Cushman & Wakefield plc

Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

Note 1: Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP” or “GAAP”) and in conformity with rules applicable to quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements as of March 31, 2024 and for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 are unaudited. All adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments, except as otherwise noted) considered necessary for a fair presentation of the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for these interim periods have been included.

Readers of this unaudited condensed consolidated quarterly financial information should refer to the audited Consolidated Financial Statements and notes thereto of Cushman & Wakefield plc (together with its subsidiaries “Cushman & Wakefield,” the “Company,” “we,” “our” and “us”) for the year ended December 31, 2023 included in our 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K (our “2023 Annual Report”) filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and also available on our website (www.cushmanwakefield.com). Certain footnote disclosures that would substantially duplicate those contained in such audited financial statements or which are not required by the rules and regulations of the SEC for interim financial statement presentation have been condensed or omitted.

Refer to Note 2: Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in the Company’s 2023 Annual Report for further discussion of the Company’s significant accounting policies and estimates.

Due to seasonality, the results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2024 are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations to be expected for the year ending December 31, 2024.

The Company provides for the effects of income taxes on interim financial statements based on estimates of the effective tax rate for the full year, which is based on forecasted income by country and enacted tax rates.

Note 2: New Accounting Pronouncements

There have been no recently issued accounting standards that the Company adopted during the three months ended March 31, 2024. Certain new accounting standards have been issued but are not effective for the current reporting period and have not been early adopted by the Company.

Note 3: Segment Data

The Company reports its operations through the following segments: (1) Americas, (2) Europe, Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”) and (3) Asia Pacific (“APAC”). The Americas consists of operations located in the United States, Canada and key markets in Latin America. EMEA includes operations in the U.K., France, Netherlands and other markets in Europe and the Middle East. APAC includes operations in Australia, Singapore, China and other markets in the Asia Pacific region.

Adjusted EBITDA is the profitability metric reported to the chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) for purposes of making decisions about allocation of resources to each segment and assessing performance of each segment. The Company believes that investors find this measure useful in comparing our operating performance to that of other companies in our industry because this measure generally illustrates the underlying performance of the business before unrealized loss on investments, net, integration and other costs related to merger, acquisition related costs and efficiency initiatives, cost savings initiatives, CEO transition costs, servicing liability fees and amortization, certain legal and compliance matters, and other non-recurring items. Adjusted EBITDA also excludes the effects of financings, income tax and the non-cash accounting effects of depreciation and intangible asset amortization.

As segment assets are not reported to or used by the CODM to measure business performance or allocate resources, total segment assets and capital expenditures are not presented below.

Summarized financial information by segment is as follows (in millions):

Adjusted EBITDA is calculated as follows (in millions):

Note 4: Earnings Per Share

Earnings (loss) per share (“EPS”) is calculated by dividing Net income or loss by the weighted average shares outstanding.

As the Company was in a Net loss position for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company has determined all potentially dilutive shares would be anti-dilutive in these periods and therefore these shares were excluded from the calculation of diluted weighted average shares outstanding. This resulted in the calculation of weighted average shares outstanding to be the same for both basic and diluted EPS for both periods. Approximately 3.3 million and 1.8 million of potentially dilutive shares for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, were excluded from the computation of diluted EPS because their effect would have been anti-dilutive.

The following is a calculation of EPS (in millions, except per share amounts):

Note 5: Revenue

Disaggregation of Revenue

Effective January 1, 2024, the Property, facilities and project management service line was renamed to Services. The change was to the name only and had no impact on the composition of the Company’s service lines or its historical results.

The following tables disaggregate revenue by reportable segment and service line (in millions):

Contract Balances

The Company receives payments from customers based upon contractual billing schedules; accounts receivable are recorded when the right to consideration becomes unconditional. Contract assets include amounts related to the contractual right to consideration for completed performance obligations not yet available to be invoiced. Contract liabilities are recorded when cash payments are received in advance of performance, including amounts which are refundable.

