within the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” section and within Note 18 of our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which are incorporated herein by reference. Information concerning the identifiable assets of each of our business segments is also set forth in Note 18 of our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which is incorporated herein by reference.

The Americas

The Americas is our largest reporting segment, comprised of operations throughout the United States and Canada as well as key markets in Latin America. Our operations are largely wholly-owned, but also include independent affiliates to whom we license the “CBRE” name in their local markets in return for payments of annual or quarterly royalty fees to us and an agreement to cross-refer business between us and the affiliate.

Most of our operations are conducted through our indirect wholly-owned subsidiary CBRE, Inc. Our mortgage loan origination, sales and servicing operations are conducted exclusively through our indirect wholly-owned subsidiary operating under the name CBRE Capital Markets, Inc., or Capital Markets, and its subsidiaries. Our operations in Canada are conducted through our indirect wholly-owned subsidiary CBRE Limited and our operations in Latin America are operated through various indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries.

Our Americas segment accounted for 57.0% of our 2015 revenue, 57.5% of our 2014 revenue and 62.7% of our 2013 revenue. Within our Americas segment, we organize our services into several business lines, as further described below.

Advisory Services

Our advisory services businesses offer occupier/tenant and investor/owner services that meet the full spectrum of marketplace needs, including: (1) real estate leasing services; (2) capital markets; and (3) valuation. Our advisory services business line accounted for 31.1% of our 2015 consolidated worldwide revenue, 32.5% of our 2014 consolidated worldwide revenue and 34.8% of our 2013 consolidated worldwide revenue.

Within advisory services, our major service lines are the following:

Our real estate services professionals are compensated primarily through commission-based programs, which are payable upon completion of an assignment. This gives us flexibility to mitigate the negative effect of compensation, our largest expense, on our operating margins during difficult market conditions. We strive to retain top professionals through an attractive compensation program tied to productivity as well as greater investments in support resources, including professional development and training, market research and information, technology, branding and marketing, than most other firms in our sector.

We further strengthen our relationships with our real estate services clients by offering proprietary research to them through CBRE Research and CBRE Econometric Advisors, our commercial real estate market information and forecasting groups.

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CBRE is the leading investment sales property advisor in the United States, with a market share of approximately 16.5% in 2015 across office, industrial, retail, multifamily and hotel properties according to Real Capital Analytics. Our mortgage brokerage business originates, sells and services commercial mortgage loans primarily through relationships established with investment banking firms, national banks, credit companies, insurance companies, pension funds and government agencies. In the United States, our mortgage loan origination volume in 2015 was $33.7 billion, including approximately $12.6 billion for U.S. federal government-sponsored entities (GSEs). Most of the GSE loans were financed through our revolving credit lines dedicated exclusively for this purpose and were substantially risk mitigated by either obtaining a contractual purchase commitment from the GSE or confirming a forward-trade commitment for the issuance and purchase of a mortgage-backed security that will be secured by the loan. We advised on the sale of approximately $5.7 billion of mortgages on behalf of financial institutions in 2015. CBRE also operates a loan servicing portfolio, which totaled approximately $108.9 billion in the Americas at year-end 2015.

Outsourcing Services

The outsourcing of commercial real estate services is believed to be a long-term trend in our industry, with property owners and occupiers seeking better execution and improved efficiency by relying on the expertise of third-party real estate specialists. Two of our business lines capitalize on the outsourcing trend: (1) occupier outsourcing, which we provide for corporations, public sector entities, health care providers and others; and (2) asset services, which we provide for property owners. As of December 31, 2015, we managed approximately 2.3 billion square feet of commercial property and facilities in the Americas. Our outsourcing services business line accounted for 25.9% of our 2015 consolidated worldwide revenue, 25.0% of our 2014 consolidated worldwide revenue and 27.9% of our 2013 consolidated worldwide revenue.

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Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)

Our Europe, Middle East and Africa, or EMEA, reporting segment operates in 43 countries. The largest operations are located in France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Our operations in these countries generally provide a full range of services to the commercial property sector. Additionally, we provide some residential property services, focused on the prime and super-prime segments of the market, primarily in the United Kingdom. Within EMEA, our services are organized along similar lines as in the Americas, including leasing, property sales, valuation services, asset management services and occupier outsourcing, among others. Our EMEA segment accounted for 27.7% of our 2015 revenue, 25.9% of our 2014 revenue and 16.9% of our 2013 revenue.

In several countries in EMEA, we have contractual relationships with independent affiliates that provide commercial real estate services under our brand name. Our agreements with these independent affiliates include licenses by us to them to use the “CBRE” name in the relevant territory in return for payments of annual or quarterly royalty fees to us. In addition, these agreements may include business cross-referral arrangements between us and our affiliates.

Asia Pacific

Our Asia Pacific reporting segment operates in 14 countries. We believe that we are one of only a few companies that can provide a full range of real estate services to large occupiers and investors throughout the region, similar to the broad range of services provided by our Americas and EMEA segments. Our primary operations in Asia are located in Greater China, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand. In addition, we have contractual agreements with independent affiliates that generate royalty fees and support cross-referral arrangements similar to our EMEA segment. The Pacific region includes Australia and New Zealand. Our Asia Pacific segment accounted for 10.5% of our 2015 revenue, 10.7% of our 2014 revenue and 12.1% of our 2013 revenue.

Global Investment Management

Operations in our Global Investment Management reporting segment are conducted through our indirect wholly-owned subsidiary CBRE Global Investors, LLC and its global affiliates, which we also refer to as CBRE Global Investors. CBRE Global Investors provides investment management services to pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, foundations, endowments and other institutional investors seeking to generate returns and diversification through investment in real estate. It sponsors investment programs that span the risk/return spectrum in: North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. In some strategies, CBRE Global Investors and its investment teams co-invest with its limited partners.

CBRE Global Investors’ offerings are organized into four primary categories: (1) direct real estate investments through sponsored funds; (2) direct real estate investments through separate accounts; (3) indirect real estate investments through listed securities; and (4) indirect real estate investments through multi-manager investment programs.

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Assets under management have increased from $17.3 billion at December 31, 2005 to $89.0 billion at December 31, 2015. Our Global Investment Management segment accounted for 4.2% of our 2015 revenue, 5.2% of our 2014 revenue and 7.5% of our 2013 revenue.

Development Services

Operations in our Development Services reporting segment are conducted through our indirect wholly-owned subsidiary Trammell Crow Company, LLC and certain of its subsidiaries, providing development services primarily in the United States to users of and investors in commercial real estate, as well as for its own account. Trammell Crow Company pursues opportunistic, risk-mitigated development and investment in commercial real estate across a wide spectrum of property types, including: industrial, office and retail properties; healthcare facilities of all types (medical office buildings, hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers); and residential/mixed-use projects. Our Development Services segment accounted for 0.6% of our 2015 revenue, 0.7% of our 2014 revenue and 0.7% of our 2013 revenue.

Trammell Crow Company pursues development and investment activity on behalf of its user and investor clients (with no ownership), in partnership with its clients (through co-investment – either on an individual project basis or through programs with certain strategic capital partners) or for its own account (100% ownership). Development activity in which Trammell Crow Company has an ownership interest is conducted through subsidiaries that are consolidated or unconsolidated for financial reporting purposes, depending primarily on the extent and nature of our ownership interest.

At December 31, 2015, Trammell Crow Company had $6.7 billion of development projects in process. Additionally, the inventory of pipeline deals (prospective projects we believe have a greater than 50% chance of closing or where land has been acquired and the projected construction start date is more than twelve months out) was $3.6 billion at December 31, 2015.

Competition

We compete across a variety of business disciplines within the commercial real estate industry, including commercial property, corporate facilities, project and transaction management, occupier and property/agency leasing, property sales, valuation, real estate investment management, commercial mortgage origination, sales and servicing, capital markets (structured finance) solutions, development services and proprietary research. Each business discipline is highly competitive on an international, national, regional and local level. Although we are the largest commercial real estate services firm in the world in terms of 2015 revenue, our relative competitive position varies significantly across geographic markets, property types and services. We face competition from other commercial real estate service providers that compete with us on a global, national, regional or local basis or within a market segment; outsourcing companies that traditionally competed in limited portions of our facilities management business and have expanded their offerings from time to time; in-house corporate real estate departments and property owners/developers that self-perform real estate services; investment banking firms, investment managers and developers that compete with us to raise and place investment capital; and accounting/consulting firms that advise on real estate strategies. Some of these firms may have greater financial resources than we do.

