The Biggest Mall Owner In The U.S. ‘Can’t Guarantee’ There Won’t Be More Retail Wreckage This Year

The biggest mall owner in the country is anticipating the pace of retail store closures will slow after a nasty start to the year. But its CEO won’t make any promises. “I think most of the bad news is behind us,” Simon Property Group CEO David Simon told analysts on a post-earnings conference call Tuesday, referring to store closures and retail bankruptcies. “But I can’t guarantee it.” Simon shares were down more than 2%, after the real estate investment trust reported first-quarter funds from operations — a closely watched metric in the industry — of $1.08 billion, or $3.04 per share, compared with $1.03 billion, or $2.87 a share, a year earlier. That was slightly below expectations, BTIG analyst Jim Sullivan said. Read more at CNBC.