Shares of CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (CBL Quick QuoteCBL - Free Report) have gained 4.3% since the company reported its earnings for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2025, outpacing the S&P 500 Index’s 0.6% gain over the same span. Over the past month, the stock has risen 13.3% compared with the S&P 500’s 3.2% growth.

CBL’s Earnings Snapshot

For the third quarter of 2025, CBL’s diluted earnings per share (EPS) jumped to $2.38 from $0.52 a year earlier, helped by sizable gains on property sales and a gain on deconsolidation. Total revenues climbed 11.3% to $139.3 million from $125.1 million in the year-ago quarter. Rental revenues rose 12.3% to $134.8 million from $119.9 million in the year-ago quarter, while management, development and leasing fees declined 38.4% and “other” revenues were modestly higher. Funds from operations (FFO) per diluted share rose 69.5% to $2.17 from $1.28, while FFO, as adjusted, inched up 0.6% to $1.55 from $1.54 in the year-ago quarter.

Same-center net operating income (NOI) grew 1.1% year over year, with lifestyle centers leading the way, posting a 15.2% increase in same-center NOI, while malls were down 0.2%, outlet centers rose 0.4%, open-air centers slipped 1% and outparcels and other assets increased 2.4%.

CBL’s Operating Trends and Portfolio Metrics

Portfolio operating metrics moved in a generally positive direction. Total portfolio occupancy improved 90 basis points to 90.2% as of Sept. 30, 2025, from 89.3% a year earlier. Within that, malls were 87.6% leased (up from 86.4%), lifestyle centers 93.3% (up from 91.2%) and outlet centers 92% (up from 91.6%). Same-center occupancy for malls, lifestyle centers and outlet centers ticked up 40 basis points to 88.4% from 88% in the year-ago quarter. Open-air centers remained highly occupied at 95.3%, essentially flat versus 95.4% a year ago, while “All Other Properties” improved to 91% from 88% in the year-ago quarter. Bankruptcy-related closures, including Forever21, JoAnn, Claire’s and Party City, reduced mall occupancy by nearly 70 basis points, indicating that underlying demand offset tenant distress.

Leasing metrics were particularly strong. CBL executed over 972,000 square feet of leases in the quarter, including about 435,000 square feet of comparable new and renewal deals at a 17.1% average rent increase versus prior rents. New leases achieved spreads of more than 70%, while renewals captured nearly 10% rent growth. Same-center tenant sales per square foot for the quarter increased approximately 4.8% year over year, and trailing 12-month sales per square foot rose 1.6% to $432 from $425.

CBL’s Management Commentary and Strategic Priorities

Management highlighted the quarter as “excellent,” pointing to same-center NOI growth, higher occupancy and robust lease spreads as indicators of portfolio strength and consumer resilience. They underscored growth of experiential and new-to-market concepts, citing the opening of an Element by Westin hotel at Mayfaire Town Center and new stores such as Ashley Furniture, Cavender’s and Barnes & Noble, along with Primark’s only Nashville location at CoolSprings Galleria and a signed lease for CBL’s first L.L.Bean store. These additions reflect a strategy of diversifying tenancy beyond traditional department stores toward lifestyle, value and experience-oriented offerings.

Management also emphasized ongoing balance-sheet work. CBL exercised a one-year extension option on its non-recourse term loan on Nov. 1, 2025, and expects to qualify for an additional extension to November 2027, effectively pushing out a major maturity cluster. CBL pointed to a new $43 million, five-year non-recourse loan on The Pavilion at Port Orange at a 5.9% interest rate — about 160 basis points lower than the prior loan — as well as a successful modification of the joint-venture financing on Coastal Grand and Crossing in Myrtle Beach, extending that maturity to August 2028.

Factors Influencing CBL’s Headline Numbers

CBL’s stronger GAAP earnings in the quarter were driven by a combination of modest underlying operating growth and sizable non-operating gains. On the operating side, same-center NOI for the third quarter of 2025 increased 1.1% compared to the year-ago period. Management notes that total operating expenses declined $0.5 million in the quarter, largely due to real estate tax refunds, which helped offset pressure elsewhere in the cost base. However, this benefit was partly countered by a higher estimate for uncollectible revenues, which negatively impacted the quarter by approximately $1.2 million.

For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2025, same-center NOI declined 0.6% compared with the prior-year period, reflecting higher operating expenses and some normalization after prior-year tax refunds.

The largest swing factors in reported net income were below the operating line. CBL recorded a $51.2 million gain on sales of real estate assets for the quarter, up sharply from $12.8 million in the prior-year quarter. The company also recognized a $33.9 million gain on deconsolidation related to Southpark Mall, which did not recur in the year-ago period. These gains more than offset higher interest expense, which rose 15.3% to $44.8 million from $38.8 million, and contributed significantly to the jump in net income to $75.1 million from $15.8 million and in diluted EPS to $2.38 from $0.52 year over year.

CBL’s Outlook and Guidance

CBL reaffirmed its full-year 2025 FFO, as adjusted, guidance at $6.98–$7.34 per share. Management continues to expect full-year same-center NOI to range from a 2% decline to 0.5% growth, implying that some pressure from higher expenses and credit-related items could persist even as leasing fundamentals remain solid. The guidance framework embeds 2025 net income between $101.4 million and $112.4 million, FFO, as adjusted, of $213–$224 million, and same-center NOI of $410.1–$420.6 million.

CBL also outlined estimated 2025 capital needs of $137.5 million–$167.5 million, encompassing maintenance capital and tenant allowances, development and redevelopment spending, and principal amortization, including expected excess cash flow sweeps on the term loan.

The board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per common share, or $1.80 on an annualized basis, payable in December 2025, signaling confidence in cash flows while still allowing room for reinvestment and leverage reduction.

CBL’s Other Developments

Transaction activity has been brisk in 2025. Year to date, CBL has generated more than $238 million of gross proceeds from dispositions, including the October sale of its interest in Fremaux Town Center, which also removed $35 million of associated debt, and the $83.1 million sale of The Promenade in July. Earlier in the year, the company sold Monroeville Mall and Annex and Imperial Valley Mall, as well as an office building and several outparcels.

On the acquisition front, CBL bought four enclosed regional malls — Ashland Town Center, Mesa Mall, Paddock Mall and Southgate Mall — for $178.9 million, folding them into an expanded outparcel and open-air loan that now totals $443 million and extends to 2030, with an option to 2032. The company also continued portfolio pruning and de-risking, including the conveyance of Alamance Crossing East in March and the placement of Southpark Mall into receivership ahead of an anticipated foreclosure.

Complementing these moves, CBL has repurchased about $7.3 million of stock under a $25 million authorization and put a new $25 million buyback in place, while maintaining ample liquidity with $313 million of unrestricted cash and marketable securities at quarter-end.