CBL Raises 2026 FFO Guidance After 23% Growth to $1.90 per Share
Key Facts
CBL Properties said on November 5 that adjusted diluted FFO was $1.90 per share in the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, up 23% from $1.55 in the same period a year earlier. The company raised its full-year financial guidance, signaling improved expectations for operating performance. Management said it was raising its forecasts for adjusted FFO and same-center net operating income for the second time this year. The move comes as portfolio occupancy, rents and tenant sales increased. In the November 5 session, the company's stock closed at $47.94, down from $49.70 in the previous session.
CBL raised its 2026 adjusted FFO guidance range to $7.34–$7.44 per share. It also expects same-center net operating income to grow between 0.75% and 2.25% during the year. In the third quarter, the metric rose 3.8% to $96.205 million, compared with $92.708 million a year earlier. These figures put the quarter's performance in the context of the new annual guidance, which includes estimates for the rest of the year. Chief Executive Steven D. Lebovitz said the company had raised its NOI and FFO guidance for the second time during the year.
The company attributed the $6.4 million year-over-year increase in rental revenue to higher occupancy, as well as a $0.4 million increase in rent tied to tenant sales. Meanwhile, total operating expenses rose $2.6 million during the quarter. Portfolio occupancy was 91.5% on September 30, compared with 90.2% on the same date last year. That represents an annual improvement of 130 basis points and an increase of 110 basis points from the end of the second quarter. Lebovitz said growth was supported by embedded rent increases, lease renewals at higher rates and higher occupancy.
CBL signed more than 930,000 square feet of leases in the third quarter, including about 460,000 square feet of comparable new leases and renewals. Average gross rent for comparable leases increased 6.8% from prior rents. Same-center tenant sales per square foot also rose about 3.0% year over year during the quarter. For the 12 months ended September 30, sales were $463 per square foot, up 3.6% from the corresponding period. These indicators reflect leasing activity and tenant spending that informed the company's operating forecasts.
Comparison with the second quarter shows continued improvement in operating indicators during the third quarter. In the second quarter of 2026, same-center NOI rose 1.5% year over year, while adjusted FFO was $1.89 per share, compared with $1.86 in the corresponding period of 2025. Portfolio occupancy was 90.4% on June 30, compared with 88.8% on the same date a year earlier. The company said at the time that store closures related to bankruptcies, covering about 76,000 square feet, had negatively affected mall occupancy by about 54 basis points compared with the corresponding period. That compares with occupancy of 91.5% at the end of September, according to the latest earnings statement.
In a separate decision, CBL's board on November 4 authorized a program allowing the company to repurchase up to $25.0 million of its common shares. The authorization sets a cap on potential purchases, while the statement did not say that the full amount had been executed. The company reported having $322.7 million in unrestricted cash and marketable securities on June 30, including CBL's share of joint venture cash. The announcement combines higher guidance with authorization for share repurchases, while third-quarter indicators come against a backdrop of improving occupancy and leasing. The company forecast same-center NOI growth of 0.75% to 2.25% for 2026.