Photo via jll.com
JLL posted a record third quarter and raised its full-year earnings outlook, and Christian Ulbrich, CEO of JLL, told CNBC's Squawk on the Street that data-center demand will outrun new supply for the next couple of years.
Much of the market is asking whether higher rates will cool spending on data centers. Christian said the opposite: no buyer is pulling back, and the biggest constraint on new supply is access to electricity.
"The demand for those data centers is so high that there is more demand than data centers can come to market over the foreseeable next couple of years. So nobody is pulling back."
JLL leases, manages and advises on property worldwide, so Christian sees demand across offices, warehouses, apartments and data centers at once. The same hour brought in Aaron Jagdfeld, CEO of Generac, on backup power, and Gil Luria of D.A. Davidson on Big Tech earnings.
The full segment is covered here so you can skip it.
Here are the 9 calls that matter.
Squawk on the Street · Oct 28, 2026
With Christian Ulbrich, CEO of JLL · Aaron Jagdfeld, CEO of Generac · Gil Luria, Analyst at D.A. Davidson
Key Takeaways
Data-center demand exceeds what can be built for years, and access to power is the binding limit
Rate increases hit multifamily hardest, especially Sun Belt markets that overbuilt, while industrial was almost untouched
Office demand is at a new post-COVID peak, with little new supply, which pushes up rents for the best buildings
Only about 7% of US households own a home standby generator, though Americans lose power more than any other industrialized nation
Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon all trade at 21 to 23 times next year's earnings, a convergence from earlier in the year
Gil slightly prefers Microsoft because of its larger exposure to OpenAI
Microsoft is still free-cash-flow positive, unlike Google, Amazon and Meta, which now raise debt and equity for their build-outs
1. JLL's Sell-Off Was Overdone
JLL's record quarter and higher outlook sent the stock toward its best day in nearly four years. Christian said the rebound only recovers part of a decline that had gone too far.
Christian called the recent drop in JLL shares too negative and said the company has little hesitancy about 2027
"The movement in our stock over the last couple of weeks has been just too negative, and so we are just regaining some of the ground which we have lost." — Christian Ulbrich
He said JLL has very little hesitancy going into 2027, with record results behind it.