The following table provides information on contract assets and contract liabilities from contracts with customers included in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (in millions):

The amount of revenue recognized during the three months ended March 31, 2024 that was included in the contract liabilities balance at the beginning of the period was $21.0 million. The Company had no material asset impairment charges related to contract assets in the periods presented.

Practical Expedient

The Company incurs incremental costs to obtain new contracts across certain of its service lines. As the amortization period of those expenses is 12 months or less, the Company expenses those incremental costs of obtaining the contracts in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“Topic 606”).

Remaining performance obligations represent the aggregate transaction prices for contracts where the performance obligations have not yet been satisfied. In accordance with Topic 606, the Company does not disclose unsatisfied performance obligations for (i) contracts with an original expected length of one year or less, (ii) contracts for which the Company recognizes revenue in the amount to which we have the right to invoice for services performed and (iii) variable consideration for services performed as a series of daily performance obligations, such as those performed within the Services service line. Performance obligations within these businesses represent a significant portion of the Company’s contracts with customers not expected to be completed within 12 months.

Note 6: Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

The following table summarizes the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill by segment (in millions):

Portions of goodwill are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar; therefore, a portion of the movements in the reported book value of these balances is attributable to movements in foreign currency exchange rates.

For the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, no impairments of goodwill were recognized as the estimated fair value of each of the identified reporting units was in excess of its carrying value. It is possible that our determination that goodwill for a reporting unit is not impaired could change in the future if current economic conditions or other conditions deteriorate or the operating performance or future prospects for a particular reporting unit declines.

The following tables summarize the carrying amounts and accumulated amortization of intangible assets (in millions):

Amortization expense was $13.3 million and $16.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

No impairments of intangible assets were recorded during the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023.

Note 7: Equity Method Investments

Certain investments in which the Company has significant influence over the entity’s financial and operating policies, but does not control, are accounted for under the equity method. The Company’s material equity method investments include Cushman Wakefield Greystone LLC (the “Greystone JV”), in which the Company owns a 40% interest, and CWVS Holding Limited (the “Vanke JV”), in which the Company owns a 35% interest. In addition, the Company licenses certain of its trademarks to the Vanke JV and recognized royalty fee income of $1.6 million and $2.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, which is included in Other income (expense), net in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

The Company had investments in certain strategic joint ventures classified under the equity method of accounting as follows (in millions):

The Company recognized earnings from equity method investments during the period as follows (in millions):

During the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company received distributions from equity method investments of $4.0 million and $4.1 million, respectively.

Note 8: Derivative Financial Instruments and Hedging Activities

The Company is exposed to certain risks arising from both business operations and economic conditions, including interest rate risk and foreign exchange risk. To mitigate the impact of interest rate and foreign exchange risk, the Company enters into derivative financial instruments. The Company maintains the majority of its overall interest rate exposure on floating rate borrowings to a fixed-rate basis, primarily with interest rate swap agreements. The Company manages exposure to foreign exchange fluctuations primarily through short-term forward contracts.

There have been no significant changes to the interest rate and foreign exchange risk management objectives from those disclosed in the Company’s audited Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Interest Rate Derivative Instruments

As of March 31, 2024, the Company’s active interest rate hedging instruments consisted ofnine interest rate swap agreements designated as cash flow hedges. Of the designated cash flow hedges, there arethree interest rate swap agreements with a notional amount of $1.4 billion expiring on August 21, 2025 andsix interest rate swap agreements with a notional amount of $550.0 million expiring on May 31, 2028.

In addition, the Company previously elected to terminate certain interest rate swap agreements in November 2022 and June 2023. Amounts relating to these terminated derivative instruments recorded in Accumulated other comprehensive loss will be amortized into earnings over the remaining life of the original agreements, which were scheduled to expire on August 21, 2025.

