CoStar Group, Inc. (CSGP): PESTLE Analysis [Nov-2025 Updated]

You're looking for a clear, no-nonsense breakdown of the external forces shaping CoStar Group, Inc. (CSGP) right now, and honestly, the picture is one of high-stakes legal pressure meeting massive AI-driven growth investment. The key takeaway is that their core commercial business remains a profit machine, boasting a 47% EBITDA margin, but the residential expansion is a costly bet that's driving a net loss while simultaneously attracting serious antitrust scrutiny.

Political Factors: Antitrust and Regulatory Headwinds

CoStar Group, Inc. faces rising antitrust scrutiny over its alleged monopolistic practices in the commercial real estate data market. This isn't just noise; it's a real political headwind. They spent $60,000 on lobbying in Q2 2025 to manage the political landscape. Plus, new federal or state data privacy laws are a defintely compliance cost adder. You need to watch for government contract cancellations, which are expected to create slight headwinds throughout 2025.

Regulatory risk is the price of market leadership.

Economic Factors: Growth vs. Profitability Trade-Off

The core commercial business is a powerhouse, but the residential bet is costly. Here's the quick math: Full-year 2025 revenue is projected between $3.23 billion and $3.24 billion, showing 18% year-over-year growth. That Commercial Real Estate Information and Marketplace segment maintains a staggering 47% EBITDA margin. But, heavy investment in Homes.com resulted in a Q3 2025 net loss of $30.9 million.

Still, the underlying commercial market is strong; US office absorption is upgraded to 10 million square feet, and commercial real estate sales volume jumped 43% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2025.

Growth is expensive, but the cash engine is humming.

Sociological Factors: The Hybrid Work and Virtual Experience Shift

Consumer behavior is driving demand for immersive property experiences, thanks to 3D digital twin technology like what Matterport offers. This is a huge shift. Also, the shift to remote and hybrid work continues to directly affect office occupancy rates, so commercial data needs to reflect that new reality. Honestly, the company has a stable internal base, with a high average monthly employee retention rate of 99% as of late 2024.

The residential bet is gaining traction, too, with Homes.com hitting 115 million average monthly unique visitors in Q3 2025.

People want to see the property, not just read about it.

Technological Factors: Aggressive AI and 3D Integration

CoStar Group, Inc. is all-in on technology, and that's the right move. They are aggressively integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI), launching Homes.com's AI-powered Smart Search for conversational home discovery. The Matterport acquisition is already paying off, contributing approximately $40 million in Q3 2025 revenue from its 3D digital twin technology.

They are also building out their data pipeline for faster real-time analytics and spatial data processing. To be fair, this focus on AI will mean anticipated workforce adjustments in 2025 due to operational efficiencies.

AI is moving from buzzword to balance sheet.

Legal Factors: High-Stakes Antitrust and Data Access Litigation

Legal pressure is a major near-term risk. The Ninth Circuit revived an antitrust suit from CREXi in June 2025, specifically targeting alleged monopolistic conduct, including exclusive broker contracts. This is a big deal. There is also ongoing litigation risk related to Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data access and usage in the residential market.

On the plus side, they successfully prevailed in a trade secrets lawsuit brought by Move, Inc. (Realtor.com operator) in April 2025 and settled a dispute with Happening Technology in May 2025, which could open the door for future tech collaboration.

Litigation is the cost of defending market share.

Environmental Factors: Sustainability as a Competitive Edge

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) is becoming a competitive factor, and CoStar Group, Inc. is making tangible progress. They committed to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), working toward a 2050 net-zero target. Plus, their operations are getting greener: they use over 670 eco-friendly hybrid and electric research fleet vehicles.

What's more, their core product-virtual tours-avoided an estimated 130,000 metric tons of CO2e in the past year by cutting down on physical travel. Their Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) score improved to B- in 2024, which is strong.

Virtual tours aren't just convenient; they're carbon neutral.

Finance: Model potential litigation costs against the 47% EBITDA margin by end of week.

CoStar Group, Inc. (CSGP) - PESTLE Analysis: Political factors

Increased antitrust scrutiny over alleged monopolistic practices in the commercial real estate data market

The most significant political risk for CoStar Group in 2025 remains the heightened scrutiny over its dominant market position, which regulators and competitors argue constitutes a monopoly (a single company controlling a market). Specifically, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit revived an antitrust lawsuit from competitor Commercial Real Estate Exchange, Inc. (CREXi) in June 2025. This decision means the case, alleging violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act, will proceed to a lower court, increasing CoStar Group's legal exposure and costs.

