Organization and Basis of Presentation (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

(a)Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“U.S. GAAP”). The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements were prepared on a stand-alone basis derived from the financial statements and accounting records of BGC, prior to the Spin-Off. During the year ended December 31, 2018, Newmark changed the line item formerly known as “Allocations of net income and grant of exchangeability to limited partnership units and FPUs” to “Allocations of net income and grant of exchangeability to limited partnership units and FPUs and issuance of common stock” in Newmark’s consolidated statement of operations. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, Newmark changed the line item formerly known as “Allocations of net income and grant of exchangeability to limited partnership units and FPUs and issuance of common stock” to “Equity-based compensation and allocations of net income to limited partnership units and FPUs” on the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations. The change resulted in the reclassification of amortization charges related to equity-based awards, such as REUs and Restricted Stock Units (“RSUs”), from “Compensation and employee benefits” to “Equity-based compensation and allocations of net income to limited partnership units and FPUs.”

“Equity-based compensation and allocations of net income to limited partnership units and FPUs” reflect the following items:

• Charges with respect to grants of exchangeability, which reflect the right of holders of limited partnership units with no capital accounts, such as LPUs and PSUs, to exchange these units into shares of common stock, or into partnership units with capital accounts, such as HDUs, as well as cash paid with respect to taxes withheld or expected to be owed by the unit holder upon such exchange. The withholding taxes related to the exchange of certain non-exchangeable units without a capital account into either common shares or units with a capital account may be funded by the redemption of preferred units such as PPSUs.

• Charges with respect to preferred unit redemption. Any preferred units, such as PPSUs, are not included in Newmark’s fully diluted share count because they cannot be made exchangeable into shares of common stock and are entitled only to a fixed distribution. Preferred units are granted in connection with the grant of certain limited partnership units that may be granted exchangeability at ratios designed to cover any withholding taxes expected to be paid by the unit holder upon exchange. This is an alternative to the common practice among public companies of issuing the gross amount of shares to employees, subject to cashless withholding of shares, to pay applicable withholding taxes.

• Equity-based compensation charges with respect to the grant of an offsetting amount of common stock or partnership units with capital accounts in connection with the redemption of non-exchangeable units, including PSUs and LPUs.

• Charges related to amortization of RSUs and limited partnership units.

• Charges related to grants of equity awards, including common stock and partnership units with capital accounts.

• Allocations of net income to limited partnership units and founding/working partner units (“FPUs”). Such allocations represent the pro-rata portion of post-tax GAAP earnings available to such unit holders.

Newmark also changed “Gains from mortgage banking activities, net” to “Gains from mortgage banking activities/originations, net” during the year ended December 31, 2018. The line item “Warehouse notes payable” was changed to “Warehouse facilities collateralized by U.S. Government Sponsored Enterprises” during the year ended December 31, 2018. Reclassifications have been made to previously reported amounts to conform to the current presentation.

Intercompany balances and transactions within Newmark have been eliminated. Transactions between Cantor or BGC and Newmark pursuant to service agreements between Cantor and BGC (See Note 27 — “Related Party Transactions”), representing valid receivables and liabilities of Newmark which are periodically cash settled, have

been included on the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements as either receivables from or payables to related parties.

Newmark receives administrative services to support its operations, and in return, Cantor and/or BGC allocate certain of their expenses to Newmark. Such expenses represent costs related, but not limited to, treasury, legal, accounting, information technology, payroll administration, human resources, incentive compensation plans and other services. These costs, together with an allocation of Cantor and/or BGC overhead costs, are included as expenses on the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations. Where it is possible to specifically attribute such expenses to activities of Newmark, these amounts have been expensed directly to Newmark. Allocation of all other such expenses is based on a services agreement between Cantor and/or BGC which reflects the utilization of service provided or benefits received by Newmark during the periods presented on a consistent basis, such as headcount, square footage, revenue, etc. Management believes the assumptions underlying the stand-alone financial statements, including the assumptions regarding allocated expenses, reasonably reflect the utilization of services provided to or the benefit received by Newmark during the periods presented. However, these shared expenses may not represent the amounts that would have been incurred had Newmark operated independently from Cantor and/or BGC. Actual costs that would have been incurred if Newmark had been a stand-alone company would depend on multiple factors, including organizational structure and strategic decisions in various areas, including information technology and infrastructure (See Note 27 — “Related Party Transactions” for an additional discussion of expense allocations).