The Company records changes in the fair value of derivatives designated and qualifying as cash flow hedges in Accumulated other comprehensive loss in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets and subsequently reclassifies the changes into earnings in the period that the hedged forecasted transaction affects earnings. As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, there were $49.5 million and $34.5 million in pre-tax gains, respectively, included in Accumulated other comprehensive loss related to these agreements, which will be reclassified to Interest expense, net of interest income as interest payments are made in accordance with the 2018 Credit Agreement; refer to Note 9: Long-Term Debt and Other Borrowings for discussion of the 2018 Credit Agreement (which is defined therein). During the next twelve months, the Company estimates that pre-tax gains of $36.9 million will be reclassified to Interest expense, net of interest income in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Non-Designated Foreign Exchange Derivative Instruments

Additionally, the Company enters into short-term forward contracts to mitigate the risk of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates that would adversely impact certain of the Company’s foreign currency denominated transactions. 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. The Company recognized realized losses of $5.3 million and unrealized losses of $0.8 million during the three months ended March 31, 2024. The Company recognized realized losses of $2.6 million and unrealized losses of $1.0 million during the three months ended March 31, 2023.

As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company had 29 and 27 foreign currency exchange forward contracts outstanding covering a notional amount of $1.5 billion and $1.3 billion, respectively. As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company had not posted, and did not hold, any collateral related to these agreements.

The following table presents the fair value of derivatives as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 (in millions):

The fair value of interest rate swaps is included within Other non-current assets and Other non-current liabilities, respectively, in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The fair value of foreign currency forward contracts is included in Prepaid expenses and other current assets and Other current liabilities, respectively, in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company does not net derivatives in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The following table presents the effect of derivatives designated as cash flow hedges in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 (in millions):

(1)Amount is net of related deferred tax benefit of $2.5 million and $0.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

(2)Amount is net of related deferred tax expense of $4.3 million and $0.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Gains of $11.4 million and $5.4 million were reclassified into earnings during the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, related to interest rate hedges and were recognized in Interest expense, net of interest income in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Note 9: Long-Term Debt and Other Borrowings

Long-term debt consisted of the following (in millions):

2018 Credit Agreement

On August 21, 2018, the Company entered into an initial $3.5 billion credit agreement (as amended, the “2018 Credit Agreement”), comprised of an initial $2.7 billion senior secured term loan (the “Initial Term Loan”) and an initial $810.0 million revolving credit facility (the “Revolver”).

Term Loans

Net proceeds from the Initial Term Loan were $2.7 billion ($2.7 billion initial aggregate principal amount less $13.5 million stated discount and $20.6 million in debt transaction costs).

On January 20, 2020, the Company refinanced the Initial Term Loan under materially the same terms, incurring an additional $11.1 million in debt transaction costs.

On January 31, 2023, the Company amended the 2018 Credit Agreement to extend the maturity date of $1.0 billion of the $2.6 billion aggregate principal amount outstanding under the Initial Term Loan to January 31, 2030 (the “2030 Tranche-1”), incurring an additional $15.3 million in debt transaction costs which will be capitalized and amortized over the remaining term of the loan. In addition, the Company recognized a loss on debt extinguishment of $16.9 million within Interest expense, net of interest income, consisting of $8.7 million in unamortized deferred financing costs and $8.2 million in certain new transaction costs paid to creditors. The Company also recognized $4.7 million of new transaction costs directly in Interest expense in the first quarter of 2023. At the time of this amendment, the August 21, 2025 maturity date of the then remaining $1.6 billion principal balance outstanding under the Initial Term Loan was not changed.

On June 21, 2023, the Company amended the 2018 Credit Agreement, effective June 28, 2023, to replace the LIBOR rate applicable to borrowings under the Initial Term Loan with Term SOFR plus an applicable credit spread adjustment. As there were no other material changes to the terms and conditions of the 2018 Credit Agreement, the Company leveraged certain optional expedients for contract modifications related to reference rate reform provided in ASU 2020-04, ASU 2021-01 and ASU 2022-06.

