Newmark Group, Inc.

Good morning. My name is Matt, and I'll be the conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Newmark fourth quarter 2020 earnings conference call. All participants will be in a listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing star then zero. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star then one on a touch-tone phone. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to Jason Harbs, VP of Investment Relations. Sir, you may begin when you're ready.

Thank you and good morning. We issued our fourth quarter and full year 2020 financial results press release and a presentation summarizing these results this morning. The results provided on today's call compare only the fourth quarter of 2020 with the year earlier period unless otherwise stated. Any figures with respect to cash flow from operations discussed on today's call refer to net cash provided by operating activities excluding loan originations and sales. We will be referring to our results on this call only on an adjusted earnings basis unless otherwise stated. We may also refer to adjusted EBITDA. Please see today's press release for results under generally accepted accounting principles or GAAP. Please see the sections in the back of today's press release for the complete definitions of any such non-GAAP terms, reconciliations of these items for the corresponding GAAP results, and how, when, and why management uses them. Additional information with respect to our GAAP and non-GAAP results mentioned on today's call is available on our website and in our investment presentation. Any outlook discussed on today's call assumes no material acquisitions, shareable purchases, or meaningful changes in the company's stock price. These expectations are subject to change based on various macroeconomic, social, political, and other factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic. I also remind you that information on this call regarding our business that are not historical facts are 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. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties. Thank you. Thank you. See Newmark's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including but not limited to the risk factors set forth in our most recent Form 10-K, Form 10-Q, or Form 8-K filings. With respect to the NASDAQ earn-out, the number of shares received by Newmark will depend on the timing of the closing of NASDAQ's recently announced sale of its U.S. fixed-income business and NASDAQ's stock price at the time. Nancek has stated that the closing is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including the receipt of required regulatory approvals. Newmark can provide no assurance as to when or if the closing will occur. I'm now happy to turn the call over to our host, Barry Gosin, CEO of Newmark Group, Inc.

Thank you, Jason. Good morning, and thank you for joining us for Newmark's fourth quarter 2020 conference call. Joining me virtually on the call today are Newmark's Chief Financial Officer, Mike Rispoli, our Chief Strategy Officer Jeff Day, and our Chief Revenue Officer Lou Alvarado. Newmark's 2020 results demonstrate the resilience of our commercial real estate services platform. We reported record quarterly revenues in valuation and advisory, capital markets, and mortgage banking. Our capital markets and debt volumes totaled $32 billion. In 2020, Newmark gained 192 basis points of market share in U.S. investment sales and improved its ranking to third overall. We also gained 83 basis points in our GSE originations business and ranked fifth overall. Newmark's leadership position in alternative property types such as life science, Seniors Housing, Medical Office, Self Storage, and Student Housing helped propel our record-setting capital markets performance. We continue to focus on the growth of our recurring revenue businesses such as evaluation advisory, mortgage servicing, global corporate services, and property management. We recently hired a head of global corporate services to expand this critical offering for occupiers as they formulate their plans for returning to the workplace. Additionally, we continue to expand their presence in key growth markets that are benefiting from demographic tailwinds. Based on the strong foundation we have built, Newmark expects to outperform as industry volumes recover. Newmark recently acquired all of the first and second lien debt of Notel. On January 31st, we announced an agreement to provide approximately $20 million of debtor and possession financing and acquire the assets of Notel through its Chapter 11 sales process. We believe that co-working and flexible offices will be an increasingly important offering to owners and occupiers in the post-pandemic world. Newmark's financial position is strong, and Mike is going to discuss the NASDAQ transaction in a minute. But I would like to point out that we generated more than $100 million of cash from operations and paid down $200 million of debt in the quarter. With that, I'm happy to turn the call over to Mike.