Transfers of cash, both to and from Cantor and/or BGC, are included in “Current portion of receivables from related parties or Current portion of payables to related parties” on the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets and as part of the change in payments to and borrowings from related parties in the financing section within the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated statements of cash flows.

The income tax provision on the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations and unaudited condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive income has been calculated as if Newmark was operating on a stand-alone basis and filed separate tax returns in the jurisdictions in which it operates. Prior to the Spin-Off, Newmark’s operations had been included in the BGC U.S. federal and state tax returns or separate non-U.S. jurisdictions tax returns. As Newmark operations in many jurisdictions were unincorporated commercial units of BGC and its subsidiaries, stand-alone tax returns have not been filed for the operations in these jurisdictions.

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements contain all normal and recurring adjustments that, in the opinion of management, are necessary for a fair presentation of the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets, unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations, unaudited condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive income, unaudited condensed consolidated statements of cash flows and unaudited condensed consolidated statements of changes in equity of Newmark for the periods presented.

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

(b) Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which relates to how an entity recognizes the revenue it expects to be entitled to for the transfer of promised goods and services to customers. Newmark adopted the standard as of its effective date of January 1, 2018 and recognized an increase in assets, liabilities, beginning retained earnings and noncontrolling interests of $64.4 million, $45.6 million, $16.5 million and $2.3 million, respectively, as the cumulative effect of adoption of this accounting change. The impact of adoption is primarily related to Newmark’s brokerage revenues from leasing commissions where revenue recognition was previously deferred when future contingencies exist under the previous revenue recognition guidance. The adoption of the new revenue recognition guidance accelerated these commission revenues that were based, in part, on future contingent events. For example, a portion of certain brokerage revenues from leasing commissions were deferred until a future contingency was resolved (e.g., tenant move-in or payment of first month’s rent). Under the new revenue recognition model, Newmark’s performance obligation will be typically satisfied at lease signing, and, therefore, the portion of the commission that is contingent on a future event will likely be recognized earlier, if it is probable that a significant reversal in the amount of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur.

Further, Newmark previously presented expenses incurred on behalf of customers for certain management services subject to reimbursement on a net basis within expenses. Under the new revenue recognition model, Newmark concluded that it controls the services provided by a third-party on behalf of customers and, therefore, acts as a principal under those contracts. As a result, for these service contracts Newmark will present expenses incurred on behalf of customers along with corresponding reimbursement revenue on a gross basis on the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations, with no impact on net income available to common stockholders.

Newmark elected to adopt the new guidance using a modified retrospective approach applied to contracts that were not completed as of January 1, 2018. Accordingly, the new revenue standard is applied prospectively in Newmark’s financial statements from January 1, 2018 onward.

The new revenue recognition guidance does not apply to revenue associated with financial instruments, including loans and securities that are accounted for under other U.S. GAAP, and as a result did not have an impact on the elements of the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations most closely associated with financial instruments, including Gains from mortgage banking activities/origination, net, and Servicing fees.

There was no significant impact as a result of applying the new revenue standard to the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, except as it relates to the revenue recognition of certain brokerage revenues from leasing commissions that were based, in part, on future contingent events and the presentation of expenses incurred on behalf of customers for certain management services subject to reimbursement (See Note 3 — “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” and Note 13 — “Revenues from Contracts with Customers”).

In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-01, Financial Instruments—Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities. This ASU requires entities to measure equity investments that do not result in consolidation and are not accounted for under the equity method at fair value and recognize any changes in fair value in net income unless the investments qualify for the new measurement alternative. The guidance also requires entities to record changes in instrument-specific credit risk for financial liabilities measured under the fair value option in other comprehensive income. In February 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-03, Technical Corrections and Improvements to Financial Instruments—Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities, to clarify transition and subsequent accounting for equity investments without a readily determinable fair value, among other aspects of the guidance issued in ASU 2016-01. The amendments in ASU 2018-03 were effective for fiscal years beginning January 1, 2018 and interim periods beginning July 1, 2018. The amendments and technical corrections provided in ASU 2018-03 could be adopted concurrently with ASU 2016-01, which was effective for Newmark on January 1, 2018. Newmark adopted both ASUs on January 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective approach for equity securities with a readily determinable fair value and the prospective method for equity investments without a readily determinable fair value. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230)—Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments, which makes changes to how cash receipts and cash payments are presented and classified in the statements of cash flows. The new standard became effective beginning with the first quarter of 2018 and required adoption on a retrospective basis. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated statements of cash flows.