On August 24, 2023, the Company amended the 2018 Credit Agreement to extend the maturity date of $1.0 billion of the then-remaining $1.6 billion aggregate principal amount outstanding under the Initial Term Loan to January 31, 2030 (the “2030 Tranche-2”), incurring an additional $20.4 million in debt transaction costs which will be capitalized and amortized over the remaining term of the loan. In addition, the Company recognized a loss on debt extinguishment of $23.6 million within Interest expense, net of interest income, consisting of $10.6 million in unamortized deferred financing costs and $13.0 million in certain new transaction costs paid to creditors. The Company also recognized $2.5 million of transaction costs directly in Interest expense in the third quarter of 2023. Upon execution of this amendment, along with the repayment of principal outstanding thereunder using proceeds from the offering of $400.0 million in senior secured notes (discussed below), the Initial Term Loan had a remaining aggregate principal balance outstanding of $192.9 million and a maturity date of August 21, 2025. We refer to this remaining aggregate principal balance as the “2025 Tranche” and we refer to the 2025 Tranche, the 2030 Tranche-1 and the 2030 Tranche-2 collectively as the “Term Loans”.

The Term Loans bear interest at a variable rate that the Company may select per the terms of the 2018 Credit Agreement. As of March 31, 2024, the Company elected to use an annual rate equal to (i) 1-month Term SOFR, plus 0.11% (which sum is subject to a minimum floor of 0.0%), plus 2.75% for the 2025 Tranche, (ii) 1-month Term SOFR, plus 0.10% (which sum is subject to a minimum floor of 0.50%), plus 3.25% for the 2030 Tranche-1 and (iii) 1-month Term SOFR (subject to a minimum floor of 0.50%), plus 4.00% for the 2030 Tranche-2. As of March 31, 2024, the effective interest rates were 8.19%,8.90%, and 9.74% for the 2025 Tranche, the 2030 Tranche-1, and the 2030 Tranche-2, respectively.

The 2018 Credit Agreement requires quarterly principal payments equal to 0.25% of the aggregate principal amount of outstanding borrowings under the 2030 Tranche-1 and the 2030 Tranche-2, including any incremental borrowings, which commenced in September 2023 and March 2024, respectively. All required principal payments under the 2025 Tranche have been satisfied until maturity. In March 2024, the Company elected to prepay $50.0 million of the 2025 Tranche resulting in a remaining aggregate principal balance outstanding under the 2025 Tranche of $142.9 million.

Revolver

On December 20, 2019, the Company amended the 2018 Credit Agreement to increase the aggregate commitments under the Revolver by $210.0 million, incurring an additional $0.5 million in debt transaction costs.

On April 28, 2022, the Company amended the 2018 Credit Agreement to (i) increase the aggregate commitments under the Revolver by $80.0 million, extending its borrowing capacity from $1.0 billion to $1.1 billion, (ii) extend the maturity date of borrowings under the Revolver from August 21, 2023 to April 28, 2027, (iii) replace the LIBOR rate applicable to borrowings under the Revolver with Term SOFR plus an applicable rate, and (iv) add pricing terms linked to achievement of certain greenhouse gas emission targets. The Company incurred an additional $3.7 million in debt transaction costs in connection with this amendment.

Borrowings under the Revolver, if any, bear interest at our option, at 1-month Term SOFR, plus 0.10%, plus an applicable rate varying from 1.75% to 2.75% based on achievement of certain Net Leverage Ratios (as defined in the 2018 Credit Agreement). The Revolver was undrawn as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023.

Senior Secured Notes due 2028

On May 22, 2020, the Company issued $650.0 million of senior secured notes due May 15, 2028 (the “2028 Notes”). Net proceeds from the 2028 Notes were $638.5 million, consisting of a $650.0 million aggregate principal amount less $11.5 million from issuance costs. The 2028 Notes were offered in a private placement exempt from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The 2028 Notes bear interest at a fixed rate of 6.75% and yielded an effective interest rate of 6.75% as of March 31, 2024.