Despite recent consolidation, the commercial real estate services industry remains highly fragmented and competitive. Although many of our competitors are substantially smaller than us, some of them are larger on a regional or local basis or have a stronger position in a specific market segment or service offering. Among our primary competitors are other large national and global firms, such as Cushman & Wakefield (which is the name adopted following the combination of DTZ and Cushman & Wakefield), Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated, Colliers International Group Inc. (which was spun off from FirstService Corporation in 2015), Savills plc (which acquired U.S.-based service provider Studley, Inc. in 2014) and BGC Partners (which is the publicly traded

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parent of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank); market-segment specialists, such as Eastdil Secured, HFF, L.P. and Marcus & Millichap, Inc.; and firms with business lines that compete with our occupier outsourcing business.

Seasonality

A significant portion of our revenue is seasonal, which an investor should keep in mind when comparing our financial condition and results of operations on a quarter-by-quarter basis. Historically, our revenue, operating income, net income and cash flow from operating activities tend to be lowest in the first calendar quarter, and highest in the fourth calendar quarter of each year. Earnings and cash flow have generally been concentrated in the fourth calendar quarter due to the focus on completing sales, financing and leasing transactions prior to calendar year-end.

Employees

At December 31, 2015, excluding our independent affiliates, we had more than 70,000 employees worldwide, approximately 37% of which represent costs that are fully reimbursed by clients and are mostly in our outsourcing services lines of business. At December 31, 2015, approximately 1,900 of our employees were subject to collective bargaining agreements, most of whom are on-site employees in our asset services business in California, Illinois, New Jersey and New York.

Intellectual Property

We hold various trademarks and trade names worldwide, which include the “CBRE” name. Although we believe our intellectual property plays a role in maintaining our competitive position in a number of the markets that we serve, we do not believe we would be materially, adversely affected by expiration or termination of our trademarks or trade names or the loss of any of our other intellectual property rights other than the “CBRE” and “Trammell Crow Company” names. We maintain trademark registrations for the CBRE service mark in jurisdictions where we conduct significant business.

We hold a license to use the “Trammell Crow Company” trade name pursuant to a license agreement with CF98, L.P., an affiliate of Crow Realty Investors, L.P., d/b/a Crow Holdings, which may be revoked if we fail to satisfy usage and quality control covenants under the license agreement.

In addition to trade names, we have developed proprietary technologies for the provision of complex services and analysis through our global outsourcing business and for preparing and developing valuation reports for our clients through our valuation business. We also offer proprietary research to clients through our CBRE-EA research unit and we offer proprietary investment analysis and structures through CBRE Global Investors. We have not generally registered these items of intellectual property in any jurisdiction. While we may seek to secure our rights under applicable intellectual property protection laws in these and any other proprietary assets that we use in our business, we do not believe any of these other items of intellectual property are material to our business in the aggregate.

Environmental Matters

Federal, state and local laws and regulations in the countries in which we do business impose environmental liabilities, controls, disclosure rules and zoning restrictions that affect the ownership, management, development, use or sale of commercial real estate. Certain of these laws and regulations may impose liability on current or previous real property owners or operators for the cost of investigating, cleaning up or removing contamination caused by hazardous or toxic substances at a property, including contamination resulting from above-ground or underground storage tanks or the presence of asbestos or lead at a property. If contamination occurs or is present during our role as a property or facility manager or developer, we could be held liable for such costs as a current “operator” of a property, regardless of the legality of the acts or omissions that caused the contamination and

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without regard to whether we knew of, or were responsible for, the presence of such hazardous or toxic substances. The operator of a site also may be liable under common law to third parties for damages and injuries resulting from exposure to hazardous substances or environmental contamination at a site, including liabilities arising from exposure to asbestos-containing materials. Under certain laws and common law principles, any failure by us to disclose environmental contamination at a property could subject us to liability to a buyer or lessee of the property. Further, federal, state and local governments in the countries in which we do business have enacted various laws, regulations and treaties governing environmental and climate change, particularly for “greenhouse gases,” which seek to tax, penalize or limit their release. Such regulations could lead to increased operational or compliance costs over time.

While we are aware of the presence or the potential presence of regulated substances in the soil or groundwater at or near several properties owned, operated or managed by us that may have resulted from historical or ongoing activities on those properties, we are not aware of any material noncompliance with the environmental laws or regulations currently applicable to us, and we are not the subject of any material claim for liability with respect to contamination at any location. However, these laws and regulations may discourage sales and leasing activities and mortgage lending with respect to some properties, which may adversely affect both the commercial real estate services industry and us in general. Environmental contamination or other environmental liabilities may also negatively affect the value of commercial real estate assets held by entities that are managed by our investment management and development services businesses, which could adversely affect the results of operations of these business lines.

Available Information

Our internet address is www.cbre.com. We use our website as a channel of distribution for Company information, and financial and other material information regarding us is routinely posted and accessible on our website.

On the Investor Relations page on our website, we post the following filings as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC: our Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our Current Reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the Exchange Act. We also make available through our website other reports filed with or furnished to the SEC under the Exchange Act, including reports filed by our officers and directors under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act.

All of the information on our Investor Relations web page is available to be viewed free of charge. Information contained on our website is not part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K or our other filings with the SEC. We assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements in the Annual Report on Form 10-K, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless we are required to do so by law.

A copy of this Annual Report on Form 10-K is available without charge upon written request to: Investor Relations, CBRE Group, Inc., 200 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10166. The SEC also maintains an Internet site (www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

Set forth below and elsewhere in this report and in other documents we file with the SEC are risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from the results contemplated by the forward-looking statements contained in this report and other public statements we make. Based on the information currently known to us, we believe that the matters discussed below identify the material risk factors affecting our business. However, the risks and uncertainties we face are not limited to those described below. Additional risks

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and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial (but that later become material) may also adversely affect our business.

The success of our business is significantly related to general economic conditions and, accordingly, our business, operations and financial condition could be adversely affected by economic slowdowns, liquidity crises, fiscal uncertainty and possible subsequent downturns in commercial real estate asset values, property sales and leasing activities in one or more of the geographies or industry sectors that we or our clients serve.

Periods of economic weakness or recession, significantly rising interest rates, fiscal uncertainty, declining employment levels, declining demand for commercial real estate, falling real estate values, disruption to the global capital or credit markets or the public perception that any of these events may occur, may negatively affect the performance of some or all of our business lines.

Our business is significantly affected by generally prevailing economic conditions in the markets where we principally operate, which can result in a general decline in real estate acquisition, disposition and leasing activity, as well as a general decline in the value of commercial real estate and in rents, which in turn reduces revenue from asset services fees and commissions derived from property sales, leasing, valuation and financing, as well as revenues associated with development or investment management activities. Our businesses could also suffer from any political or economic disruption that affects interest rates or liquidity.

Adverse economic conditions could also lead to a decline in property sales prices as well as a decline in funds invested in existing commercial real estate assets and properties planned for development, which in turn could reduce the commissions and fees that we earn. In addition, our development and investment strategy often entails making co-investments alongside our investor clients. During an economic downturn, capital for our investment activities is usually constrained and it may take longer for us to dispose of real estate investments or selling prices may be lower than originally anticipated. As a result, the value of our commercial real estate investments may be reduced, and we could realize losses or diminished profitability. In addition, economic downturns may reduce the amount of loan originations and related servicing by our Capital Markets business.

The performance of our asset services line of business depends upon how well the properties we manage perform. This is because our fees are generally based on a percentage of rent collections from these properties. Rent collections may be affected by many factors, including: (i) real estate and financial market conditions prevailing generally and locally; (ii) our ability to attract and retain creditworthy tenants, particularly during economic downturns; and (iii) the magnitude of defaults by tenants under their respective leases, which may increase during distressed economic conditions.