In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230)—Restricted Cash, which requires that the statements of cash flows explain the change during the period in the total of cash, cash equivalents and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents. The new standard became effective beginning January 1, 2018 and required adoption on a retrospective basis. The effect of this guidance resulted in the inclusion of restricted cash in the cash and cash equivalents balance on the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated statements of cash flows.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-01, Business Combinations (Topic 805)—Clarifying the Definition of Business, which clarifies the definition of a business with the objective of providing additional guidance to assist entities with evaluating whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions (or disposals) of assets or businesses. The new standard became effective beginning January 1, 2018 on a prospective basis. The adoption of this U.S. GAAP guidance did not have a material impact on the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

In May 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-09, Compensation—Stock Compensation (Topic 718)—Scope of Modification Accounting, which amends the scope of modification accounting for share-based payment arrangements and provides guidance on the types of changes to the terms or conditions of share-based payment awards to which an entity would be required to apply modification accounting. Under this guidance, an entity would not apply modification accounting if the fair value, the vesting conditions, and the classification of the awards (as equity or liability) are the same immediately before and after the modification. The new standard became effective beginning January 1, 2018, on a prospective basis for awards modified on or after the adoption date. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). This standard requires lessees to recognize a right-of-use (“ROU”) asset and lease liability for all leases with terms of more than 12 months. Recognition, measurement and presentation of expenses will depend on classification as a finance or operating lease. The amendments also require certain quantitative and qualitative disclosures. Accounting guidance for lessors is mostly unchanged. In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-10, Codification Improvements to Topic 842, Leases, to clarify how to apply certain aspects of the new leases standard. The amendments address the rate implicit in the lease, impairment of the net investment in the lease, lessee reassessment of lease classification, lessor reassessment of lease term and purchase options, variable payments that depend on an index or rate and certain transition adjustments, among other issues. In addition, in July 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-11, Leases (Topic 842), Targeted Improvements, which provided an additional (and optional) transition method to adopt the new leases standard. Under the new transition method, a reporting entity would initially apply the new lease requirements at the effective date and recognize a cumulative-effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings in the period of adoption; continue to report comparative periods presented in the financial statements in the period of adoption in accordance with current U.S. GAAP (i.e., ASC 840, Leases); and provide the required disclosures under ASC 840 for all periods presented under current U.S. GAAP. Further, ASU 2018-11 contains a practical expedient that allows lessors to avoid separating lease and associated non-lease components within a contract if certain criteria are met. In December 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-20, Leases (Topic 842), Narrow-Scope Improvements for Lessors, to clarify guidance for lessors on sales taxes and other similar taxes collected from lessees, certain lessor costs and recognition of variable payments for contracts with lease and non-lease components. In March 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-01, Leases (Topic 842), Codification Improvements, to clarify certain application and transitional disclosure aspects of the new leases standard. The amendments address determination of the fair value of the underlying asset by lessors that are not manufacturers or dealers and clarify interim period transition disclosure requirements, among other issues. The guidance in ASUs 2016-02, 2018-10, 2018-11 and 2018-20 was effective beginning January 1, 2019, with early adoption permitted; whereas the guidance in ASU 2019-01 is effective beginning January 1, 2020, with early adoption permitted. Newmark adopted the standards on January 1, 2019 using the effective date as the date of initial application. Therefore, pursuant to this transition method, financial information was not updated and the disclosures required under the new leases standards were not provided for dates and periods before January 1, 2019. The new guidance provides a number of optional practical expedients to be utilized by lessees upon transition. Accordingly, Newmark elected the “package of practical expedients,” which permitted Newmark not to reassess under the new standard its prior conclusions about lease identification, lease classification and initial direct costs. Newmark did not elect the use-of-hindsight or the practical expedient pertaining to land easements, with the latter not being applicable to Newmark. The new standard also provides practical expedients for an entity’s ongoing accounting as a lessee. Newmark elected the short-term lease recognition exemption for all leases that qualify. This means, for those leases that qualify, Newmark will not recognize ROU assets and lease liabilities, and this includes not recognizing ROU assets and lease liabilities for existing short-term leases of those assets upon transition. Newmark also elected the practical expedient to not separate lease and non-lease components for all leases other than leases of real estate. As a result, upon adoption, acting primarily as a lessee, Newmark recognized a $178.8 million ROU asset and a $226.7 million lease liability on the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets for its real estate operating leases. The adoption of the new guidance did not have a significant impact on the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations, unaudited condensed consolidated statements of changes in equity and unaudited condensed consolidated statements of cash flows (See Note 18 — “Leases” for additional information on Newmark’s leasing arrangements).

