CBL & Associates Properties (CBL) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $1.13B
• Dividend Yield: 6.79%
• Average Volume (3M): 142.84K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 8.5
• Beta (1Y): 0.71
• Revenue Growth: 5.74%
• EPS Growth: 294.33%
• Country: US
• Employees: 390
• Sector: Real Estate
• Sector Strength: 53
• Industry: REIT - Retail
• EPS (TTM): 1.56
• Shares Outstanding: 30,682,617
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 172,666
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 142,835
• PEG Ratio: 0.06
• Price to Book (P/B): 2.99
• Price to Sales (P/S): 1.94
• P/FCF Ratio: 15.64
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 2.80
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 5.50
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 72.74
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 6.68
• 1Y Price Target: $45.00
• Price Target Upside: 19.27% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Moderate Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 1
• EPS Forecast (FY): N/A
• Revenue Forecast (FY): N/A

• Rating: 57 Neutral
• Price Target: $38.00 ▲(0.72% Upside)
• Action: Reiterated Date: 02/19/26
• Date: Action: Reiterated 02/19/26

The score is held back primarily by below-average financial resilience—high leverage, weakened 2025 cash flow, and a major gross margin disruption—despite a clear earnings recovery. Technicals are neutral-to-mildly constructive (above longer-term moving averages), and valuation is a key positive with a low P/E and high dividend yield.

Positive Factors

Revenue stabilization and earnings recovery

CBL returned to modest top-line growth in 2025 with revenue up 4.5% and a substantially improved net margin (23.5%). A stable revenue trend and restored profitability provide a stronger earnings base to support leasing, redevelopment and long-term cash generation versus prior loss years.

Positive operating cash flow history

Despite volatility, CBL produced positive operating cash flow across 2021–2025 and achieved strong cash coverage versus debt in 2024. This demonstrated ability to convert property cash rents to operating liquidity supports debt servicing and reinvestment when cash generation normalizes.

Management alignment via updated incentives

The board restructured compensation to link senior pay to quantitative operational and capital metrics plus multi-year TSR performance stock units. That alignment strengthens incentives for execution on leasing, redevelopment and mortgage-maturity management, improving long-term capital allocation discipline.

Negative Factors

Very high leverage

CBL's persistent, very high leverage (debt/equity ~5.8x in 2025) materially limits financial flexibility. In a rate-sensitive retail REIT, elevated debt increases refinancing and interest-rate risk, raising vulnerability to cash-flow shocks or property value declines over the medium term.

Material cash-flow deterioration in 2025

A large drop in operating cash flow and free cash flow in 2025 weakens near-term liquidity available for debt service and capex. Given prior volatility and sizeable debt, sustaining operations and funding redevelopments without asset sales or new capital may be challenging for several quarters.

Gross margin collapse and quality concerns

The dramatic gross margin decline to 7.6% in 2025 signals an unusual earnings mix or one-off distortions that undermine recurring profitability visibility. Persistent margin volatility reduces predictability of cash returns from leasing and redevelopment, complicating long-term planning.

CBL & Associates Properties Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Headquartered in Chattanooga, TN, CBL Properties owns and manages a national portfolio of market-dominant properties located in dynamic and growing communities. CBL's portfolio is comprised of 106 properties totaling 65.7 million square feet across 25 states, including 64 high quality enclosed, outlet and open-air retail centers and 8 properties managed for third parties. CBL seeks to continuously strengthen its company and portfolio through active management, aggressive leasing and profitable reinvestment in its properties.

How the Company Makes Money

CBL generates revenue primarily through leasing retail space within its shopping centers to various tenants, including national retailers, regional businesses, and restaurants. The company earns rental income from both fixed lease agreements and percentage leases, where tenants pay a base rent plus a percentage of their sales. Additionally, CBL benefits from ancillary income sources, such as common area maintenance fees, signage fees, and advertising revenues. The company's strategic partnerships with retailers and its focus on property management and redevelopment initiatives further enhance its earnings potential. Moreover, CBL may engage in property sales or joint ventures, contributing to its overall financial performance.

CBL & Associates Properties Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Earnings and revenue improved in 2025 (revenue +4.5%, net margin 23.5%), but financial quality is constrained by very high leverage (debt-to-equity ~5.8x) and a sharp 2025 deterioration in operating/free cash flow (OCF down to $71.8M from $202.2M; FCF down 66.7%). The 2025 gross margin collapse to 7.6% also raises consistency concerns.

Income Statement

Revenue has stabilized and returned to modest growth in 2025 (+4.5% after two down years), and profitability has improved sharply versus 2021–2022 when results were deeply negative. Net profit margin rebounded to 23.5% in 2025 (from 11.4% in 2024 and near-breakeven in 2023). However, gross margin collapsed in 2025 to 7.6% from ~65% historically, creating a major quality/consistency concern in the income statement trend despite stronger bottom-line results.