Certain geographies within the Americas, as well as certain industry sectors that we serve, have been negatively affected by the recent weakened performance of the oil and gas industry, which may in turn diminish the performance of our various businesses in those geographies as well as reduce the demand for our services by our clients in such areas or who are affected by that industry. In continental Europe, the economic recovery is slow and fragile. If recovery in certain European economies stalls, our performance may be adversely affected. In addition, China’s deteriorating macro-economic environment could adversely affect our operations in our Asia Pacific segment, which may adversely affect our financial performance.

Economic uncertainty as well as significant changes and volatility in the financial markets and business environment, and in the global landscape, make it increasingly difficult for us to predict our financial performance into the future. As a result, any guidance or outlook that we provide on our performance is based on then-current conditions, and there is a risk that such guidance may turn out to be inaccurate.

Adverse developments in the credit markets may harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our Global Investment Management, Development Services and Capital Markets (including investment property sales and debt and structured financing services) businesses are sensitive to credit cost and availability

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as well as marketplace liquidity. Additionally, the revenues in all of our businesses are dependent to some extent on the overall volume of activity (and pricing) in the commercial real estate market.

Disruptions in the credit markets may adversely affect our business of providing advisory services to owners, investors and occupiers of real estate in connection with the leasing, disposition and acquisition of property. If our clients are unable to procure credit on favorable terms, there may be fewer completed leasing transactions, dispositions and acquisitions of property. In addition, if purchasers of commercial real estate are not able to procure favorable financing resulting in the lack of disposition opportunities for our funds and projects, our Global Investment Management and Development Services businesses may be unable to generate incentive fees, and we may also experience losses of co-invested equity capital if the disruption causes a permanent decline in the value of investments made.

Our operations are subject to social, political and economic risks in foreign countries as well as foreign currency volatility.

We conduct a significant portion of our business and employ a substantial number of people outside of the United States and as a result, we are subject to risks associated with doing business globally. During 2015, approximately 45% of our revenue was transacted in foreign currencies, the majority of which included the Australian dollar, Brazilian real, British pound sterling, Canadian dollar, Chinese yuan, euro, Hong Kong dollar, Indian rupee, Japanese yen, Mexican peso, Singapore dollar and Swiss franc. Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates may result in corresponding fluctuations in our assets under management for our Global Investment Management business, revenue and earnings. Over time, fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to the other currencies in which we may generate earnings could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. Due to the constantly changing currency exposures to which we are subject and the volatility of currency exchange rates, we cannot predict the effect of exchange rate fluctuations upon future operating results. In addition, fluctuations in currencies relative to the U.S. dollar may make it more difficult to perform period-to-period comparisons of our reported results of operations.

Additional circumstances and developments related to international operations that could negatively affect our business, financial condition or results of operations include, but are not limited to, the following factors:

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We maintain anti-corruption and anti-money-laundering compliance programs and programs designed to enable us to comply with applicable government economic sanctions, embargoes and other import/export controls throughout the company. But, coordinating our activities to deal with the broad range of complex legal and regulatory environments in which we operate presents significant challenges. We may not be successful in complying with regulations in all situations and violations may result in criminal or civil sanctions, including material monetary fines, penalties, equitable remedies (including disgorgement), and other costs against us or our employees, and may have a material adverse effect on our reputation and business.

We have committed additional resources to expand our worldwide sales and marketing activities, to globalize our service offerings and products in selected markets and to develop local sales and support channels. If we are unable to successfully implement these plans, maintain adequate long-term strategies that successfully manage the risks associated with our global business or adequately manage operational fluctuations, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be harmed. In addition, we have penetrated, and seek to continue to enter into, emerging markets to further expand our global platform. However, we may not be successful in effectively evaluating and monitoring the key business, operational, legal and compliance risks specific to those markets. The political and cultural risks present in emerging countries could also harm our ability to successfully execute our operations or manage our businesses there.

Our growth has benefited significantly from acquisitions, which may not perform as expected and similar opportunities may not be available in the future.

A significant component of our growth has been generated by acquisitions. Any future growth through acquisitions will depend in part upon the continued availability of suitable acquisition candidates at favorable prices and upon advantageous terms and conditions, which may not be available to us, as well as sufficient liquidity and credit to fund these acquisitions. We may incur significant additional debt from time to time to finance any such acquisitions, subject to the restrictions contained in the documents governing our then-existing indebtedness. If we incur additional debt, the risks associated with our leverage, including our ability to service our then-existing debt, would increase. Acquisitions involve risks that business judgments concerning the value, strengths and weaknesses of businesses acquired may prove incorrect. Future acquisitions and any necessary related financings also may involve significant transaction-related expenses, which include severance, lease termination, transaction and deferred financing costs, among others.

We have had, and may continue to experience, challenges in integrating operations and information technology systems acquired from other companies. This could result in the diversion of management’s attention from other business concerns and the potential loss of our key employees or clients or those of the acquired operations. The integration process itself may be disruptive to our business and the acquired company’s businesses as it requires coordination of geographically diverse organizations and implementation of new accounting and information technology systems. We believe that most acquisitions will initially have an adverse impact on operating and net income. Acquisitions also frequently involve significant costs related to integrating information technology, accounting and management services and rationalizing personnel levels.

We complete acquisitions with the expectation that they will result in various benefits, including enhanced or more stable revenues, a strengthened market position, cross-selling opportunities, cost synergies, tax benefits and accretion to our adjusted income per share. Achieving the anticipated benefits of these acquisitions is subject to a number of uncertainties, including the realization of accretive benefits in the timeframe anticipated and whether we can successfully integrate the acquired business. Failure to achieve these anticipated benefits could result in increased costs, decreases in the amount of expected revenues and diversion of management’s time and energy, which could in turn materially and adversely affect our overall business, financial condition and operating results.

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Our success depends upon the retention of our senior management, as well as our ability to attract and retain qualified and experienced employees.

Our continued success is highly dependent upon the efforts of our executive officers and other key employees, including Robert E. Sulentic, our President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Sulentic and certain other key employees are not parties to employment agreements with us. We also are highly dependent upon the retention of our property sales and leasing professionals, who generate a significant amount of our revenues, as well as other revenue producing professionals. The departure of any of our key employees, or the loss of a significant number of key revenue producers, if we are unable to quickly hire and integrate qualified replacements, could cause our business, financial condition and results of operations to suffer. Competition for these personnel is significant and we may not be able to successfully recruit, integrate or retain sufficiently qualified personnel. In addition, the growth of our business is largely dependent upon our ability to attract and retain qualified support personnel in all areas of our business. We and our competitors use equity incentives and sign-on and retention bonuses to help attract, retain and incentivize key personnel. As competition is significant for the services of such personnel, the expense of such incentives and bonuses may increase and we may be unable to attract or retain such personnel to the same extent that we have in the past. Any significant decline in, or failure to grow, our stock price may result in an increased risk of loss of these key personnel. If we are unable to attract and retain these qualified personnel, our growth may be limited and our business and operating results could suffer.

Our joint venture activities and affiliate program involve unique risks that are often outside of our control and that, if realized, could harm our business.

We have utilized joint ventures for commercial investments, select local brokerage and other affiliations both in the United States and internationally, and we may acquire interests in other joint ventures in the future. Under our affiliate program, we enter into contractual relationships with local brokerage, asset services or other operations pursuant to which we license to that operation our name and make available certain of our resources, in exchange for a royalty or economic participation in that operation’s revenue, profits or transactional activity. In many of these joint ventures and affiliations, we may not have the right or power to direct the management and policies of the joint ventures or affiliates, and other participants or operators of affiliates may take action contrary to our instructions or requests and against our policies and objectives. In addition, the other participants and operators may become bankrupt or have economic or other business interests or goals that are inconsistent with ours. If a joint venture participant or affiliate acts contrary to our interest, it could harm our brand, business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our real estate investment and co-investment activities in our Global Investment Management as well as Development Services businesses subject us to real estate investment risks which could cause fluctuations in earnings and cash flow.

An important part of the strategy for our Global Investment Management business involves co-investing our capital in certain real estate investments with our clients, and there is an inherent risk of loss of our investments. As of December 31, 2015, we had committed $12.8 million to fund future co-investments in our Global Investment Management business, $8.8 million of which is expected to be funded during 2016. In addition to required future capital contributions, some of the co-investment entities may request additional capital from us and our subsidiaries holding investments in those assets. The failure to provide these contributions could have adverse consequences to our interests in these investments, including damage to our reputation with our co-investment partners and clients, as well as the necessity of obtaining alternative funding from other sources that may be on disadvantageous terms for us and the other co-investors. Participating as a co-investor is an important part of our Global Investment Management business, which might suffer if we were unable to make these investments. Although our debt instruments contain restrictions that limit our ability to provide capital to the entities holding direct or indirect interests in co-investments, we may provide this capital in many instances in further support of the co-investment.