Senior Secured Notes due 2031

On August 24, 2023, the Company issued $400.0 million of senior secured notes due September 1, 2031 (the “2031 Notes”). Net proceeds from the 2031 Notes were $392.8 million, consisting of a $400.0 million aggregate principal amount less $7.2 million from issuance costs. The 2031 Notes were offered in a private placement exempt from registration under the Securities Act. In addition, the Company recognized a loss on debt extinguishment of $1.4 million and directly expensed transaction costs of $1.5 million within Interest expense, net of interest income in the third quarter of 2023 related to this issuance. The 2031 Notes bear interest at a fixed rate of 8.88% and yielded an effective interest rate of 8.80% as of March 31, 2024.

Financial Covenant and Related Terms

The 2018 Credit Agreement has a springing financial covenant, tested on the last day of each fiscal quarter if the outstanding borrowings under the Revolver exceed an applicable threshold. If the financial covenant is triggered, the Net Leverage Ratio (as defined in the 2018 Credit Agreement) may not exceed 5.00 to 1.00. In addition, the 2018 Credit Agreement, the indenture governing the 2028 Notes and the indenture governing the 2031 Notes impose certain operating and financial restrictions on the Company, and in the event of certain defaults, all of the Company’s outstanding borrowings under the 2018 Credit Agreement, the 2028 Notes and the 2031 Notes, together with accrued interest and other fees, could become immediately due and payable.

The Company was in compliance with all of the covenants under the 2018 Credit Agreement, the indenture governing the 2028 Notes and the indenture governing the 2031 Notes as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023.

Note 10: Commitments and Contingencies

Contingencies

In the normal course of business, the Company is subject to various claims and litigation. The Company is also subject to threatened or pending legal actions arising from activities of contractors. A liability is recorded for claims or other contingencies when the risk of loss is probable and estimable. Legal fees are expensed as incurred. Many of these claims may be covered under the Company’s current insurance programs, subject to self-insurance levels and deductibles. The timing and ultimate settlement of these matters is inherently uncertain, however, based upon information currently available, unless otherwise noted, we believe the resolution of such claims and litigation will not have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or liquidity.

The Company is also subject to various workers’ compensation and medical claims, primarily as it relates to claims by employees in the U.S. for medical benefits and lost wages associated with injuries incurred in the course of their employment. A liability is also recorded for the Company’s incurred but not reported (“IBNR”) claims, based on assessment using prior claims history.

These various contingent claims liabilities are presented as Other current liabilities and Other non-current liabilities in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, contingent liabilities recorded within Other current liabilities were $101.9 million and $80.4 million, respectively, and contingent liabilities recorded within Other non-current liabilities were $54.9 million and $53.1 million, respectively. These contingent liabilities are made up of errors and omissions (“E&O”) claims, litigation matters, general liability, workers’ compensation and other medical claims. As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, E&O and other litigation claims were $59.5 million and $55.4 million, respectively, and general liability, workers’ compensation and medical claims liabilities were $97.3 million and $78.1 million, respectively.

The Company had insurance recoverable balances for E&O claims as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 totaling $2.0 million and $0.8 million, respectively.

Payroll Tax Claims

In a non-U.S. jurisdiction, the Company is currently engaged in a dispute with a local tax authority about the application of tax rules related to certain payroll taxes with respect to two of our subsidiaries for tax years ended 2015 to 2021. The tax authority has claimed the Company owes unpaid employer payroll tax contributions, plus interest. In addition, we could receive claims for alleged unpaid income taxes as we have been served with protective determinations by the same tax authority.

The Company believes that it has appropriately applied the payroll tax rules, including as a result of its consideration of a recent ruling by an appellate court in the jurisdiction, and disagrees with the amounts claimed. However, the Company recorded an immaterial liability as of December 31, 2023 that is equal to the estimated probable loss for the years under review. The Company continues to assess this matter and it is reasonably possible that the matter could result in an additional, potentially material, liability in future periods. There have been no changes to the estimated liability during the three months ended March 31, 2024.

