CBL & ASSOCIATES PROPERTIES, INC.
CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (CBL)
Overview
CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, manages, and leases regional malls, open-air and lifestyle centers, and outlet centers, primarily in secondary and tertiary markets across the Southeast and Midwest. The company emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2021 with a substantially deleveraged balance sheet after the pandemic accelerated pressure on mall-based retail, and has since operated as a leaner, more disciplined mall REIT than its pre-bankruptcy predecessor. CBL trades on the NYSE and has continued to report solid post-emergence earnings and guidance, reflecting stabilized occupancy and leasing activity in its portfolio even as the broader mall industry continues to navigate structural pressure from e-commerce.
What They Do & How They Make Money
CBL earns revenue primarily through rental income from anchor and in-line tenants at its portfolio of enclosed malls, outlet centers, and open-air/lifestyle centers, supplemented by percentage rent tied to tenant sales, common-area maintenance and tax recoveries from tenants, and fees from third-party property and asset management services. Unlike premium mall operators focused on flagship, high-sales-productivity properties in major metro areas, CBL's portfolio is concentrated in smaller secondary and tertiary markets where it often holds a dominant or only enclosed-mall position — a "only game in town" dynamic that supports occupancy even as national retailers consolidate store counts. Profitability depends on maintaining occupancy and rental rates as leases roll, managing capital expenditures for property redevelopment (including converting struggling anchor boxes to alternative uses), and controlling debt service costs following its post-bankruptcy balance sheet reset.
Competitors
CBL competes in the retail real estate sector against:
- Larger, higher-quality mall REITs such as Simon Property Group and Macerich, which own trophy malls in major metro areas with materially higher sales-per-square-foot and stronger tenant demand.
- Brookfield Properties and other institutional mall/retail real estate owners competing for similar tenant relationships and redevelopment capital.
- Open-air and power-center landlords, an increasingly preferred format for many retailers over enclosed malls.
- E-commerce broadly, which continues to pressure physical retail square footage demand across all property types, though the pressure has stabilized somewhat as omnichannel retailers re-embrace physical stores.
Competitive Position
CBL's key competitive asset is often being the dominant or sole enclosed mall in its secondary and tertiary markets, which gives it real, if modest, pricing power with national retailers that still want physical presence in those markets but have limited alternative real estate to lease from. Its post-bankruptcy balance sheet, with meaningfully reduced debt versus its pre-2021 structure, gives it more capital flexibility to fund redevelopment and re-tenanting than many peers still working through legacy leverage. Long-term anchor and national-tenant leases create real switching costs and stable cash flow once signed, and the physical difficulty and cost of building new enclosed malls provides a structural barrier to new supply that protects CBL's existing footprint. That said, CBL's malls are generally lower-tier than Simon's or Macerich's flagship properties, meaning less pricing power with top-tier national retailers and more vulnerability if regional economic conditions weaken. Its path forward depends on continuing to redevelop underperforming anchor boxes into mixed-use, non-retail, or open-air formats, maintaining occupancy amid ongoing retail consolidation, and preserving its deleveraged balance sheet discipline.