Selective investment in real estate projects is an important part of our Development Services business strategy, and there is an inherent risk of loss of our investments. As of December 31, 2015, we had 10 consolidated real estate projects with invested equity of $9.1 million. In addition, at December 31, 2015, we were

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involved as a principal (in most cases, co-investing with our clients) in approximately 60 unconsolidated real estate subsidiaries with invested equity of $121.9 million and had committed additional capital to these unconsolidated subsidiaries of $29.6 million. As of December 31, 2015, we also guaranteed outstanding notes payable of these unconsolidated subsidiaries with outstanding balances of $12.4 million.

During the ordinary course of our Development Services business, we provide numerous completion and budget guarantees requiring us to complete the relevant project within a specified timeframe and/or within a specified budget, with us potentially being liable for costs to complete in excess of such timeframe or budget. While we generally have “guaranteed maximum price” contracts with reputable general contractors with respect to projects for which we provide these guarantees (which are intended to pass most of the risk to such contractors), there can be no assurance that we will not have to perform under any such guarantees. If we are required to perform under a significant number of such guarantees, it could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Because the disposition of a single significant investment can affect our financial performance in any period, our real estate investment activities could cause fluctuations in our net earnings and cash flow. In many cases, we have limited control over the timing of the disposition of these investments and the recognition of any related gain or loss, or incentive participation fee.

Poor performance of the investment programs that our Global Investment Management business manages would cause a decline in our revenue, net income and cash flow and could adversely affect our ability to raise capital for future programs.

The revenue, net income and cash flow generated by our Global Investment Management business can be volatile period over period, primarily due to the fact that management, transaction and incentive fees can vary as a result of market movements from one period to another. In the event that any of the investment programs that our Global Investment Management business manages were to perform poorly, our revenue, net income and cash flow could decline because the value of the assets we manage would decrease, which would result in a reduction in some of our management fees, and our investment returns would decrease, resulting in a reduction in the incentive compensation we earn. Moreover, we could experience losses on co-investments of our own capital in such programs as a result of poor performance. Investors and potential investors in our programs continually assess our performance, and our ability to raise capital for existing and future programs and maintaining our current fee structure will depend on our continued satisfactory performance.

Our debt instruments impose operating and financial restrictions on us, and in the event of a default, all of our borrowings would become immediately due and payable.

We have debt and related debt service obligations. As of December 31, 2015, our total debt, excluding notes payable on real estate (which are generally nonrecourse to us) and warehouse lines of credit (which are recourse only to our wholly-owned subsidiary, CBRE Capital Markets, and are secured by our related warehouse receivables), was approximately $2.7 billion. For the year ended December 31, 2015, our interest expense was approximately $118.9 million.

Our debt instruments, including our credit agreement, impose, and the terms of any future debt may impose, operating and other restrictions on us and many of our subsidiaries. These restrictions affect, and in many respects limit or prohibit, our ability to:

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Our credit agreement currently requires us to maintain a minimum coverage ratio of EBITDA (as defined in the credit agreement) to total interest expense of 2.00x and a maximum leverage ratio of total debt less available cash to EBITDA (as defined in the credit agreement) of 4.25x as of the end of each fiscal quarter. Our coverage ratio of EBITDA to total interest expense was 11.81x for the year ended December 31, 2015, and our leverage ratio of total debt less available cash to EBITDA was 1.45x as of December 31, 2015. Our ability to meet these financial ratios can be affected by events beyond our control, and we cannot give assurance that we will be able to meet those ratios when required. We continue to monitor our projected compliance with these financial ratios and other terms of our credit agreement.

A breach of any of these restrictive covenants or the inability to comply with the required financial ratios could result in a default under our debt instruments. If any such default occurs, the lenders under our credit agreement may elect to declare all outstanding borrowings, together with accrued interest and other fees, to be immediately due and payable. The lenders under our credit agreement also have the right in these circumstances to terminate any commitments they have to provide further borrowings. In addition, a default under our credit agreement could trigger a cross default or cross acceleration under our other debt instruments.

Our credit agreement is jointly and severally guaranteed by us and substantially all of our material domestic subsidiaries.

We have limited restrictions on the amount of additional recourse debt we are able to incur, which may intensify the risks associated with our leverage, including our ability to service our indebtedness. In addition, in the event of a credit-ratings downgrade, our ability to borrow and the costs of that borrowing could be adversely affected.

Subject to the maximum amounts of indebtedness permitted by our credit agreement covenants, we are not restricted in the amount of additional recourse debt we are able to incur, and so we may in the future incur such indebtedness in order to finance our operations and investments. In addition, Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. and Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., rate our significant outstanding debt. These ratings, and any downgrades of them, may affect our ability to borrow as well as the costs of our current and future borrowings.

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We are subject to various litigation risks and may face financial liabilities and/or damage to our reputation as a result of litigation.

Our businesses are exposed to various litigation risks. In addition, although we maintain insurance coverage for most of this risk, insurance coverage is unavailable at commercially reasonable pricing for certain types of exposures. Accordingly, an adverse result in a litigation against us, or a lawsuit that results in a substantial legal liability for us (and particularly a lawsuit that is not insured), could have a disproportionate and material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we depend on our business relationships and our reputation for high-caliber professional services to attract and retain clients. As a result, allegations against us, irrespective of the ultimate outcome of that allegation, may harm our professional reputation and as such materially damage our business and its prospects.

Failure to maintain and execute information technology strategies and ensure that our employees adapt to changes in technology could materially and adversely affect our ability to remain competitive in the market.

Our business relies heavily on information technology to deliver services that meet the needs of our clients. If we are unable to effectively execute our information technology strategies or adopt new technologies and processes relevant to our service platform, our ability to deliver high-quality services may be materially impaired. In addition, we make significant investments in new systems and tools to achieve competitive advantages and efficiencies. Implementation of such investments in information technology could exceed estimated budgets and we may experience challenges that prevent new strategies or technologies from being realized according to anticipated schedules. If we are unable to maintain current information technology and processes or encounter delays, or fail to exploit new technologies, then the execution of our business plans may be disrupted. Similarly, our employees require effective tools and techniques to perform functions integral to our business. Failure to successfully provide such tools and systems, or ensure that employees have properly adopted them, could materially and adversely impact our ability to achieve positive business outcomes.

Failure to maintain the security of our information and technology networks, including personally identifiable and client information, intellectual property and proprietary business information could significantly adversely affect us.

Security breaches and other disruptions of our information and technology networks could compromise our information and intellectual property and expose us to liability, reputational harm and significant remediation costs, which could cause material harm to our business and financial results. In the ordinary course of our business, we collect and store sensitive data, including our proprietary business information and intellectual property, and that of our clients and personally identifiable information of our employees and contractors, in our data centers and on our networks. The secure processing, maintenance and transmission of this information are critical to our operations. Despite our security measures, our information technology and infrastructure may be vulnerable to attacks by third parties or breached due to employee error, malfeasance or other disruptions. A significant actual or potential theft, loss, corruption, exposure, fraudulent use or misuse of client, employee or other personally identifiable or proprietary business data, whether by third parties or as a result of employee malfeasance or otherwise, non-compliance with our contractual or other legal obligations regarding such data or intellectual property or a violation of our privacy and security policies with respect to such data could result in significant remediation and other costs, fines, litigation or regulatory actions against us. Such an event could additionally disrupt our operations and the services we provide to clients, damage our reputation, result in the loss of a competitive advantage, impact our ability to provide timely and accurate financial data and cause a loss of confidence in our services and financial reporting, which could adversely affect our business, revenues, competitive position and investor confidence. Additionally, we increasingly rely on third-party data storage providers, including cloud storage solution providers, resulting in less direct control over our data. Such third parties are also vulnerable to security breaches and compromised security systems, for which we may not be indemnified and which could materially adversely affect us and our reputation.

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Interruption or failure of our information technology, communications systems or data services could impair our ability to provide our services effectively, which could damage our reputation and materially harm our operating results.

