Compass Chief Executive Robert Reffkin said Thursday that the brokerage sees a path to joining the Open Real Estate listing initiative, as the company expands its own early-listing network for homebuyers and sellers.
On the company’s November 5 earnings call, Reffkin said adoption of its three-phase marketing strategy averaged 63% among newly launched Compass-brand listings in cities where the firm faces no industry marketing restrictions. His comments are recorded in the call transcript published Friday.
Listing access becomes the focus
Reffkin welcomed the competing Open Real Estate initiative and said there was “definitely a path” for Compass to become involved. He described the goal as giving homeowners and their agents greater control over listings.
The company’s See It First offering includes private-exclusive and coming-soon listings. Reffkin said some unrestricted cities exceeded 70% adoption of three-phase marketing during the quarter.
For buyers and sellers, the practical issue is where a home first becomes visible and how widely it is marketed at each stage. Compass is expanding early access through its own sites while exploring participation in a broader listing network.
Quarterly results show revenue and profit growth
Compass reported $62 million in third-quarter net income and $3.90 billion in revenue as the enlarged real estate-services business combined a much bigger operating base with growth on a comparable, pro forma basis.
Reported revenue rose 111% from $1.85 billion a year earlier, the company said in its November 5 earnings release. The separate 11.6% growth figure compares the latest quarter with $3.49 billion in pro forma revenue for the prior-year quarter.
Why the merger changes the comparison
Compass’s pro forma revenue and business metrics treat Compass and Anywhere as if they had been combined as of July 1, 2025, according to the release’s footnote. That comparison measures revenue across the combined business on the same operating basis.
Net income under generally accepted accounting principles improved to $62 million from a $4 million loss in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization reached $306 million, compared with $94 million a year earlier.
Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure. Compass excludes items including depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation, interest and certain merger, restructuring and other expenses. The company reported $145 million in depreciation and amortization, $36 million in non-cash stock compensation and $28 million in merger transaction and integration expenses among the latest quarter’s adjustments.
Organic closings slip as aggregate sales value rises
Brokerage agents closed 140,118 total transactions, up 106.4% on a reported basis. On the company’s organic pro forma measure, however, brokerage transactions fell 0.3% to 135,956. Organic brokerage gross transaction value rose 7.5% on that basis to $133.1 billion.
Gross transaction value measures the value of property transactions. The release’s organic metrics include only businesses owned by Compass or Anywhere as of July 1, 2025, helping separate the combined comparison from later acquisitions.
For buyers, sellers and agents, the transaction figures show a market in which the aggregate value of organic brokerage sales rose while the number of closings edged lower.
Cash, debt and the next-quarter forecast
Compass generated $248 million in operating cash flow during the quarter and ended September with $841 million in cash. It had no outstanding balance on its revolving credit facility, but it still had $3.14 billion in total long-term debt.
For the fourth quarter, Compass forecast revenue of $3.150 billion to $3.350 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $100 million to $130 million.
The company lowered its full-year non-GAAP operating-expense forecast to $2.71 billion to $2.73 billion, from $2.75 billion to $2.80 billion, and continued to expect positive free cash flow for 2026.
JBizNews Desk | New York
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