(This is The Best Stocks in the Market , brought to you by Josh Brown and Sean Russo of Ritholtz Wealth Management.) Josh — Not sure what stock to buy? A good starting point is to ask the question: "what stocks are other people buying that I'm not even aware of?" I know they teach finance students the opposite. They say we should only buy low, or look for stocks that everyone is selling. That we should be contrarian all the time and skate to where the puck is going. Good luck with that. In the real world, price is one of the best signals to pick up on new stories before everyone is aware of them. CBRE Group is a perfect example of this. It began showing strength at a time when everyone counted out commercial real estate as literally a dead asset class. Had you ignored that narrative and focused instead on the accumulation of the stock, it would have led you to one of the greatest corporate transformations we've seen in a long time. Once thought of as a transactional office building brokerage firm, CBRE has become one of the largest and most indispensable players in the management of real estate assets. So sit back, put your feet up, and let Sean tell you the story behind the price. I'll be back with some risk management at the end. Best Stock Spotlight: CBRE Group, Inc. (CBRE) Sean — CBRE Group is the second best-performing real estate sector stock over the past 10 years, annualizing 18% a year in total returns. CBRE has completely separated itself from what has been a poorly performing sector. The real estate sector (using the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF $XLRE ) has not seen new all-time highs since December 2021, its longest stretch since the inception of this sector spider in 2015. Over that period, CBRE has closed at an all-time high 40 times, and just made a new one last week. There's a reason CBRE has separated itself. Historically, CBRE operated primarily as a traditional commercial real estate brokerage firm, generating revenue from transaction-based commissions on property sales and leasing. This was and is a non-recurring, cyclical business totally dependent on transaction volumes, which fluctuate with economic cycles and interest rates. Most real estate firms are bound by those cycles and rates, hence the poor sector performance over the past few years. CBRE became more durable and less tied to rates and transaction volumes. CBRE is now a massive player in the management of commercial real estate. This new model focuses on multiyear relationships with corporate clients. This model allows CBRE to maintain its brokerage business that is transaction-based, but adds a recurring nature to its revenue stream. These management solutions include tech and IT services and the overall project management of these spaces. CBRE is in the process of positioning to unify building operations, workplace experience, and property management capabilities across all property sectors through its newly formed Building Operations & Experience segment. The durability and growth is showing up in the fundamentals. In recent quarters, CBRE reported 82% of revenue coming from "resilient" businesses like its management segments. The Building Operations & Experience segment operating profit margin in 2025 went from 8.9% to 9.9% and finally to 10.5% through the first three quarters of 2025. CBRE raised EPS guidance twice in 2025, while reducing leverage and increasing cash flow. These fast-growing, higher-quality fundamentals should be rated higher than their historical brokerage-based multiples and price is playing that thesis out. Risk management Josh: I think the stock is still being discovered. I want to give it a bit of a leash. If I enter here, I'm using the 135 to 140 area as an eyeball stop loss. This level was resistance in the first half of 2025 and I believe could serve as support during the next market pullback. Think of this like buying a $16 stock and taking risk down to 13 and a half. The upside here as the rest of the market realizes what this company has become could be substantial over time. Namaste. DISCLOSURES: (None) All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, or its parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. THE CONTENT IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ANY INDIVIDUAL'S UNIQUE PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THE ABOVE CONTENT MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. BEFORE MAKING ANY FINANCIAL DECISIONS, YOU SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER SEEKING ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN FINANCIAL OR INVESTMENT ADVISOR. Click here for the full disclaimer.