CREXi alleges CoStar Group uses its market power to exclude rivals. To be fair, CoStar Group is fighting back, stating they are confident that discovery will disprove what they call "baseless accusations." Still, the core of the political-legal risk is the allegation that CoStar Group's contracts and technology limit brokers from sharing listings with other platforms, effectively creating a de facto exclusive arrangement. This is a clear headwind; a loss here could force a fundamental change in their data collection model.

Here's a quick look at the key antitrust actions in 2025:

• CREXi Antitrust Claims: Revived by Ninth Circuit in June 2025; alleges violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
• Hotel Price-Fixing Suit: Dismissed in September 2025; claims against the Smith Travel Research (STR) unit were defeated.
• Risk to Business Model: Potential for mandated changes to data sharing practices if the CREXi suit succeeds.

Q2 2025 lobbying spend of $60,000 on issues impacting the real estate industry

CoStar Group is defintely active in Washington, D.C., working to shape the regulatory landscape. For the second quarter of the 2025 fiscal year (Q2 2025), the company disclosed a lobbying expenditure of exactly $60,000. This amount was reported in a July 2025 Lobbying Disclosure Act filing.

The stated focus of this spending was broad: 'Issues impacting the real estate industry, generally; No specific legislation.' This general approach suggests a focus on relationship-building and monitoring rather than a single, immediate legislative threat. In the world of lobbying, $60,000 is a relatively modest quarterly spend, which tells you the company is engaged but not currently fighting a massive, existential legislative battle. It's a cost of doing business, but one that helps them anticipate future regulatory shifts.

Expecting slight headwinds from government contract cancellations throughout 2025

While CoStar Group hasn't reported any major, direct government contract cancellations, the macro-political environment for federal contractors presents a slight headwind. In February 2025, a new Executive Order was issued, followed by a General Services Administration (GSA) memo, calling for a government-wide review and potential termination or modification of non-essential consulting contracts to reduce overall Federal spending.

This initiative targets waste and inefficiency, and while CoStar Group is primarily a data and marketplace provider, its government contracts for data and analytics services could fall under this new scrutiny. The political push is to eliminate non-essential spending, which means any contract not deemed 'mission critical' is at risk. For you, this means anticipating a slight deceleration in the growth of their government-sector revenue stream for the remainder of 2025.

Potential for new federal or state data privacy laws to increase compliance costs

The political trend of increased data privacy regulation at both the federal and state levels is a clear and rising compliance cost risk. CoStar Group, as a massive data broker and platform, is directly in the crosshairs. The company's Global Privacy Notice, updated in July 2025, reflects their need to manage complex, multi-jurisdictional compliance, especially since they process personal information in the US, UK, India, and other countries.

One concrete example of this risk is the ongoing legal action under specific state laws, like the one filed against CoStar Group and other data brokers in 2024 for alleged breaches of 'Daniel's Law.' This law protects the personal information of law enforcement professionals and their families. Even if the company prevails, the sheer volume of new state-level privacy acts (like those in California, Virginia, and others) means the cost of legal review, system changes, and data governance will only climb. In short, compliance is getting more expensive every quarter.

CoStar Group, Inc. (CSGP) - PESTLE Analysis: Economic factors

Full-year 2025 Revenue Projection and Growth

You need to understand CoStar Group's economic foundation is strong, but its growth trajectory is tied to a major strategic investment. The company projects its full-year 2025 revenue to land between $3.23 billion and $3.24 billion. Here's the quick math: this represents an impressive 18% growth year-over-year, which is a clear sign that the core Commercial Real Estate (CRE) data and marketplace segments continue to dominate their niche.

This revenue growth is defintely a key indicator of the firm's pricing power and its ability to cross-sell its data services, like CoStar Suite, to a consolidating industry. Still, you must look deeper than the top line; the profitability story is more nuanced.

Core Segment Profitability and Margin Strength

The core business segments-Commercial Real Estate Information and Marketplace-are incredibly profitable, which funds the company's expansion into residential real estate. These established segments maintain a robust Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) margin of 47%.