Our business requires the continued operation of information technology and communication systems and network infrastructure. Our ability to conduct our global business may be materially adversely affected by disruptions to these systems or infrastructure. Our information technology and communications systems are vulnerable to damage or disruption from fire, power loss, telecommunications failure, system malfunctions, computer viruses, cyber-attacks, natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes and floods, acts of war or terrorism, employee errors or malfeasance, or other events which are beyond our control. In addition, the operation and maintenance of these systems and networks is in some cases dependent on third-party technologies, systems and service providers for which there is no certainty of uninterrupted availability. Any of these events could cause system interruption, delays and loss, corruption or exposure of critical data or intellectual property and may also disrupt our ability to provide services to or interact with our clients, and we may not be able to successfully implement contingency plans that depend on communication or travel. Furthermore, any such event could result in substantial recovery and remediation costs and liability to customers, business partners and other third parties. We have disaster recovery plans and backup systems to reduce the potentially adverse effect of such events, but our disaster recovery planning may not be sufficient and cannot account for all eventualities, and a catastrophic event that results in the destruction or disruption of any of our data centers or our critical business or information technology systems could severely affect our ability to conduct normal business operations, and as a result, our future operating results could be materially adversely affected.

The infrastructure disruptions we describe above may also disrupt our ability to manage real estate for clients or may adversely affect the value of real estate investments we make on behalf of clients. The buildings we manage for clients, which include some of the world’s largest office properties and retail centers, are used by numerous people daily. As a result, fires, earthquakes, floods, other natural disasters, defects and terrorist attacks can result in significant loss of life, and, to the extent we are held to have been negligent in connection with our management of the affected properties, we could incur significant financial liabilities and reputational harm.

Our business relies heavily on the use of commercial real estate data. A portion of this data is purchased or licensed from third-party providers for which there is no certainty of uninterrupted availability. A disruption of our ability to provide data to our professionals and/or our clients or an inadvertent exposure of proprietary data could damage our reputation and competitive position, and our operating results could be adversely affected.

We have numerous local and global competitors across all of our business lines and the geographies that we serve, and further industry consolidation could lead to significant future competition.

We compete across a variety of business disciplines within the commercial real estate services and investment industry, including commercial property and corporate facilities management, occupier and property/agency leasing, property sales, valuation, real estate investment management, commercial mortgage origination and servicing, capital markets (structured finance and debt) solutions, development services and proprietary research. Although we are the largest commercial real estate services firm in the world in terms of 2015 revenue, our relative competitive position varies significantly across geographies, property types and services and business lines. Depending on the geography, property type or service or business line, we face competition from other commercial real estate service providers and investment firms, including outsourcing companies that traditionally competed in limited portions of our facilities management business and have expanded their offerings from time to time, in-house corporate real estate departments, developers, institutional lenders, insurance companies, investment banking firms, investment managers and accounting and consulting firms. Some of these firms may have greater financial resources allocated to a particular geography, property type or service or business line than we have allocated that geography, property type, service or business line. In addition, future changes in laws could lead to the entry of other new competitors, such as financial institutions. Although many of our existing competitors are local or regional firms that are smaller than we are, some of these competitors are larger on a

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local or regional basis. We are further subject to competition from large national and multi-national firms that have similar service and investment competencies to ours, and it is possible that further industry consolidation could lead to much larger and more formidable competitors globally or in the particular geographies, property types, service or business lines that we serve. There is no assurance that we will be able to compete effectively, to maintain current fee levels or margins, or maintain or increase our market share.

Our goodwill and other intangible assets could become impaired, which may require us to take significant non-cash charges against earnings.

Under current accounting guidelines, we must assess, at least annually and potentially more frequently, whether the value of our goodwill and other intangible assets has been impaired. Any impairment of goodwill or other intangible assets as a result of such analysis would result in a non-cash charge against earnings, and such charge could materially adversely affect our reported results of operations, stockholders’ equity and our stock price. For example, during the year ended December 31, 2013, we recorded a non-amortizable intangible asset impairment of $98.1 million in our Global Investment Management segment. This non-cash write-off was related to a decrease in value of our open-end funds, primarily in Europe. A significant and sustained decline in our future cash flows, a significant adverse change in the economic environment, slower growth rates or if our stock price falls below our net book value per share for a sustained period, could result in the need to perform additional impairment analysis in future periods. If we were to conclude that a future write-down of goodwill or other intangible assets is necessary, then we would record such additional charges, which could materially adversely affect our results of operations.

A failure to appropriately deal with actual or perceived conflicts of interest could adversely affect our businesses.

Our company has a global platform with different business lines and a broad client base and is therefore subject to numerous potential, actual or perceived conflicts of interests in the provision of services to our existing and potential clients. For example, conflicts may arise from our position as broker to both owners and tenants in commercial real estate lease transactions. We have adopted various policies, controls and procedures to address or limit actual or perceived conflicts, but these policies and procedures may not be adequate and may not be adhered to by our employees. Appropriately dealing with conflicts of interest is complex and difficult and our reputation could be damaged and cause us to lose existing clients or fail to gain new clients if we fail, or appear to fail, to identify, disclose and manage potential conflicts of interest, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, it is possible that in some jurisdictions regulations could be changed to limit our ability to act for parties where conflicts exist even with informed consent, which could limit our market share in those markets. There can be no assurance that conflicts of interest will not arise in the future that could cause material harm to us.

Our businesses, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be adversely affected by new laws or regulations or by changes in existing laws or regulations or the application thereof. If we fail to comply with laws and regulations applicable to us, or make incorrect determinations in complex tax regimes, we may incur significant financial penalties.

We are subject to numerous federal, state, local and non-U.S. laws and regulations specific to the services we perform in our business. Brokerage of real estate sales and leasing transactions and the provision of asset services and valuation services require us and our employees to maintain applicable licenses in each U.S. state and certain non-U.S. jurisdictions in which we perform these services. If we and our employees fail to maintain our licenses or conduct these activities without a license, or violate any of the regulations covering our licenses, we may be required to pay fines (including treble damages in certain states) or return commissions received or have our licenses suspended or revoked. A number of our services, including the services provided by our indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries, CBRE Capital Markets and CBRE Global Investors, are subject to regulation by the SEC, FINRA or other self-regulatory organizations and state securities regulators and compliance failures

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or regulatory action could adversely affect our business. We could be subject to disciplinary or other actions in the future due to claimed noncompliance with these regulations, which could have a material adverse effect on our operations and profitability.

We are also subject to laws of broader applicability, such as tax, securities, environmental and employment laws, including the Fair Labor Standards Act, occupational health and safety regulations and U.S. state wage-and-hour laws. Failure to comply with these requirements could result in the imposition of significant fines by governmental authorities, awards of damages to private litigants and significant amounts paid in legal fees or settlements of these matters.

We operate in many jurisdictions with complex and varied tax regimes, and are subject to different forms of taxation resulting in a variable effective tax rate. In addition, from time to time we engage in transactions across different tax jurisdictions. Due to the different tax laws in the many jurisdictions where we operate, we are often required to make subjective determinations. The tax authorities in the various jurisdictions where we carry on business may not agree with the determinations that are made by us with respect to the application of tax law. Such disagreements could result in disputes and, ultimately, in the payment of additional funds to the government authorities in the jurisdictions where we carry on business, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations. In addition, changes in tax rules or the outcome of tax assessments and audits could have an adverse effect on our results in any particular quarter.

As the size and scope of our business has increased significantly during the past several years, both the difficulty of ensuring compliance with numerous licensing and other regulatory requirements and the possible loss resulting from non-compliance have increased. The global economic crisis has resulted in increased government and legislative activities, including the introduction of new legislation and changes to rules and regulations, which we expect will continue into the future. New or revised legislation or regulations applicable to our business, both within and outside of the United States, as well as changes in administrations or enforcement priorities may have an adverse effect on our business, including increasing the costs of regulatory compliance or preventing us from providing certain types of services in certain jurisdictions or in connection with certain transactions or clients. We are unable to predict how any of these new laws, rules, regulations and proposals will be implemented or in what form, or whether any additional or similar changes to laws or regulations, including the interpretation or implementation thereof, will occur in the future. Any such action could affect us in substantial and unpredictable ways and could have an adverse effect on our businesses, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We may be subject to environmental liability as a result of our role as a property or facility manager or developer of real estate.