In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities. The guidance intends to better align an entity’s risk management activities and financial reporting for hedging relationships through changes to both the designation and measurement guidance for qualifying hedging relationships and the presentation of hedge results. To meet that objective, the amendments expand and refine hedge accounting for both nonfinancial and financial risk components and align the recognition and presentation of the effects of the hedging instrument and the hedged item in the financial statements. The new standard became effective beginning January 1, 2019 on a prospective basis and modified retrospective basis. In October 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-16, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Inclusion of the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) Overnight Index Swap (OIS) Rate as a Benchmark Interest Rate for Hedge Accounting Purposes. Based on concerns about the sustainability of LIBOR, in 2017, a committee convened by the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York identified a broad Treasury repurchase agreement (repo) financing rate referred to as the SOFR as its preferred alternative reference

rate. The guidance in ASU No. 2018-16 adds the OIS rate based on SOFR as a U.S. benchmark interest rate to facilitate the LIBOR to SOFR transition and provide sufficient lead time for entities to prepare for changes to interest rate risk hedging strategies for both risk management and hedge accounting purposes. The amendments in this ASU are required to be adopted concurrently with the guidance in ASU No. 2017-12. As Newmark currently does not designate any derivative contracts as hedges for accounting purposes, the adoption of this new guidance did not have an impact on the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

In February 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-02, Income Statement—Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income. The guidance helps organizations address certain stranded income tax effects in accumulated other comprehensive income resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 by providing an option to reclassify these stranded tax effects to retained earnings in each period in which the effect of the change in the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (or portion thereof) is recorded. The new standard became effective beginning January 1, 2019, with early adoption permitted. Newmark adopted the new standard on its required effective date and elected to reclassify the stranded income tax effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings. However, the adoption of the new guidance did not have a material effect on the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-07, Compensation—Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting. The guidance largely aligns the accounting for share-based payment awards issued to employees and nonemployees, whereby the existing employee guidance will apply to non-employee share-based transactions (as long as the transaction is not effectively a form of financing), with the exception of specific guidance relate to the attribution of compensation cost. The cost of nonemployee awards will continue to be recorded as if the grantor had paid cash for the goods or services. In addition, the contractual term will be able to be used in lieu of an expected term in the option-pricing model for non-employee awards. The new standard became effective beginning January 1, 2019. The ASU is required to be applied on a prospective basis to all new awards granted after the date of adoption. In addition, any liability-classified awards that have not been settled and equity-classified awards for which a measurement date has not been established by the adoption date should be remeasured at fair value as of the adoption date with cumulative effect adjustment to opening retained earnings in the year of adoption. Management adopted this standard on its effective date. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

New Accounting Pronouncements

(c) New Accounting Pronouncements

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which requires financial assets that are measured at amortized cost to be presented, net of an allowance for credit losses, at the amount expected to be collected over their estimated life. Expected credit losses for newly recognized financial assets, as well as changes to credit losses during the period, are recognized in earnings. For certain purchased financial assets with deterioration in credit quality since origination, the initial allowance for expected credit losses will be recorded as an increase to the purchase price. Expected credit losses, including losses on off-balance-sheet exposures such as lending commitments, will be measured based on historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts that affect the collectability of the reported amount. The new standard will become effective for Newmark beginning January 1, 2020, under a modified retrospective approach, and early adoption is permitted. In November 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-19, Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses, to clarify that operating lease receivables accounted for under ASC 842, Leases, are not in the scope of the new credit losses guidance, and, instead, impairment of receivables arising from operating leases should be accounted for in accordance with ASC 842, Leases. In April 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2019-04, Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses, Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging, and Topic 825, Financial Instruments. The ASU makes changes to the guidance introduced or amended by ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326)—Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. See below for the description of the amendments stipulated in ASU No. 2019-04. In addition, in May 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2019-05, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Targeted Transition Relief. The amendments in this ASU allow entities, upon adoption of ASU No. 2016-13, to irrevocably elect the fair value option for financial instruments that were previously carried at amortized cost and are eligible for the fair value option under ASC 825-10, Financial