This high margin gives CoStar Group significant financial flexibility, allowing them to weather broader economic slowdowns or fund aggressive new market entries without immediately crippling the balance sheet. It's a classic two-speed business model: high-margin legacy products subsidizing low-margin, high-growth ventures.

• Core Segments EBITDA Margin: 47%
• Revenue Growth (YoY): 18%
• Projected 2025 Revenue: $3.23B - $3.24B

Homes.com Investment and Near-Term Profitability Pressure

The aggressive push into the residential market through Homes.com is the primary drag on near-term profitability. This is a strategic choice, not an operational failure. Heavy investment in marketing, technology, and sales force expansion for Homes.com resulted in a Q3 2025 net loss of $30.9 million for the company. This is a tangible cost of market disruption.

To be fair, this net loss is a planned expense to gain market share against established residential portals. What this estimate hides is the potential long-term value of Homes.com, which is currently being built on a burn rate. Your investment thesis must weigh the immediate loss against the projected future cash flows from a successful residential platform.

US Office Market Outlook and Absorption

The broader economic health of the US commercial real estate market directly impacts CoStar Group's subscription revenue. The US office market outlook has been upgraded, which is a significant positive signal for the company's data services. Analysts now project 10 million square feet of positive absorption over the next year.

Positive absorption-meaning more space is leased than vacated-is a leading indicator of improving market sentiment and rising occupancy rates. This translates directly into higher demand for CoStar Group's data, analytics, and leasing tools as brokers and investors become more active. This is a clear opportunity for increased subscription sales and higher renewal rates.

Commercial Real Estate Sales Volume Surge

A more active transaction market means more revenue opportunities for CoStar Group's Marketplace and Information segments. The third quarter of 2025 saw commercial real estate sales volume increase by a massive 43% year-over-year. This surge is critical because it signals renewed investor confidence and liquidity flowing back into the market.

High transaction volume boosts demand for appraisal data, property marketing, and due diligence tools, all of which CoStar Group provides. This 43% increase is a strong tailwind that will likely translate into better-than-expected performance in the Information and Marketplace segments for the remainder of the year.

Next step: Finance: Map the expected capital expenditures for Homes.com against the projected residential revenue growth for the next four quarters to refine the long-term valuation model by Friday.

CoStar Group, Inc. (CSGP) - PESTLE Analysis: Social factors

The social environment for CoStar Group, Inc. is defined by a deep, ongoing shift in how people interact with real estate-both where they live and where they work. This isn't just about a preference for working from home; it's a fundamental change in consumer expectations for digital property experiences and a structural challenge to the commercial office market. CoStar's strategy is to meet this change head-on by becoming the digital backbone of the entire real estate lifecycle, from residential search to commercial data.

Growing consumer and industry demand for virtual property experiences, driven by Matterport's 3D digital twin technology.

The market is defintely demanding a richer, more immersive way to explore properties. Static photos just don't cut it anymore. CoStar Group recognized this by completing its acquisition of Matterport, the leader in 3D digital twin technology, in February 2025. This move directly addresses the social trend of remote property exploration and data-driven decision-making, integrating Matterport's technology across major platforms like Homes.com, Apartments.com, and LoopNet.

The integration means buyers and renters can take instant, high-resolution virtual walkthroughs of properties from anywhere. This is crucial for both the residential and commercial sides of the business, as it accelerates the transaction process and improves listing quality. Matterport had already digitized over 14 million spaces and 50 billion square feet across 177 countries, giving CoStar Group the largest spatial data library in the world to work with.

The shift to remote and hybrid work continues to impact office occupancy rates, directly affecting demand for commercial data.

The enduring shift to remote and hybrid work models is a major social factor creating both risk and opportunity in the commercial real estate (CRE) sector, which is CoStar's core market. The national office vacancy rate climbed to 19.9% by the end of March 2025, up 170 basis points over the year. This is a structural issue, not a cyclical one. Analysts expect the overall office vacancy rate to peak around 19% by the close of 2025.

The average office utilization rate has stabilized at a low level, hovering around just 54% over the past two years. This persistent underutilization means landlords and investors desperately need granular, real-time data to understand which assets are performing and which are at risk of distress. This market uncertainty drives increased demand for CoStar's core commercial information and analytics services, as clients need precision to navigate a market where older properties struggle while prime spaces hold value. Here's the quick math: higher vacancy means higher risk, and higher risk means a greater need for CoStar's data subscriptions.