Various laws and regulations impose liability on real property owners or operators for the cost of investigating, cleaning up or removing contamination caused by hazardous or toxic substances at a property. In our role as a property or facility manager or developer, we could be held liable as an operator for such costs. This liability may be imposed without regard to the legality of the original actions and without regard to whether we knew of, or were responsible for, the presence of the hazardous or toxic substances. If we fail to disclose environmental issues, we could also be liable to a buyer or lessee of a property. If we incur any such liability, our business could suffer significantly as it could be difficult for us to develop or sell such properties, or borrow funds using such properties as collateral. In the event of a substantial liability, our insurance coverage might be insufficient to pay the full damages, or the scope of available coverage may not cover certain of these liabilities. Additionally, liabilities incurred to comply with more stringent future environmental requirements could adversely affect any or all of our lines of business.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

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The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “should,” “propose,” “continue,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “will” and similar terms and phrases are used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to identify forward-looking statements. Except for historical information contained herein, the matters addressed in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are forward-looking statements. These statements relate to analyses and other information based on forecasts of future results and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. These statements also relate to our future prospects, developments and business strategies.

These forward-looking statements are made based on our management’s expectations and beliefs concerning future events affecting us and are subject to uncertainties and factors relating to our operations and business environment, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control. These uncertainties and factors could cause our actual results to differ materially from those matters expressed in or implied by these forward-looking statements.

The following factors are among those, but are not only those, that may cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements:

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Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statements are made. You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information, except to the extent required by applicable securities laws. If we do update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning these and other risks and uncertainties is contained in our other periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

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Item 2. Properties

We occupied the following offices, excluding affiliates, as of December 31, 2015:

Some of our offices house employees of both our Global Investment Management and Development Services segments as well as employees of our other business segments. Often, the employees of these segments occupy separate suites in the same building in order to operate the businesses independently with standalone offices. We have provided above office totals by geographic region and not listed all of our Global Investment Management and Development Services offices to avoid double counting.

In general, these leased offices are fully utilized. The most significant terms of the leasing arrangements for our offices are the length of the lease and the rent. Our leases have terms varying in duration. The rent payable under our office leases varies significantly from location to location as a result of differences in prevailing commercial real estate rates in different geographic locations. Our management believes that no single office lease is material to our business, results of operations or financial condition. In addition, we believe there is adequate alternative office space available at acceptable rental rates to meet our needs, although adverse movements in rental rates in some markets may negatively affect our profits in those markets when we enter into new leases.

We do not own any of these offices.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

We are a party to a number of pending or threatened lawsuits arising out of, or incident to, our ordinary course of business. We believe that any losses in excess of the amounts accrued therefor as liabilities on our financial statements are unlikely to be significant, but litigation is inherently uncertain and there is the potential for a material adverse effect on our financial statements if one or more matters are resolved in a particular period in an amount materially in excess of what we anticipated.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

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PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Stock Price Information

Our Class A common stock has traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “CBG” since June 10, 2004. The applicable high and low prices of our Class A common stock for the last two fiscal years, as reported by the New York Stock Exchange, are set forth below for the periods indicated.

The closing share price for our Class A common stock on December 31, 2015, as reported by the New York Stock Exchange, was $34.58. As of February 12, 2016, there were 65 stockholders of record of our Class A common stock.

Dividend Policy

We have not declared or paid any cash dividends on any class of our common stock since our inception on February 20, 2001, and we do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future. We currently intend to retain any future earnings to finance future growth and possibly reduce debt. Any future determination to pay cash dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on our financial condition, acquisition or other opportunities to invest capital, results of operations, capital requirements and other factors that the board of directors deems relevant. In addition, our ability to declare and pay cash dividends is restricted by the credit agreement governing our revolving credit facility and senior secured term loan facilities.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

None.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

None.

Stock Performance Graph

The following graph shows our cumulative total stockholder return for the period beginning December 31, 2010 and ending on December 31, 2015. The graph also shows the cumulative total returns of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index, or S&P 500 Index, in which we are included, and two industry peer groups.

The comparison below assumes $100 was invested on December 31, 2010 in our Class A common stock and in each of the indices shown and assumes that all dividends were reinvested. Our stock price performance shown in the following graph is not necessarily indicative of future stock price performance.

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The new industry peer group is comprised of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL), a global commercial real estate services company publicly traded in the United States, as well as the following companies that have significant commercial real estate or real estate capital markets businesses within the United States or globally, that in each case are publicly traded in the United States or abroad: BGC Partners (BGCP), which is the publicly traded parent of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank; Colliers International Group Inc. (CIGI), which was spun off from FirstService Corporation (FRSV) during 2015; HFF, L.P. (HF); Marcus & Millichap, Inc. (MMI), which was added to our peer group to replace Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI) following our acquisition of the Global Workplace Solutions business from JCI in 2015; and Savills plc (SVS.L, traded on the London Stock Exchange). These companies are or include divisions with business lines reasonably comparable to some or all of ours, and which represent our current primary competitors. Our old peer group included FRSV, which was formerly the publicly traded parent of Colliers International before its spin off during 2015; and Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI), which is no longer considered our peer after our acquisition of their Global Workplace Solutions business in 2015.

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This graph shall not be deemed incorporated by reference by any general statement incorporating by reference this Form 10-K into any filing under the Securities Act or under the Exchange Act, except to the extent that we specifically incorporate this information by reference therein, and shall not otherwise be deemed filed under such Acts.

Item 6. Selected Financial Data

The following table sets forth our selected historical consolidated financial information for each of the five years in the period ended December 31, 2015. The statement of operations data, the statement of cash flows data and the other data for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 and the balance sheet data as of December 31, 2015 and 2014 were derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Form 10-K. The statement of operations data, the statement of cash flows data and the other data for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, and the balance sheet data as of December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011 were derived from our audited consolidated financial statements that are not included in this Form 10-K.

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The selected financial data presented below is not necessarily indicative of results of future operations and should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the information included under the headings “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” included elsewhere in this Form 10-K.

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EBITDA represents earnings before net interest expense, write-off of financing costs on extinguished debt, income taxes, depreciation and amortization. EBITDA is not a recognized measurement under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and when analyzing our operating performance, investors should use EBITDA in addition to, and not as an alternative for, net income as determined in accordance with GAAP. Because not all companies use identical calculations, our presentation of EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

We generally use EBITDA to evaluate operating performance and for other discretionary purposes, and we believe that this measure provides a more complete understanding of ongoing operations and enhances comparability of current results to prior periods. We further believe that investors may find EBITDA useful in evaluating our operating performance compared to that of other companies in our industry because EBITDA calculations generally eliminate the effects of acquisitions, which would include impairment charges of goodwill and intangibles created from acquisitions, the effects of financings and income taxes and the accounting effects of capital spending. EBITDA may vary for different companies for reasons unrelated to overall operating performance.

EBITDA is not intended to be a measure of free cash flow for our discretionary use because it does not consider certain cash requirements such as tax and debt service payments. EBITDA may also differ from the amount calculated under similarly titled definitions in our debt instruments, which amounts are further adjusted to reflect certain other cash and non-cash charges and are used by us to determine compliance with financial covenants therein and our ability to engage in certain activities, such as incurring additional debt and making certain restricted payments.

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EBITDA is calculated as follows (dollars in thousands):

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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Overview

We are the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm, based on 2015 revenue, with leading full-service operations in major metropolitan areas throughout the world. We offer a full range of services to occupiers, owners, lenders and investors in office, retail, industrial, multifamily and other types of commercial real estate. As of December 31, 2015, excluding independent affiliates, we operated in more than 400 offices worldwide with more than 70,000 employees providing commercial real estate services under the “CBRE” brand name, investment management services under the “CBRE Global Investors” brand name and development services under the “Trammell Crow Company” brand name. Our business is focused on several competencies, including commercial property, corporate facilities, project and transaction management, tenant/occupier and property/agency leasing, capital markets solutions (property sales, commercial mortgage origination, sales and servicing, and structured finance) real estate investment management, valuation, development services and proprietary research. We generate revenue from both management fees (large multi-year portfolio and per-project contracts) and from commissions on transactions. We have been included in the Fortune 500 since 2008 and among the Fortune Most Admired Companies in the real estate sector for four consecutive years. In 2015, we were ranked second among all companies on the Barron’s 500, which evaluates companies on growth and financial performance. Additionally, the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) has ranked us among the top few outsourcing service providers across all industries for five consecutive years.