401(k) Nondiscrimination Testing

In 2023, the Company identified irregularities in its historical nondiscrimination testing for a qualified retirement savings plan available to U.S. employees. As of December 31, 2023, to remedy these irregularities, the Company accrued its best estimate of the amount that the Company would need to contribute to the plan in accordance with applicable correction protocols. The amount of the estimated corrective contribution is not material and there have been no material changes to the estimated amount during the three months ended March 31, 2024.

Guarantees

The Company’s guarantees primarily relate to requirements under certain client service contracts and arise through the normal course of business. These guarantees, with certain financial institutions, have both open and closed-ended terms, with remaining closed-ended terms up to 9 years and maximum potential future payments of approximately $70.4 million in the aggregate. None of these guarantees are individually material to the Company’s operating results, financial position or liquidity. The Company considers the future payment or performance related to non-performance under these guarantees to be remote.

Greystone JV Indemnity

On November 27, 2023, Greystone Servicing Company LLC (“GSC”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Greystone JV, entered into an indemnity agreement with Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”), which agreement is not in the normal course of GSC’s business, whereby Freddie Mac agreed to issueone or more loan commitment letters regarding the purchase of 39 first mortgage multifamily property loans brokered by a certain independent broker under temporary suspension by Freddie Mac (“Brokered Loans”). In exchange, GSC agreed to indemnify and hold Freddie Mac harmless from any claims or losses related to such Brokered Loans that result from any fraud, misinterpretation or omission. The Brokered Loans are currently performing and have not had any material impact on the Greystone JV at this time. The Company will continue to assess this matter and, although it considers the future indemnity obligations related to these Brokered Loans to be remote, it is possible that the matter could result in an additional, potentially material, liability for the Greystone JV in future periods. Any potential impact to the Greystone JV would only impact the Company’s Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements by our 40% interest in the Greystone JV.

Note 11: Related Party Transactions

As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company had receivables from brokers and other employees of $57.3 million and $49.9 million, respectively, that are included in Prepaid expenses and other current assets, and $355.3 million and $311.7 million, respectively, that are included in Other non-current assets in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. These amounts primarily represent prepaid commissions, retention and sign-on bonuses to brokers and other items such as travel and other advances to employees.

In addition, the Company recognized royalty fee income from equity method investments as disclosed in Note 7: Equity Method Investments.

Note 12: Fair Value Measurements

The Company measures certain assets and liabilities in accordance with ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (“ASC 820”), which defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset, or paid to transfer a liability, in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. In addition, ASC 820 establishes a three-level fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs used to measure fair value as follows:

•Level 1: quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;

•Level 2: inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly (i.e., as prices) or indirectly (i.e., derived from prices); and

•Level 3: inputs for the asset or liability that are based on unobservable inputs in which there is little or no market data.

Financial Instruments

The Company’s financial instruments include cash and cash equivalents, trade and other receivables, a deferred purchase price (“DPP”) receivable related to our revolving accounts receivables securitization program, which we have amended periodically (the “A/R Securitization”), restricted cash, accounts payable and accrued expenses, short-term borrowings, long-term debt, interest rate swaps and foreign exchange contracts. The carrying amount of cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash approximates the fair value of these instruments. Certain money market funds in which the Company has invested are highly liquid and considered cash equivalents. These funds are valued at the per unit rate published as the basis for current transactions. Due to the short-term nature of trade and other receivables, accounts payable and accrued expenses, and short-term borrowings, their carrying amount is considered to be the same as their fair value.

Under the A/R Securitization, the Company recorded a DPP receivable upon the initial sale of trade receivables. As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the carrying amount of the DPP receivable approximates its fair value. Refer to Note 13: Accounts Receivable Securitization for more information.

The estimated fair value of external debt was $3.2 billion and $3.3 billion as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. These instruments were valued using dealer quotes that are classified as Level 2 inputs in the fair value hierarchy. The gross carrying value of the debt was $3.2 billion and $3.2 billion as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively, which excludes debt issuance costs. Refer to Note 9: Long-Term Debt and Other Borrowings for additional information.