High average monthly employee retention rate of 99% as of late 2024, signaling a stable internal workforce.

A stable, high-performing workforce is a critical social asset, especially for a data and technology company. CoStar Group has demonstrated strong internal stability, reporting an impressive 99% retention rate in 2024. This stability is a key operational advantage, especially in the highly competitive tech labor market where talent turnover can cripple development cycles and client service quality. For a company that relies heavily on its data researchers and software engineers, this low attrition rate translates directly into continuity and institutional knowledge.

The company's median employee tenure is 4.4 years, which is well above the national private sector average of 3.5 years. This signals a successful internal culture that supports long-term growth and minimizes the cost and disruption associated with constant hiring and training.

Strong focus on the Homes.com residential market, with the platform attracting 115 million average monthly unique visitors in Q3 2025.

CoStar Group's aggressive push into the residential market via Homes.com is a direct response to the massive social and consumer interest in home buying. The platform's network has achieved significant user adoption, attracting 115 million average monthly unique visitors in the third quarter of 2025 (Q3 2025).

This massive traffic is a social proof point for the brand's growing influence. The company's strategy is to position Homes.com as the agent-friendly alternative, and the visitor numbers show they are gaining traction. This focus is backed by a significant investment and a rapidly expanding sales team, which is planned to reach 500 representatives by the end of 2025. The table below summarizes the key social metrics driving CoStar's strategy in 2025.

CoStar Group, Inc. (CSGP) - PESTLE Analysis: Technological factors

You're looking at CoStar Group, Inc.'s technology strategy and, honestly, it's a classic two-sided coin: massive investment for market dominance, but with real-world cost implications. The company is aggressively using technology, specifically Artificial Intelligence (AI) and 3D digital twin technology, not just to improve its products but to fundamentally change its cost structure. This isn't just about better search results; it's about digitizing the entire real estate world.

Aggressive AI integration, including the launch of Homes.com's AI-powered Smart Search for conversational home discovery.

CoStar Group is making a huge bet on AI to win the residential market. The most visible move is the October 2025 launch of Homes.com's 'Smart Search.' This feature uses natural language processing (NLP) to let users search conversationally, moving past clunky filters. Instead of selecting five separate filters, you can type something like, ranch-style house with a pool in Austin, and get accurate, personalized results instantly.

This is a critical competitive move against rivals. The goal is to make the home discovery process so intuitive that it drives user engagement, which is a key metric. Homes.com already reached an audience of 111 million average monthly unique visitors in Q2 2025, and AI is what they are using to push that number higher. Smart Search is defintely a game-changer for user experience.

Matterport acquisition integrates 3D digital twin technology, contributing approximately $40 million in Q3 2025 revenue.

The $1.6 billion acquisition of Matterport, which closed in Q1 2025, immediately positioned CoStar Group as a leader in spatial data and 3D digital twin technology. This integration is foundational because it turns physical buildings into usable data, enhancing everything from property valuations to virtual tours across all CoStar platforms, including LoopNet and Apartments.com. Here's the quick math on the immediate impact:

What this estimate hides is the long-term value: Matterport's technology is a strategic moat, giving CoStar Group proprietary, high-fidelity data that competitors simply can't replicate easily.

Continuous development of data pipeline technology to accelerate real-time analytics and spatial data processing.

To handle the massive influx of data from sources like Matterport's 3D models and millions of daily search queries, CoStar Group is heavily investing in its data pipeline technology. This isn't a flashy consumer feature, but it's the engine that powers the entire business. A key development came in May 2025 with the amicable resolution and potential collaboration with Happening Technology, a company specializing in data pipeline solutions.

This focus is about speed and precision, allowing CoStar Group to accelerate real-time analytics and spatial data processing. Faster data processing means:

• Quicker property updates for clients.
• More precise rent indices for analysts.
• Better algorithmic valuation models.

Ultimately, the quality of your data is only as good as how fast you can process it.

Anticipated workforce adjustments in 2025 due to AI-driven operational efficiencies.