Critical Accounting Policies

Our consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, which require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect reported amounts. The estimates and assumptions are based on historical experience and on other factors that management believes to be reasonable. Actual results may differ from those estimates. We believe that the following critical accounting policies represent the areas where more significant judgments and estimates are used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.

Revenue Recognition

In order for us to recognize revenue, four basic criteria must be met:

Our revenue recognition policies are consistent with these criteria. The judgments involved in revenue recognition include understanding the complex terms of agreements and determining the appropriate time to recognize revenue for each transaction based on such terms. Each transaction is evaluated to determine: (i) at what point in time revenue is earned; (ii) whether contingencies exist that impact the timing of recognition of revenue; and (iii) how and when such contingencies will be resolved. The timing of revenue recognition could vary if different judgments were made. Our revenues subject to the most judgment are brokerage commission revenue and incentive-based management and development fees. For a detailed discussion of our revenue recognition policies, see the Revenue Recognition section within Note 2 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements set forth in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this Annual Report).

In establishing the appropriate provisions for trade receivables, we make assumptions with respect to future collectability. Our assumptions are based on an assessment of a customer’s credit quality as well as subjective factors and trends, including the aging of receivables balances. In addition to these assessments, in general,

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outstanding trade accounts receivable amounts that are more than 180 days overdue are evaluated for collectability and fully provided for if deemed uncollectible. Historically, our credit losses have generally been insignificant. However, estimating losses requires significant judgment, and conditions may change or new information may become known after any periodic evaluation. As a result, actual credit losses may differ from our estimates.

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

Our acquisitions require the application of purchase accounting, which results in tangible and identifiable intangible assets and liabilities of the acquired entity being recorded at fair value. The difference between the purchase price and the fair value of net assets acquired is recorded as goodwill. In determining the fair values of assets and liabilities acquired in a business combination, we use a variety of valuation methods including present value, depreciated replacement cost, market values (where available) and selling prices less costs to dispose. We are responsible for determining the valuation of assets and liabilities and for the allocation of purchase price to assets acquired and liabilities assumed.

Assumptions must often be made in determining fair values, particularly where observable market values do not exist. Assumptions may include discount rates, growth rates, cost of capital, royalty rates, tax rates and remaining useful lives. These assumptions can have a significant impact on the value of identifiable assets and accordingly can impact the value of goodwill recorded. Different assumptions could result in different values being attributed to assets and liabilities. Since these values impact the amount of annual depreciation and amortization expense, different assumptions could also impact our statement of operations and could impact the results of future asset impairment reviews.

We are required to test goodwill and other intangible assets deemed to have indefinite useful lives for impairment at least annually or more often if circumstances or events indicate a change in the impairment status. The goodwill impairment analysis is a two-step process. The first step used to identify potential impairment involves comparing each reporting unit’s estimated fair value to its carrying value, including goodwill. We use a discounted cash flow approach to estimate the fair value of our reporting units. Management judgment is required in developing the assumptions for the discounted cash flow model. These assumptions include revenue growth rates, profit margin percentages, discount rates, etc. If the estimated fair value of a reporting unit exceeds its carrying value, goodwill is considered to not be impaired. If the carrying value exceeds estimated fair value, there is an indication of potential impairment and the second step is performed to measure the amount of impairment. The second step of the process involves the calculation of an implied fair value of goodwill for each reporting unit for which step one indicated impairment. The implied fair value of goodwill is determined by measuring the excess of the estimated fair value of the reporting unit as calculated in step one, over the estimated fair values of the individual assets, liabilities and identifiable intangibles as if the reporting unit was being acquired in a business combination. Due to the many variables inherent in the estimation of a business’s fair value and the relative size of our goodwill, if different assumptions and estimates were used, it could have an adverse effect on our impairment analysis.

During the year ended December 31, 2013, we recorded a non-amortizable intangible asset impairment of $98.1 million in our Global Investment Management segment. This non-cash write-off was related to a decrease in value of our open-end funds, primarily in Europe.

For additional information on goodwill and intangible asset impairment testing, see Notes 2, 5 and 8 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements set forth in Item 8 of this Annual Report.

Income Taxes

Income taxes are accounted for under the asset and liability method in accordance with the “Accounting for Income Taxes,” Topic of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, Accounting Standards Codification, or ASC, (Topic 740). Deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on temporary

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differences between the financial reporting and tax basis of assets and liabilities and operating loss and tax credit carry forwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured by applying enacted tax rates and laws and are released in the years in which the temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date. Valuation allowances are provided against deferred tax assets when it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax asset will not be realized.

In November 2015, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update, or ASU, 2015-17, “Income Taxes (Topic 740): Balance Sheet Classification of Deferred Taxes” (ASU 2015-17). This ASU requires the offset of all deferred tax assets and liabilities, including valuation allowances, for each tax-paying jurisdiction within each tax-paying component. The net deferred tax must be presented as a single noncurrent amount. ASU 2015-17 is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2016, with early adoption permitted. Entities may elect to use either a prospective or retrospective transition method. We elected to early adopt the provisions of ASU 2015-17 during the fourth quarter of 2015 and balance sheet amounts as of December 31, 2014 have been reclassified to conform with the current period presentation. As of December 31, 2014, $205.9 million of current deferred tax assets were reclassified to long term deferred tax assets.

Accounting for tax positions requires judgments, including estimating reserves for potential uncertainties. We also assess our ability to utilize tax attributes, including those in the form of carryforwards, for which the benefits have already been reflected in the financial statements. We do not record valuation allowances for deferred tax assets that we believe will be realized in future periods. While we believe the resulting tax balances as of December 31, 2015 and 2014 are appropriately accounted for in accordance with Topic 740, as applicable, the ultimate outcome of such matters could result in favorable or unfavorable adjustments to our consolidated financial statements and such adjustments could be material.

Our foreign subsidiaries have accumulated $1.4 billion of undistributed earnings for which we have not recorded a deferred tax liability. Although tax liabilities might result from dividends being paid out of these earnings, or as a result of a sale or liquidation of non-U.S. subsidiaries, these earnings are permanently reinvested outside of the United States and we do not have any plans to repatriate them or to sell or liquidate any of our non-U.S. subsidiaries. To the extent that we are able to repatriate earnings in a tax efficient manner, we would be required to accrue and pay U.S. taxes to repatriate these funds, net of foreign tax credits. Determining our tax liability upon repatriation is not practicable. Cash and cash equivalents owned by non-U.S. subsidiaries totaled $315.5 million at December 31, 2015. In 2013, we repatriated $196.2 million. Tax benefits associated with the release of valuation allowances on foreign tax credits of $14.5 million and $4.9 million were recorded in 2013 and 2014, respectively.

See Note 13 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements set forth in Item 8 of this Annual Report for further information regarding income taxes.

New Accounting Pronouncements

See New Accounting Pronouncements section within Note 2 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements set forth in Item 8 of this Annual Report.

Items Affecting Comparability

Macroeconomic Conditions

Economic trends and government policies affect global and regional commercial real estate markets as well as our operations directly. These include: overall economic activity and employment growth; interest rate levels and changes in interest rates; the cost and availability of credit; and the impact of tax and regulatory policies. Periods of economic weakness or recession, significantly rising interest rates, fiscal uncertainty, declining

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employment levels, decreasing demand for commercial real estate, falling real estate values, disruption to the global capital or credit markets, or the public perception that any of these events may occur, will negatively affect the performance of our business.

Compensation is our largest expense and the sales and leasing professionals in our advisory services business generally are paid on a commission and/or bonus basis that correlates with their revenue production. As a result, the negative effect of difficult market conditions on our operating margins is partially mitigated by the inherent variability of our compensation cost structure. In addition, when negative economic conditions have been particularly severe, we have moved decisively to lower operating expenses to improve financial performance, and then have restored certain expenses as economic conditions improved. Nevertheless, adverse global and regional economic trends could pose significant risks to the performance of our operations and our financial condition.