Recurring Fair Value Measurements

The following tables present information about the Company’s assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 (in millions):

During the three months ended March 31, 2024, there were no transfers between the three levels of the fair value hierarchy. There have been no significant changes to the valuation techniques and inputs used to develop the fair value measurements from those disclosed in the Company’s audited Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Deferred Compensation Plans

Prior to 2017, the Company sponsored non-qualified deferred compensation plans for certain U.S. employees whereby the employee could defer a portion of employee compensation, which the Company would hold in trust, enabling the employees to defer tax on compensation until payment is made to them from the trust. These plans are frozen. Employee balances held in trust are at risk for any investment losses of the funds held in trust.

The Company adopted a new non-qualified deferred compensation plan on January 1, 2019. The plan allows certain highly-compensated employees to defer a portion of their compensation, enabling the employees to defer tax on compensation until payment is made. This plan is also frozen. The Company has established a Rabbi Trust under which investments are held to fund payment of the liability of the deferred compensation plan. The investments of the Rabbi Trust consist of life insurance policies for which investment gains or losses are recognized based upon changes in cash surrender value that are driven by market performance.

The fair value of assets and liabilities of these plans is based on the value of the underlying investments using quoted prices in active markets at period end. Deferred compensation plan assets are presented within Prepaid expenses and other current assets and Other non-current assets in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. Deferred compensation liabilities are presented within Accrued compensation and Other non-current liabilities in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Foreign Currency Forward Contracts and Interest Rate Swaps

The estimated fair value of interest rate swaps and foreign currency forward contracts are determined based on the expected cash flows of each derivative instrument. The valuation method reflects the contractual period and uses observable market-based inputs, including interest rate and foreign currency forward curves (Level 2 inputs). Refer to Note 8: Derivative Financial Instruments and Hedging Activities for discussion of the fair value associated with these derivative assets and liabilities.

Earn-out Liabilities

The Company has various contractual obligations associated with the acquisition of several real estate service companies in the United States, Australia, Canada and Europe, including contingent consideration, comprised of earn-out payments to the sellers subject to achievement of certain performance criteria in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in the respective purchase agreements. An increase to a probability of achievement would result in a higher fair value measurement of the earn-out liability.

The amounts disclosed in the fair value hierarchy table above are included in Other current liabilities and Other non-current liabilities in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. As of March 31, 2024, the Company had the potential to make a maximum of $27.7 million and a minimum of $0.0 million (undiscounted) in earn-out payments. Assuming the achievement of the applicable performance criteria, these earn-out payments will be made over the next 6 years.

Earn-out liabilities are classified within Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy because the methodology used to develop the estimated fair value includes significant unobservable inputs reflecting management’s own assumptions. The fair value of earn-out liabilities is based on the present value of probability-weighted expected return method related to the earn-out performance criteria on each reporting date. The probabilities of achievement assigned to the performance criteria are determined based on due diligence performed at the time of acquisition, as well as actual performance achieved subsequent to acquisition. Adjustments to the earn-out liabilities in periods subsequent to the completion of acquisitions are reflected within Operating, administrative and other in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

The table below presents a reconciliation of earn-out liabilities measured at fair value using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) (in millions):

Investments in Real Estate Ventures

The Company directly invests in early stage property technology (“proptech”) companies, real estate investment funds and other real estate companies across various sectors. The Company typically reports these investments at cost, less impairment charges, and adjusts these investments to fair value if the Company identifies observable price changes in orderly transactions for identical or similar instruments of the same issuer.