Balance Sheet

Leverage is high and persistent, with debt-to-equity around ~5.8–6.8x in recent years (2025 at 5.8x), which limits financial flexibility in a rate-sensitive retail REIT environment. Equity remains relatively small versus the debt load, increasing risk if property values or cash flows weaken. Return on equity improved significantly in 2024–2025 (18% to 36%), but it follows very weak/negative readings in 2021–2022, underscoring a balance sheet that is still geared and less resilient.

Cash Flow

Operating cash flow remains positive in 2021–2025, but it dropped materially in 2025 to $71.8M from $202.2M in 2024, with free cash flow down 66.7% year over year. Earlier years show volatility, including negative operating/free cash flow in 2020. The company did generate solid cash flow relative to debt in 2024 (operating cash flow covering ~91% of total debt added/serviced per the provided coverage figure), but the 2025 step-down weakens near-term cash generation momentum.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Mar 2022
Income Statement
Total Revenue	578.37M	515.56M	535.29M	563.01M	576.88M
Gross Profit	43.71M	340.41M	348.15M	371.28M	388.43M
EBITDA	476.12M	368.92M	388.93M	398.01M	339.35M
Net Income	135.97M	58.97M	6.55M	-93.48M	-622.17M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	2.73B	2.75B	2.41B	2.68B	2.95B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	152.95M	283.94M	296.33M	337.14M	319.55M
Total Debt	2.17B	2.21B	1.97B	2.11B	2.36B
Total Liabilities	2.36B	2.43B	2.08B	2.31B	2.54B
Stockholders Equity	374.94M	323.55M	339.32M	370.54M	396.20M
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	71.79M	202.22M	183.52M	208.23M	38.77M
Operating Cash Flow	71.79M	202.22M	183.52M	208.23M	38.77M
Investing Cash Flow	17.24M	65.01M	1.70M	-156.69M	87.33M
Financing Cash Flow	-91.23M	-236.50M	-204.09M	-145.80M	-158.41M

CBL & Associates Properties Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 37.73
• 50DMA: Positive
• 100DMA: Positive
• 200DMA: Positive
• MACD: Negative
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Negative

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For CBL, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 37.73 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 36.25, above the 50-day MA of 36.75, and above the 200-day MA of 30.33, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 0.33 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 58.17 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 86.45 is Negative, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for CBL.

CBL & Associates Properties Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
WSR	77 Outperform	$1.52B	17.37	10.34%	3.97%	4.44%	107.23%
GTY	74 Outperform	$1.88B	23.32	7.79%	6.77%	8.17%	9.96%
BFS	68 Neutral	$848.82M	30.20	11.88%	7.89%	5.75%	-37.69%
Sector *	65 Neutral	$2.17B	12.19	3.79%	4.94%	3.15%	1.96%
CBL	57 Neutral	$1.13B	8.52	37.88%	6.79%	5.74%	294.33%
SITC	55 Neutral	$344.68M	12.01	2.46%	―	-69.63%	-95.99%
ALX	52 Neutral	$1.19B	42.37	22.99%	8.39%	-7.52%	-22.75%

CBL & Associates Properties Corporate Events

CBL Updates Executive Pay, Incentive and Retention Programs

On February 11, 2026, CBL & Associates Properties’ board compensation committee approved updated executive employment agreements for its named executive officers, resetting 2026 base salaries, tying severance to target bonus levels, standardizing post-termination health benefits and extending contract terms in connection with potential change-of-control events. The committee also raised 2026 annual cash bonus targets by 3% under a metrics-driven incentive plan, launched a three-year long-term incentive program combining performance stock units tied to absolute and relative total shareholder return with time-vested restricted stock, and formalized stock restriction terms for shares earned from 2023 performance awards, further aligning leadership pay with operational, financial and shareholder return goals.

The 2026 Annual Incentive Plan links most of CEO and senior executives’ bonuses to quantitative corporate metrics such as adjusted FFO, NOI, lease volumes, redevelopment milestones and mortgage maturity management, with the remainder based on detailed individual performance objectives including execution of the business plan, capital markets activity and relationship management. Under the 2026 LTIP, executives receive performance stock units that can pay out between zero and double the target based on three-year TSR outcomes versus REIT peers and absolute TSR thresholds, plus restricted stock that vests over three years or accelerates in specific termination and change-of-control scenarios, while new retirement-related vesting discretion gives the compensation committee more flexibility in managing leadership transitions and retention.

The most recent analyst rating on (CBL) stock is a Hold with a $36.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on CBL & Associates Properties stock, see the CBL Stock Forecast page.