Instruments: Overall. The amendments in ASUs No. 2018-19, 2019-04 and 2019-05 are required to be adopted concurrently with the guidance in ASU No. 2016-13. Newmark plans to adopt the standards on their required effective date and use the effective date. Newmark is continuing its implementation of the new guidance, including the impact of the new guidance on the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements. Given the objective of the standard, it is generally expected that allowances for credit losses for the financial instruments within its scope would increase; however, the amount of any change will be dependent on the composition and quality of Newmark’s financial asset portfolio and off-balance sheet exposures at the adoption date as well as economic conditions and forecasts at that time.  Our evaluations are ongoing and the expected impact associated with the adoption of this ASU is not yet quantified.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment, which eliminates the requirement to determine the fair value of individual assets and liabilities of a reporting unit to measure goodwill impairment. Under the amendments in the new ASU, goodwill impairment testing will be performed by comparing the fair value of the reporting unit with its carrying amount and recognizing an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value. The new standard will become effective beginning January 1, 2020 and will be applied on a prospective basis, and early adoption is permitted. The adoption of the new guidance is not expected to have a material effect on the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework—Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement. The guidance is part of the FASB’s disclosure framework project, whose objective and primary focus are to improve the effectiveness of disclosures in the notes to financial statements. The ASU eliminates, amends and adds certain disclosure requirements for fair value measurements. The FASB concluded that these changes improve the overall usefulness of the footnote disclosures for financial statement users and reduce costs for preparers. The new standard will become effective for Newmark beginning January 1, 2020 and early adoption is permitted for eliminated and modified fair value measurement disclosures. Certain disclosures are required to be applied prospectively and other disclosures need to be adopted retrospectively in the period of adoption. As permitted by the transition guidance in the ASU, Newmark’s early adoption eliminated and modified disclosure requirements as of December 31, 2018, and Newmark plans to adopt the remaining disclosure requirements effective January 1, 2020. The adoption of this standard did not impact the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements (See Note 26 — “Fair Value of Financial Assets and Liabilities” for additional information).

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-15, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other—Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Customer’s Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service Contract (a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force). The guidance on the accounting for implementation, setup, and other upfront costs (collectively referred to as implementation costs) applies to entities that are a customer in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract. The amendments align the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software (and hosting arrangements that include an internal-use software license). The accounting for the service element of a hosting arrangement that is a service contract is not affected by the guidance in this ASU. The new standard will become effective for Newmark beginning January 1, 2020, should be applied either retrospectively or prospectively to all implementation costs incurred after the date of adoption, and early adoption is permitted. Management is currently evaluating the impact of the new guidance on the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

In October 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-17, Consolidation (Topic 810): Targeted Improvements to Related Party Guidance for Variable Interest Entities (“VIE”). The guidance was issued in response to stakeholders’ observations that Topic 810, Consolidation, could be improved in the areas of applying the variable interest entity guidance to private companies under common control and in considering indirect interests held through related parties under common control for determining whether fees paid to decision makers and service providers are variable interests. The new standard will become effective for Newmark beginning January 1, 2020, with early adoption permitted, and must be applied retrospectively with a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings at the beginning of the earliest period presented. Management is currently evaluating the impact of the

new guidance on determining whether a decision-making fee is a variable interest on the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