As a realist, you have to map technological opportunity to human capital risk. CoStar Group is upfront about the fact that AI-driven operational efficiencies will lead to workforce adjustments in 2025, reallocating resources to higher-growth areas. This is already happening; in February 2025, the company made cuts of over 100 employees, citing the use of AI as one reason for the layoffs, impacting roles like editors, writers, and production staff.

But here's the nuance: they are simultaneously hiring aggressively. The company expects to hire an additional 1,000 new positions in 2025, primarily in Richmond, Virginia, to support growth initiatives like Homes.com. This includes adding approximately 500 new Homes.com sales professionals and 100 new market analysts to curate content. So, it's not a net reduction in headcount, but a significant, strategic shift in the type of employee they need-less data entry and content curation, more sales and AI development.

Next Step: Your Strategy Team should model the long-term cost-of-revenue reduction expected from the AI-driven workforce efficiency gains by the end of Q4 2025.

CoStar Group, Inc. (CSGP) - PESTLE Analysis: Legal factors

The Ninth Circuit revived an antitrust suit from CREXi in June 2025 over alleged monopolistic conduct, including exclusive broker contracts

The legal landscape for CoStar Group (CSGP) remains complex, especially concerning its dominant position in the commercial real estate (CRE) market. A significant near-term risk materialized in June 2025 when the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals revived antitrust counterclaims brought by competitor Commercial Real Estate Exchange Inc. (CREXi).

The court's decision allows CREXi to proceed with allegations that CoStar Group violated the federal Sherman Act and California's Cartwright Act. The core of the claim is that CoStar Group maintains a monopoly by using 'de facto exclusive deals' with brokers and creating technological barriers that prevent them from sharing listings with rival platforms. This is a critical development, as the court found the allegations of anticompetitive conduct to be plausible. In September 2025, the Ninth Circuit definitively rejected CoStar Group's request to revisit the June decision, green-lighting the antitrust claims for trial.

The potential financial impact of this litigation is difficult to quantify, but successful antitrust claims can result in substantial monetary damages and structural changes to business practices. CoStar Group's full-year 2025 revenue is projected to be in the range of $3.23 billion to $3.24 billion, so any material fine could be significant.

Here's a quick look at the key commercial litigation developments in 2025:

• Antitrust Risk: Ninth Circuit revives CREXi claims, alleging CoStar Group's exclusive deals violate the Sherman Act.
• IP Defense Success: CoStar Group prevailed against Move, Inc. and Happening Technology in separate trade secret cases.
• Residential Data Access: A breach of contract dispute over MLS data fees was swiftly resolved in October 2025.

Ongoing litigation risk related to Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data access and usage in the residential market

While the CRE market generates the bulk of its revenue, CoStar Group's aggressive expansion into the residential space via Homes.com introduces a new set of data-related legal risks. You saw this play out in October 2025 when REcore Solutions LLC, a vendor for California Regional MLS (CRMLS), filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Homes.com and CoStar Group.

The dispute alleged that Homes.com failed to pay $887,500 in MLS data licensing fees over a two-year period, leading to a planned termination of data feeds scheduled for November 1, 2025. This is a big deal because access to timely, comprehensive MLS data is the lifeblood of a residential portal like Homes.com. The good news is the dispute was resolved and the lawsuit dismissed with prejudice just two days after filing, averting the data feed cutoff. Still, this incident highlights the fragility of data partnerships in the residential sector and the potential for operational disruption to the Homes.com platform, which is a major growth driver.

Successfully prevailed in a trade secrets lawsuit brought by Move, Inc. (Realtor.com operator) in April 2025

In a decisive victory for CoStar Group, a trade secrets lawsuit initiated by Move, Inc. (operator of Realtor.com) was dismissed with prejudice in April 2025. The lawsuit, which began in July 2024, alleged misappropriation of trade secrets by CoStar Group and a former Move, Inc. employee.

CoStar Group's CEO, Andy Florance, publicly stated that the company did not settle and 'didn't pay a dime,' characterizing the lawsuit as a meritless, anti-competitive maneuver intended to slow the growth of Homes.com. This outcome removes a significant legal overhang and validates CoStar Group's aggressive defense of its intellectual property (IP), which is a key competitive advantage. The dismissal with prejudice means the case cannot be refiled, providing a clean legal win.

