JLL Reports a Good Set of Numbers in the Fourth Quarter; We Maintain Our $266 FVE

Narrow-moat Jones Lang LaSalle reported a good set of numbers in the fourth quarter, comfortably beating the FactSet consensus estimate of $6.81 per share with reported adjusted EPS of $8.66. Fee revenue came in strong as the company reported fourth-quarter fee revenue of $2.8 billion, a 42% increase on a year-over-year basis and a 16% increase from the fourth quarter of 2019. The company reported fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $622 million, a 50% increase compared with last year and 26% higher than the fourth quarter of 2019. The adjusted EBITDA margin calculated on a fee-revenue basis was recorded at 22.4%, up 110 basis points when compared with fourth-quarter 2020 and up 180 basis points from fourth-quarter 2019. We do not plan to materially change our $266 fair value estimate for the company as we incorporate the fourth quarter results.