In April 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2019-04, Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses, Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging, and Topic 825, Financial Instruments. The ASU amends guidance introduced or amended by ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326)—Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, ASU No. 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities, and ASU No. 2016-01, Financial Instruments—Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities. The amendments to ASU No. 2016-13 clarify the scope of the credit losses standard and address guidance related to accrued interest receivable balances, recoveries, variable interest rates and prepayments, among other issues. With respect to amendments to ASU No. 2017-12, the guidance addresses partial-term fair value hedges, fair value hedge basis adjustments, and certain transition requirements, along with other issues. The clarifying guidance pertaining to ASU No. 2016-01 requires an entity to remeasure an equity security without a readily determinable fair value accounted for under the measurement alternative at fair value in accordance with guidance in ASC 820, Fair Value Measurement; specifies that equity securities without a readily determinable fair value denominated in nonfunctional currency must be remeasured at historical exchange rates; and provides fair value measurement disclosure guidance. The codification improvements related to credit losses are required to be adopted concurrently with ASU No. 2016-13 as of January 1, 2020. The hedge accounting standard amendments are effective for Newmark as of January 1, 2020, with early adoption permitted, and may be applied either retrospectively or prospectively, with certain exceptions. The amendments related to the recognition and measurement guidance are effective for the Company as of January 1, 2020, with early adoption permitted, and should be applied prospectively for equity securities without readily determinable fair value, with the remaining amendments to be applied on a modified-retrospective transition basis by means of a cumulative-effect adjustment to the opening retained earnings balance as of the date an entity adopted all of the amendments in ASU No. 2016-01. Management is currently evaluating the impact of the new guidance on the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

In July 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2019-07, Codification Updates to SEC Sections—Amendments to SEC Paragraphs Pursuant to SEC Final Rule Releases No. 33-10532, Disclosure Update and Simplification, and Nos. 33-10231 and 33-10442, Investment Company Reporting Modernization, and Miscellaneous Updates. The guidance clarifies or improves the disclosure and presentation requirements of a variety of codification topics by aligning them with already effective SEC final rules, thereby eliminating redundancies and making the codification easier to apply. This ASU was effective upon issuance, and it did not have a significant impact on the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

Leases

Leases:

Newmark, acting as a lessee, has operating leases primarily relating to office space. The leases have remaining lease terms of up to 1 year to 13 years, some of which include options to extend the leases in 5 to 10 year increments for up to 10 years. Renewal periods are included in the lease term only when renewal is reasonably certain, which is a high threshold and requires management to apply judgment to determine the appropriate lease term. Certain leases also include periods covered by an option to terminate the lease if Newmark is reasonably certain not to exercise the termination option. Newmark measures its lease payments by including fixed rental payments and, where relevant, variable rental payments tied to an index, such as the Consumer Price Index. Payments for leases in place before the date of adoption of ASC 842, Leases were determined based on previous leases guidance. Newmark recognizes lease expense for its operating leases on a straight-line basis over the lease term and variable lease expense not included in the lease payment measurement is recognized as incurred. All leases were classified as operating leases as of September 30, 2019.

Pursuant to the accounting policy election, leases with an initial term of twelve months or less are not recognized on the balance sheet. The short-term lease expense over the period reasonably reflects Newmark’s short-term lease commitments.

ASC 842, Leases requires Newmark to make certain assumptions and judgments in applying the guidance, including determining whether an arrangement includes a lease, determining the term of a lease when the contract has renewal or cancelation provisions, and determining the discount rate.

Newmark determines whether an arrangement is a lease or includes a lease at the contract inception by evaluating whether the contract conveys the right to the control of the use of an identified asset for a period of time in exchange for consideration. If Newmark has the right to obtain substantially all of the economic benefits from, and can direct the use of, the identified asset for a period of time, Newmark accounts for the identified asset as a lease. Newmark has elected the practical expedient to not separate lease and non-lease components for all leases other than real estate leases. The primary non-lease component that is combined with a lease component represents operating expenses such as utilities, maintenance or management fees.

As the rate implicit in the lease is not usually available, Newmark used an incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at the adoption date of the new leases standard in determining the present value of lease payments for existing leases. Newmark will use information available at the lease commencement date to determine the discount rate for any new leases.

Segment

Segment:

Newmark has a single operating segment. Newmark is a real estate services firm offering services to commercial real estate tenants, owner occupiers, investors and developers, leasing and corporate advisory, investment sales and real estate finance, consulting, origination and servicing of commercial mortgage loans, valuation, project and development management and property and facility management. The chief operating decision maker regardless of geographic location evaluates the operating results of Newmark as total real estate services and allocates resources accordingly. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, Newmark recognized revenues as follows (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2019		2018		2019		2018
Leasing and other commissions	$	213,242	$	203,904	$	603,094	$	541,417
Capital markets commissions		144,666		115,436		376,213		318,491
Gains from mortgage banking    activities/originations, net		72,332		51,972		148,769		132,763
Management services, servicing    fees and other		156,394		147,497		457,692		423,217
Revenues	$	586,634	$	518,809	$	1,585,768	$	1,415,888