Amicable settlement of a legal dispute with Happening Technology in May 2025, allowing for potential tech collaboration

CoStar Group also successfully navigated another IP-related legal challenge in May 2025, reaching an amicable settlement with Happening Technology. The dispute centered on CoStar Group's concerns about potential trade secret misappropriation related to a data pipeline product developed by the founders of Homesnap (which CoStar Group acquired in 2020 for $250 million).

Following a review, both parties concluded that no misappropriation occurred, and all claims were withdrawn with prejudice. Crucially, the settlement included a provision for exploring future collaboration opportunities. This resolution is a double win: it eliminates the legal risk and opens the door to leveraging Happening Technology's data pipeline solutions, which could enhance CoStar Group's platforms like Apartments.com and Homes.com.

The table below summarizes the four major legal events impacting CoStar Group in 2025:

The immediate next step is for the Legal and Finance teams to model the potential range of liability in the CREXi antitrust case, including estimated legal costs for the next 12 months, and report the findings to the Board by the end of the year.

CoStar Group, Inc. (CSGP) - PESTLE Analysis: Environmental factors

You're looking for a clear map of CoStar Group's environmental posture, and the data shows a company making significant, measurable commitments, especially in decarbonizing its operations and product offering. The core takeaway is that their digital-first business model inherently creates a massive environmental opportunity, which they are now aggressively formalizing with specific, science-based targets.

Commitment to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) for emissions reduction, working toward a 2050 net-zero target.

CoStar Group has formally committed to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), aligning their long-term strategy with the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C. Their ultimate goal is to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across their entire value chain by 2050. This isn't just a distant pledge; it's backed by clear, near-term targets that drive immediate action.

Here's the quick math on their near-term goals, using the 2023 fiscal year as the baseline for measurement:

• Reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 54.6% by 2033.
• Reduce Scope 3 emissions from capital goods by 61.1% per USD value added by 2033.
• Ensure 75.3% of suppliers (by spend) have their own science-based targets by 2029.

This shows a serious, multi-faceted approach, tackling direct emissions (Scope 1 and 2) and the much larger supply chain emissions (Scope 3). They achieved their first year of GHG emissions reductions in line with these newly approved targets in 2024. This is defintely a strong signal to environmentally-focused investors.

Use of over 670 eco-friendly hybrid and electric research fleet vehicles for property data collection.

The company's commitment to data integrity requires a large, actively-used research fleet, which presents a direct environmental challenge. CoStar Group is mitigating this by operating a substantial fleet of eco-friendly vehicles. As of the latest reporting, their property data collection fleet includes over 670 electric and hybrid vehicles. This is a concrete operational step to reduce their Scope 1 emissions-the direct emissions from owned or controlled sources.

To be fair, while the fleet is large, it's a necessary investment to capture the proprietary data that is the bedrock of their business model. The shift to electric and hybrid models, supported by their own electric charging infrastructure, is a direct, measurable investment in sustainability.

Virtual tours avoided an estimated 130,000 metric tons of CO2e in the past year by reducing physical travel.

This is where the product itself becomes a powerful environmental tool. CoStar Group's core business of digitizing real estate inherently reduces the need for physical travel, creating a massive avoided emissions benefit. Based on their 2024 ESG reporting, the use of virtual tours on CoStar Group platforms, which included over 30 million unique virtual tours in 2022, resulted in an estimated avoidance of 130,000 metric tons of CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) in a single year.

For perspective, that avoided emissions figure is a significant offset to their total operational footprint. In 2024, the company's total reported carbon emissions were approximately 207,066 MT CO2e (Metric Tons of CO2e), with their Scope 1 and 2 emissions (direct operations) accounting for a much smaller fraction of their overall footprint. The virtual tour feature provides a compelling, positive environmental externality.

Improved Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) score to B- in 2024, aligning with or ahead of peers.

External validation matters, and the improvement in their Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) score is a clear sign of progress in transparency and performance. CoStar Group improved its CDP score to B- in 2024, up from a 'C' in 2023. This score places them in the 'Management' band, indicating that they are actively addressing the environmental impacts of their business and implementing best practices.

This is a crucial metric for institutional investors, like BlackRock, who increasingly use CDP scores to screen for climate-related risk and opportunity. The move from a 'C' (Awareness) to a 'B-' (Management) score in one year demonstrates that their ESG governance, adopted by the Board, is translating into tangible, ratable improvements in their climate strategy and disclosure.