CBL & Associates is running two simultaneous narratives in 2026. In the first: the company raised its dividend 39%, refinanced $634 million in term loans, and manages a portfolio of regional malls in which investor confidence is sufficient to support capital markets activity.

In the second: Jefferson Mall in Louisville is in receivership. Arbor Place in Douglasville, GA cooperated with foreclosure at its May 1 loan maturity despite 98% occupancy.

The split screen is not a contradiction. It is a documentation of what happens when a portfolio of assets has heterogeneous capital structures with different maturity profiles. The assets that were refinanced at low rates in 2021-2022 are performing. The assets whose loans matured in 2025-2026 are in distress because the CMBS refinancing market cannot accommodate the original loan terms at current values.

For property owners in corridors anchored by any CBL property — or by any mall-anchored property with a CMBS loan maturing in the next 24 months — the Arbor Place outcome is the relevant data point.

Source: CoStar February 2026; CBL Q1 2026 earnings.