KBRA Assigns Rating to $500 Million Senior Unsecured Notes Issued by Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P.

KBRA assigns a rating of BBB with a Stable Outlook to the $500 million senior unsecured notes issued by Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. (“Cantor”, "CFLP", or “the firm”) with a final maturity date of October 15, 2029. The proceeds will be used to refinance existing senior unsecured debt of $350 million that was scheduled to mature on April 14, 2027 and for general corporate purposes.

Domiciled in New York, NY, Cantor is a privately held capital markets, investment banking, and asset management firm that wholly owns two SEC-registered broker-dealers and maintains controlling stakes in a publicly traded wholesale inter-dealer brokerage company and a CRE brokerage, capital markets and client services company. Principal subsidiaries include Cantor Fitzgerald & Co, CF Secured, LLC, BGC Group, Inc. (“BGC”), Newmark Group, Inc. (“NMRK”), and Cantor Fitzgerald Asset Management.

Key Credit Considerations

The ratings are underpinned by management’s long record of producing relatively steady operating results, adapting to business and market evolution and opportunity, emphasizing risk management, and maintaining consistent financial leverage and liquidity management practices. The ratings are further reinforced by the financial flexibility that comes from Cantor’s flow securities trading operations and agency inter-dealer and CRE brokerage businesses, together with mostly overnight repo lending that is supported by disciplined collateral margin requirements.

Consolidated profitability in 2025 was very strong, and this performance continues through 2Q26, driven by several factors, including the favorable market backdrop and demand for Cantor’s products and services, including at its core broker-dealer businesses but also at BGC and NMRK. Financial leverage continues to be maintained within a relatively narrow range, reaching a cyclical low in 2025 due to the strong earnings performance and net capital raising efforts at CFLP (consolidated). KBRA continues to anticipate that adjusted financial leverage will be managed in the 5x range on a through-the-cycle basis. Liquidity continues to benefit from the nature of the agency-like business activities, balance sheet flexibility, and ample unsecured, committed borrowing capacity.

Rating Sensitivities

Cantor’s ratings are well positioned at the current levels, reflective of the current strong financial performance in 2025. Conversely, although unlikely, a change in the firm’s stringent enterprise risk management policies and practices or liquidity management would pressure the ratings. A change in the revenue profile, which would be most likely to come from a secular dislocation in either the wholesale brokerage or CRE brokerage and financing business, would also cause the ratings to be evaluated.

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