Cbl & Associates Properties — Business Overview
What does CBL do?
CBL & Associates Properties is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and operates a portfolio of retail shopping centers, primarily in smaller and mid-sized cities across the American Southeast and Midwest. A REIT is a company that owns income-producing real estate and, in exchange for passing most of its taxable income to shareholders, pays no corporate income tax. CBL is "self-managed" and "self-administered," meaning it runs its own properties rather than outsourcing that work to a third party.
The portfolio spans several property types, all centered on retail real estate. These include:
| Property Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Regional Malls | Enclosed shopping centers anchored by large department or big-box stores |
| Outlet Centers | Retail centers where brands sell directly to consumers, often at a discount |
| Lifestyle Centers | Open-air retail districts with a mix of shops, dining, and entertainment |
| Open-Air Centers | Strip-style retail properties without an enclosing roof |
| Other Properties | Office buildings, outparcels (stand-alone pads on the property periphery), and hotels |
As of December 31, 2025, CBL's properties span 22 states, with the heaviest concentration in Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, and Kansas. The company employs 408 full-time and 92 part-time staff through its management subsidiary, and is headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
How does CBL make money?
CBL's primary revenue source is rent collected from retail tenants under long-term leases. These leases generally have three components: a fixed base rent, percentage rent (additional rent tied to a tenant's sales volume above a threshold), and expense reimbursements, where tenants pay their share of real estate taxes, insurance, and common area maintenance (CAM). This structure means CBL passes many operating costs through to tenants, which helps protect margins.
Beyond base leases, CBL taps several supplementary revenue streams. These include short-term "temporary" leases and license agreements (particularly during the holiday season), sponsorships and advertising on-property, management and development fees from third parties, and periodic sales of land or operating real estate assets when values are favorable. Proceeds from asset sales are generally used to pay down debt.
What market does CBL operate in?
CBL competes in the U.S. regional mall and shopping center industry, a mature market facing well-documented structural headwinds from e-commerce. The rise of online shopping has steadily eroded foot traffic at enclosed malls, and traditional anchor tenants — particularly department stores — have been shrinking or closing for years. CBL's tenant roster reflects this shift: anchors like Dick's Sporting Goods (22 stores, over 1.4 million square feet) have replaced older department store footprints, and entertainment tenants like Cinemark (7 locations) add non-retail draw.
CBL has deliberately positioned itself in mid-tier markets, which it views as a relative strength. Rather than competing in major metros where real estate costs are high and competition is intense, CBL focuses on cities like Chattanooga (6.7% of revenues), St. Louis (6.5%), Nashville (5.0%), Lexington (4.3%), and Kansas City (4.2%). The company argues its properties hold dominant positions in these markets. Approximately 30% of 2025 same-center net operating income (NOI) came from non-enclosed-mall assets, reflecting a deliberate diversification away from traditional malls.
Who are CBL's main competitors?
CBL operates in a fragmented but well-known industry where a handful of large REITs dominate, alongside local and regional competitors. Other major mall REITs include Simon Property Group, Macerich, and Brookfield Properties — all of which tend to focus on higher-end, gateway-market malls. CBL's mid-tier, secondary-market focus is its clearest point of differentiation from those peers.
CBL's competitive moat rests largely on market dominance within its chosen geographies. The company describes its locations as "dominant" within their respective mid-tier markets, meaning it often has little direct enclosed-mall competition locally. Its long-standing tenant relationships — the top 25 tenants collectively represent 34.15% of total revenues, with Victoria's Secret (2.67%), Signet Group (2.60%), American Eagle (2.45%), and Pentland/JD Sports (2.25%) leading the list — provide revenue stability, though this also creates concentration risk. The industry broadly faces competition not just from other landlords, but from online retail platforms, discount clubs, direct mail, and television shopping networks — all of which CBL explicitly acknowledges.
Where does CBL operate?
CBL is a purely domestic U.S. business, with no meaningful international exposure. Its properties are located across 22 states, with the filing noting a primary concentration in the southeastern and midwestern United States. The five largest markets by revenue — Chattanooga, St. Louis, Nashville, Lexington, and Kansas City — together account for roughly 26.7% of total revenues, indicating that while there is some geographic diversification, the Southeast and Midwest are clearly the core.
CBL both owns and manages its properties directly, with no significant manufacturing or foreign supply chain exposure. Because its business is purely real estate leasing and management, geopolitical or foreign-exchange risks are not flagged as material concerns in this filing. The primary geographic risk is the economic health of mid-tier U.S. cities and the consumer spending patterns within them.