Commercial real estate markets have recovered over the past several years, along with the steady improvement in global economic activity, most particularly in the United States. Since 2010, increased U.S. property sales activity has been sustained by gradually improving market fundamentals, low-cost credit availability and increased global and domestic capital flows. During this time, U.S. leasing markets have been marked by increased demand for space, falling vacancies and higher rents.

European economies began to emerge from recession in 2013, with most countries returning to positive, albeit modest, economic growth. Reflecting the macro environment, leasing markets in most of Europe were slow to recover, but improved significantly in 2015. Buoyed by low-cost credit and continued capital flows, Europe saw increased property sales activity in 2015, with higher volumes occurring across more markets, particularly on the continent.

In Asia Pacific, the performance of real estate leasing and investment markets has varied from country to country amid slowing economic growth. Strength in Australia has generally compensated for slower activity elsewhere in the region. In addition, increasingly, local capital has been migrating to other parts of the world.

Real estate investment management and property development markets have been generally favorable with abundant debt and equity capital flows into commercial real estate. However, real estate equity securities markets were adversely affected in 2015 by investor concerns about rising interest rates.

The performance of our global sales, leasing, investment management and development services operations depends on sustained economic growth and strong job creation; stable, healthy global credit markets; and continued positive business and investor sentiment.

Effects of Acquisitions

The Company historically has made significant use of strategic acquisitions to add new service competencies, to increase our scale within existing competencies and to expand our presence in various geographic regions around the world. On September 1, 2015, CBRE, Inc., our wholly-owned subsidiary, closed on a Stock and Asset Purchase Agreement (the Purchase Agreement) with Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI) to acquire JCI’s Global Workplace Solutions (GWS) business (which we refer to as the GWS Acquisition). The acquired GWS business is a market-leading provider of integrated facilities management solutions for major occupiers of commercial real estate and has significant operations around the world. The purchase price was $1.475 billion, paid in cash, with adjustments for working capital and other items. We completed the GWS Acquisition in order to advance our strategy of delivering globally integrated services to major occupiers in our Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific segments. We merged the acquired GWS business with our existing occupier outsourcing business line, and the new combined business adopted the “Global Workplace Solutions” name.

Strategic in-fill acquisitions have also played a key role in expanding our geographic coverage and broadening and strengthening our service offerings. The companies we acquired have generally been regional or

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specialty firms that complement our existing platform within a region, or independent affiliates in which, in some cases, we held a small equity interest. During 2015, we completed eight in-fill acquisitions, including a Seattle-based leader in capital markets services for affordable housing, a Texas-based commercial real estate firm specializing in retail services, an energy management specialist based in Brookfield, Wisconsin, a Chicago-based location data analytics firm, one of the leading retail real estate services firms in the midwestern United States, an advisory, consulting and research firm specializing in the Canadian hospitality and tourism industries and our former independent affiliate companies in Columbia, South Carolina, and Memphis, Tennessee. During 2014, we completed 11 in-fill acquisitions, including our former independent affiliate companies in Thailand, Greenville, South Carolina, Louisville, Kentucky and Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma, a commercial real estate service provider in Chicago, a New York-based valuation and advisory business, a technical real estate consulting firm based in Germany, a consulting and advisory firm in the U.S. hotels sector, a shopping center management, leasing and consulting company in Switzerland and project management companies in Germany and Australia.

Although we believe that strategic acquisitions can significantly decrease the cost, time and commitment of management resources necessary to attain a meaningful competitive position within targeted markets or to expand our presence within our current markets, in general, most acquisitions will initially have an adverse impact on our operating and net income. The adverse impact is a result of transaction-related expenditures, which include severance, lease termination, transaction and deferred financing costs, among others, and the charges and costs of integrating the acquired business and its financial and accounting systems into our own. In addition, our acquisition structures often include deferred and/or contingent purchase price payments in future periods that are subject to the passage of time or achievement of certain performance metrics and other conditions. As of December 31, 2015, we have accrued deferred consideration totaling $79.7 million, which was included in accounts payable and accrued expenses and in other long-term liabilities in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets set forth in Item 8 of this Annual Report.

International Operations

As we increase our international operations through either acquisitions or organic growth, fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to the other currencies in which we may generate earnings could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. Our Global Investment Management business has a significant amount of euro-denominated assets under management, or AUM, as well as associated revenue and earnings in Europe, which has recently seen more pronounced (and adverse) movement in the value of the euro against the U.S. dollar. Similarly, the GWS business also has a significant amount of its revenue and earnings denominated in foreign currencies, such as the British pound sterling and euro. Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates have resulted and may continue to result in corresponding fluctuations in our AUM, revenue and earnings.

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During the year ended December 31, 2015, approximately 45% of our business was transacted in non-U.S. dollar currencies, the majority of which included the Australian dollar, Brazilian real, British pound sterling, Canadian dollar, Chinese yuan, euro, Hong Kong dollar, Indian rupee, Japanese yen, Mexican peso, Singapore dollar and Swiss franc. Although we operate globally, we report our results in U.S. dollars. As a result, the strengthening or weakening of the U.S. dollar may positively or negatively impact our reported results. The following table sets forth our revenue derived from our most significant currencies (dollars in thousands):

For example, we estimate that had the British pound sterling-to-U.S. dollar exchange rates been 10% higher during the year ended December 31, 2015, the net impact would have been an increase in pre-tax income of $7.5 million. We estimate that had the euro-to-U.S. dollar exchange rates been 10% higher during the year ended December 31, 2015, the net impact would have been an increase in pre-tax income of $6.3 million. These hypothetical calculations estimate the impact of translating results into U.S. dollars, without giving effect to our hedging activities, and do not include an estimate of the impact that a 10% change in the U.S. dollar against other currencies would have had on our foreign operations.

We enter into derivative financial instruments to attempt to protect the value or fix the amount of certain obligations in terms of our reporting currency, the U.S. dollar. In March 2014, we began a foreign currency exchange forward hedging program by entering into foreign currency exchange forward contracts, including agreements to buy U.S. dollars and sell Australian dollars, British pound sterling, Canadian dollars, euros and Japanese yen. The purpose of these forward contracts is to attempt to mitigate the risk of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates that would adversely impact some of our foreign currency denominated EBITDA. Hedge accounting was not elected for any of these contracts. As such, changes in the fair values of these contracts are recorded directly in earnings. Included in the consolidated statement of operations set forth in Item 8 of this Annual Report were net gains of $24.2 million and $5.3 million from foreign currency exchange forward contracts for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

We also routinely monitor our exposure to currency exchange rate changes in connection with certain transactions and sometimes enter into foreign currency exchange option and forward contracts to limit our exposure to such transactions, as appropriate. In the ordinary course of business, we also sometimes utilize derivative financial instruments in the form of foreign currency exchange contracts to attempt to mitigate foreign currency exchange exposure resulting from intercompany loans. The net impact on our earnings resulting from gains and/or losses associated with these foreign currency exchange option and forward contracts has not been significant.

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Due to the constantly changing currency exposures to which we are subject and the volatility of currency exchange rates, we cannot predict the effect of exchange rate fluctuations upon future operating results. In addition, fluctuations in currencies relative to the U.S. dollar may make it more difficult to perform period-to-period comparisons of our reported results of operations. Our international operations also are subject to, among other things, political instability and changing regulatory environments, which affects the currency markets and which as a result may adversely affect our future financial condition and results of operations. We routinely monitor these risks and related costs and evaluate the appropriate amount of oversight to allocate towards business activities in foreign countries where such risks and costs are particularly significant.

Seasonality

A significant portion of our revenue is seasonal, which an investor should keep in mind when comparing our financial condition and results of operations on a quarter-by-quarter basis. Historically, our revenue, operating income, net income and cash flow from operating activities tend to be lowest in the first calendar quarter, and highest in the fourth calendar quarter of each year. Earnings and cash flow have generally been concentrated in the fourth calendar quarter due to the focus on completing sales, financing and leasing transactions prior to calendar year-end.

Inflation

Our commissions and other variable costs related to revenue are primarily affected by real estate market supply and demand, which may be affected by general economic conditions including inflation. However, to date, we do not believe that general inflation has had a material impact upon our operations.

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Results of Operations

The following table sets forth items derived from our consolidated statements of operations for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013: