One-glance verdict
Within fair range
$64.23 our estimate vs market $48.68
Wall Street consensus: $63.00 (-1.9% lower than our fair-value estimate)
24% below our estimate
Fundamentals snapshot
CBL & Associates Properties, Inc.
CBL · NYQ · Real Estate · REIT - Retail
Current price
$48.68
52-week range
$28.62 - $60.40
Market cap
$1.51B
Balance sheet
Distressed
0.79x Concerning
Net debt $1.93B. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
3 Rewards
1 Risk
3 rewards · 1 risks
- Reward Revenue grew 1.7% last year.
- Reward Returns 61.9% on equity, ahead of 66% of its peers.
- Reward Free cash flow was positive in 4/10 years.
- Risk Net debt grew 3.5% over 3 years.
What this company does
CBL & Associates Properties, Inc.
CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. owns and operates shopping malls and other retail centers across the United States. Their main source of money comes from rent paid by the stores located in these centers, which is important because it shows how well their properties are attracting businesses and generating steady income.
How the company got here
CBL & Associates Properties, Inc., now known as CBL Properties, was founded in 1978 by Charles B. Lebovitz. The company began by developing regional malls and community centers, opening its first mall in 1979. It became a public real estate investment trust (REIT) – a company that owns, operates, or finances income-generating real estate – in 1993. CBL grew through acquisitions, significantly expanding its portfolio over the years. However, like many companies in the retail real estate sector, CBL faced challenges from changing consumer habits, e-commerce growth, and department store closures, leading it to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2020. It emerged from this process in 2021 with a restructured balance sheet.
What it actually does
CBL Properties is essentially a landlord for shopping centers and malls. It owns, leases, and manages a portfolio of these properties across the United States. The company's main source of income comes from collecting rent from the various retail stores, restaurants, and other businesses that operate within its centers. Think of CBL as the owner of the building where your favorite stores are located; they provide the space and maintain the property, and the businesses pay them for the right to operate there.
Regional Malls
This is the largest part of CBL's business, making up about 72% of its revenue. These are the traditional, enclosed shopping malls that many people are familiar with. CBL leases out individual store spaces, as well as larger spaces often occupied by department stores (known as anchor tenants), to a variety of retailers. The success of these malls depends on attracting shoppers who then spend money at the stores, which in turn allows the stores to pay rent to CBL.
Open-Air Centers
These centers represent about 10% of CBL's revenue and are different from enclosed malls. They are typically outdoor shopping areas where stores have their own entrances directly from the outside. This format often includes a mix of retail stores, restaurants, and service-oriented businesses. CBL leases space in these centers, benefiting from the foot traffic and sales generated by the businesses operating there.
Lifestyle Centers
Making up about 8% of CBL's revenue, lifestyle centers are a type of open-air property that often emphasizes a more upscale or experience-oriented environment. They typically feature a mix of retail, dining, and entertainment options, aiming to provide a more comprehensive destination for shoppers. CBL earns revenue by leasing space to the various businesses that populate these centers.
Outlet Centers
These centers account for about 5% of CBL's revenue and are designed for shoppers looking for discounted prices on brand-name goods. CBL leases space to outlet stores, which attract customers seeking value. The rental income from these stores forms the basis of CBL's earnings from this segment.
Other Properties
The remaining 5% of CBL's business includes a variety of other assets such as office buildings, hotels, and outparcels (small, standalone pieces of land often used for businesses like fast-food restaurants). While a smaller portion of the overall portfolio, these properties contribute to CBL's diversified income streams through leasing arrangements.
What management is betting on now
CBL's management is focused on revitalizing its shopping centers by increasing occupancy rates and driving rent growth. A key strategy involves redeveloping former large department store spaces (known as anchor locations) into new, more diverse uses, including retail, dining, entertainment, and even residential spaces. They are also actively selling off less profitable properties (recycling capital) to reinvest in their core, higher-performing malls. Additionally, management is working to reduce the company's debt and improve its financial flexibility to ensure long-term stability and value.
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
Revenue
$146.48M
Net income
$46.44M
Diluted EPS
1.47
Operating cash flow
$80.27M
Free cash flow
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Sources
Revenue
$145.97M
Net income
$46.49M
Diluted EPS
1.48
Operating cash flow
$52.92M
Free cash flow
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Sources
Revenue
$156.42M
Net income
$48.99M
Diluted EPS
1.61
Operating cash flow
$80.16M
Free cash flow
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Sources
Revenue
$139.28M
Net income
$75.43M
Diluted EPS
2.38
Operating cash flow
$69.57M
Free cash flow
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Sources
Revenue
$140.91M
Net income
$2.76M
Diluted EPS
0.08
Operating cash flow
$68.27M
Free cash flow
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Sources
Revenue
$141.77M
Net income
$8.79M
Diluted EPS
0.27
Operating cash flow
$31.68M
Free cash flow
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Sources
Revenue
$131.69M
Net income
$37.98M
Diluted EPS
1.22
Operating cash flow
$46.20M
Free cash flow
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Revenue
$125.09M
Net income
$16.20M
Diluted EPS
0.52
Operating cash flow
$61.06M
Free cash flow
$45.97M
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Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $64.23 vs current price $48.68
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $63.00 (-1.9% lower than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $64.23 a share — about 31.9% away from today's price of $48.68, so the stock currently looks fairly priced.
Is it drowning in debt?
Distressed
Net debt $1.9B. Interest coverage 0.8x.
Net debt
$1.93B
Interest coverage
0.79x
CBL & Associates Properties, Inc.'s profit covers its interest bill about 0.8 times over. and 1 peers sit below 1x, which is the danger zone where profit does not fully cover the interest bill.
Distressed
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
CBL
BASELINE
CBL & Associates Properties, Inc.
Total debt $2.03B Interest coverage 0.79x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $29.44B Interest coverage 3.26x +310% vs CBL Carries about 4.1x more debt cushion than CBL.
Total debt $4.91B Interest coverage 0.59x -26% vs CBL Carries about 1.3x less debt cushion than CBL.
Total debt $8.86B Interest coverage 2.17x +174% vs CBL Carries about 2.7x more debt cushion than CBL.
Total debt $5.38B Interest coverage 2.24x +182% vs CBL Carries about 2.8x more debt cushion than CBL.
Total debt $3.85B Interest coverage 2.58x +224% vs CBL Carries about 3.2x more debt cushion than CBL.
What you should know
The case for and against CBL
3 Rewards
1 Risk
Rewards
-
Revenue grew 1.7% last year.
-
Returns 61.9% on equity, ahead of 66% of its peers.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 4/10 years.
Risks
-
Net debt grew 3.5% over 3 years.
The numbers
All the key metrics, grouped by purpose
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
How expensive the stock looks
P/E (TTM)
7.07x
Forward P/E
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P/B
3.52x
P/S
2.56x
EV/EBITDA
10.42x
PEG ratio
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Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
65.0%
Operating margin
30.5%
Net margin
37.0%
ROE
61.9%
ROA
3.9%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
4.82x
Current ratio
0.47x
Quick ratio
0.28x
Total debt
$2.03B
Total cash
$101.28M
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$588.15M
Revenue 5Y CAGR
51.8%
EPS TTM
6.89
EPS 5Y CAGR
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Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$282.92M
Free CF TTM
$249.68M
FCF margin
42.5%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
5.1%
Payout ratio
28.7%
Last ex-div date
2026-09-15