Newmark Group, Inc.

Welcome to the Newmark's fourth quarter 2021 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants will be in a listen-only mode. After the speaker presentation, there will be a question and answer session. Please be advised that today's conference call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to Jason McGruder, head of investor relations. Thank you, and please go ahead.

Thank you, and good morning. Good morning. Newmark issued its fourth quarter and full year 2021 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 2021 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 origination and sales, as well as the impact of the 2021 equity event. We will be referring to our results on this call only on a non-GAAP basis unless otherwise stated. These non-GAAP terms include adjusted earnings and adjusted EBITDA based on our current methodology, which exclude the impact of NASDAQ and the 2021 equity event. Please see the section of today's press release for the complete and or updated definitions of any non-GAAP terms, reconciliation of these items to 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 supplemental Excel tables and the quarterly financial results presentation. Any outlook discussed on today's call assumes no material acquisitions, share repurchases, or meaningful changes in the company stock price. These expectations are subject to change based on various macroeconomic, social, political, and or other factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic. While our 2025 financial and operational targets do assume acquisitions, they are also subject to change for these same reasons. None of our targets or goals through 2025 should be considered formal guidance. I also remind you that the information on this call recording our business that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Sections 27A, the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties. These include statements about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the company's business results, financial position, liquidity outlook, which may constitute forward-looking statements and are subject to the risk that the actual impact may differ possibly materially from what is currently expected. Except as required by law, we take no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. For discussion of additional risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, see our 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, and Form 8-K filings. I'm now happy to turn the call over to our host, Barry Gossin, Chief Executive Officer of Newmark Group, Inc.

Good morning, everyone, and thank you all for joining us. With me today are Newmark's Chief Financial Officer, Mike Rispoli, our Chief Revenue Officer, Lou Alvarado, and our Chief Strategy Officer, Jeff Day. Newmark generated record quarterly revenues for the third quarter in a row as we continued to gain momentum and increase our market share. We also produced record fourth quarter and annual earnings. Nearly all our growth was organic, due mainly to our prior investments in multifamily, commercial mortgage brokerage, life science, lodging, industrial, and management services. As an example of our organic growth, Newmark's 2019 annual revenue per producer was $895,000. In 2021, this figure exceeded $1.1 million, contributing to a 700 basis point improvement in our full year adjusted EBITDA margin. Newmark's revenue growth was led by capital markets, which doubled to a quarterly record of $380 million. Our record capital markets and origination volumes of $58 billion were up 84%. Fees from leasing and other commissions were up by 91%, and 5% better than the fourth quarter in 2019. Turning to our recurring revenue businesses, management services, servicing fees, and other grew by 53% to an all-time quarterly record of $264 million. This growth was led by strong improvements from global corporate services valuation advisory, servicing, and the no-till acquisition. Our valuation advisory revenues grew by 47 percent in the full year 2021 to $157 million. The strong growth was organic and driven by our NGAGE technology platform, which significantly increased the productivity of our appraisers. Newmark remains in a very strong financial position, We remain on track to achieve our 2025 financial target of $900 million of adjusted EBITDA. With that, I'm happy to turn the call over to Mike.