Investments in early stage proptech companies or other real estate companies are typically fair valued as a result of pricing observed in initial or subsequent funding rounds. These investments are not fair valued on a recurring basis and as such have been excluded from the fair value hierarchy table. As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, our investments in early stage proptech companies had a fair value of approximately $40.5 million and $40.7 million, respectively, and are included in Other non-current assets in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Investments in real estate venture capital funds and co-investment funds are primarily fair valued using the net asset value (“NAV”) per share (or its equivalent) provided by investees or held at cost, less impairment charges. Critical inputs to NAV estimates include valuations of the underlying real estate assets and borrowings, which incorporate investment-specific assumptions such as discount rates, capitalization rates, rental and expense growth rates, and asset-specific market borrowing rates. As these investments are not required to be classified in the fair value hierarchy, they have been excluded from the fair value hierarchy table. As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, our investments in real estate venture capital funds and co-investment funds had a fair value of approximately $76.2 million and $79.0 million, respectively, and are included in Other non-current assets in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The Company adjusts these various real estate investments to their fair values each reporting period, and the changes in fair values are reflected in Other income (expense), net, in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. During the three months ended March 31, 2024, the Company recognized unrealized losses of $1.0 million on our real estate investments. During the three months ended March 31, 2023, the Company recognized an unrealized loss of $9.8 million related to our investment in WeWork and unrealized losses of $0.9 million on our other real estate investments.

Note 13: Accounts Receivable Securitization

Under the A/R Securitization, certain of the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiaries continuously sell receivables to certain wholly-owned special purpose entities at fair market value. The special purpose entities then sell 100% of the receivables to an unaffiliated financial institution (the “Purchaser”). Although the special purpose entities are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Company, they are separate legal entities with their own separate creditors who will be entitled, upon their liquidation, to have liabilities satisfied out of their assets prior to any assets or value in such special purpose entities becoming available to their equity holders and their assets are not available to pay other creditors of the Company.

All transactions under the A/R Securitization are accounted for as a true sale in accordance with ASC Topic 860, Transfers and Servicing (“ASC 860”). Following the sale and transfer of the receivables to the Purchaser, the receivables are legally isolated from the Company and its subsidiaries, and the Company sells, conveys, transfers and assigns to the Purchaser all its rights, title and interest in the receivables. Receivables sold are derecognized from the consolidated balance sheet. The Company continues to service, administer and collect the receivables on behalf of the Purchaser, and recognizes a servicing liability in accordance with ASC 860. Any financial statement impact associated with the servicing liability was immaterial for all periods presented.

Under the A/R Securitization, the Company records a DPP receivable upon the initial sale of trade receivables. The DPP receivable represents the difference between the fair value of the trade receivables sold and the cash purchase price and is recognized at fair value as part of the sale transaction. The DPP receivable is paid to the Company in cash on behalf of the Purchaser as the receivables are collected; however, due to the revolving nature of the A/R Securitization, cash collected from the Company’s customers is reinvested by the Purchaser daily in new receivable purchases under the A/R Securitization. The carrying amount of the DPP receivable, which approximates its fair value, is primarily based on the face amount of receivables, adjusted for estimated credit losses. As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the DPP receivable of $260.8 million and $219.6 million, respectively, is included in Other non-current assets in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

For the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, receivables sold under the A/R Securitization were $630.8 million and $689.2 million, respectively, and cash collections from customers on receivables sold were $590.4 million and $672.5 million, respectively, all of which were reinvested in new receivables purchases and are included in cash flows from operating activities in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the outstanding principal on receivables sold under the A/R Securitization was $386.1 million and $345.7 million, respectively.

This A/R Securitization also provides funding from the Purchaser against receivables sold into the program with a maximum facility limit of $200.0 million. As of both March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company had aggregate capital outstanding under this facility of $100.0 million, respectively. On June 20, 2023, the Company amended the A/R Securitization to extend the maturity date to June 19, 2026 and incurred a servicing liability fee of $11.3 million in connection with the amendment, which will be amortized through the maturity date of the program.

Note 14: Supplemental Cash Flow Information

The following table provides a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash reported within the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets to the sum of such amounts presented in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (in millions):

Supplemental cash flows and non-cash investing and financing activities are as follows (in millions):

Note 15: Subsequent Events

The Company has evaluated subsequent events through April 29, 2024, the date on which these financial statements were issued, and has determined there were no material subsequent events to disclose.