CATO NYSE Retail-Women's Clothing Stores Financials FY2016βFY2025
Cato Corp had $654M of revenue in fiscal 2025, up 0.6% on the year before. Over five years, revenue changed +2.6% a year on average.
Last close Β· Oct 23, 2026
$2.33
0.4%Hi! I read Cato Corpβs latest annual report (fiscal 2025). Here is what stands out:
Good So-so Weak
Are sales growing?
+0.6%
Only a little. Sales grew 0.6% last year.
Does it make a profit?
β0.9%
No. It lost money last year.
Does profit turn into cash?
β0.8%
No. It spent more cash than it brought in.
How healthy are the accounts?
6 / 8
Mixed. It passes 6 of 8 health tests.
How is the share priced?
β
No P/E: it made no profit over the last four quarters.
Rules of thumb on reported numbers. A starting point, not a recommendation.
Is it selling more, and how much does it keep?
In plain words: Every quarter, companies publish how much they sold and earned. These are the days Cato Corp did it, and the next one. Share prices often move a lot on those days.
Next results
November 19, 2026
Thursday Β· in 24 days
| Date | Results for | Time | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 20, 2026 | Q2 '26 | Time not announced | 8-K β |
| May 21, 2026 | Q1 '26 | Time not announced | 8-K β |
| Mar 19, 2026 | Q4 '25 | Time not announced | 8-K β |
| Nov 20, 2025 | Q3 '25 | Time not announced | 8-K β |
| Aug 21, 2025 | Q2 '25 | Time not announced | 8-K β |
| May 22, 2025 | Q1 '25 | Time not announced | 8-K β |
| Mar 20, 2025 | Q4 '24 | Time not announced | 8-K β |
| Nov 21, 2024 | Q3 '24 | Time not announced | 8-K β |
From SEC filings: the results press release (8-K) or, without one, the quarterly or annual report.
KIRA Β· Cato Corp had $654M of revenue in fiscal 2025, up 0.6% on the year before. Over five years, revenue changed +2.6% a year on average. Its operating margin was β1.9%, up 2.1Β pts: of every 100 in sales, about β2 is left after running the business.
In plain words: Revenue is all the money customers paid. The margins show how many cents of each dollar of sales are left over at each step: after making the product (gross), after running the business (operating) and after everything, tax included (net).
Revenue
Revenue
Margins, % of revenue
Margins, % of revenue
KIRA Β· Cato Corp lost $5.9M in fiscal 2025.
Loss periods are shown in red.
In plain words: Net income is the profit left after every cost and tax. Earnings per share (EPS) splits that profit across every share, so it shows what one share earned.
Net income
Net income
Diluted EPS
Diluted EPS
How much cash comes in, and where does it go?
KIRA Β· Free cash flow was β$5.2M in fiscal 2025, β0.8% of revenue.
Cash from operations minus capital spending.
In plain words: Profit on paper is not the same as cash in the bank. Free cash flow is the cash left after paying to run and maintain the business: the money it can hand back to shareholders, save or invest.
Free cash flow
Free cash flow
Cash from operations vs capital spending
Cash from operations vs capital spending
KIRA Β· Cato Corp returned $1.0M to shareholders in fiscal 2025. The diluted share count fell 2.4%.
In plain words: Companies hand cash back in two ways: dividends (cash paid to shareholders) and buybacks (buying back their own shares, so each remaining share owns a bigger slice).
Dividends and buybacks
Dividends and buybacks
Diluted shares outstanding (annual)
KIRA Β· No open-market insider trades in the last 12 months.
Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from Form 4 filings. βPlanβ marks trades under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
In plain words: Insiders are the people who run or own a big part of the company. Buying with their own money can signal confidence; selling often has personal reasons, like taxes or diversifying.
Bought, 12 months
$0.0M
0 insiders
Sold, 12 months
$0.0M
0 insiders
Of sales under plans
β
$0.0M
No open-market insider trades in the last 12 months.
Can it carry its debts, and how well does it use its money?
Cash, debt and the ratios that show how comfortably Cato Corp can carry it.
In plain words: What the company owns and what it owes. More cash than debt is a cushion for bad times; a lot of debt leaves less room when business slows down.
Cash vs debt (incl. leases)
| Fiscal year end | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | $166M | $129M | $103M | $77.7M | $73.6M |
| Interest coverage | 541.2x | β41.1x | β511.4x | β446.9x | β110.1x |
| Current ratio | 1.5x | 1.4x | 1.3x | 1.2x | 1.2x |
| Quick ratio | 0.9x | 0.8x | 0.8x | 0.6x | 0.7x |
| Total assets | $634M | $553M | $487M | $452M | $421M |
| Total liabilities | $380M | $327M | $294M | $290M | $264M |
| Shareholders' equity | $254M | $227M | $192M | $162M | $157M |
| Net debt (β = net cash) | β | β | β | β | β |
After-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.
In plain words: How much profit the business makes on the money put into it. A higher percentage means each dollar invested works harder.
Return on capital, equity and assets (annual)
KIRA Β· Cato Corp passes 6 of 8 financial health tests (Piotroski F-score).
Nine pass/fail tests of profitability, funding and efficiency. 8β9 is strong, 0β2 weak.
In plain words: Nine yes/no tests of financial health, one point each. A green tick is a pass: 7 to 9 points is solid, 0 to 3 is weak.
| Test | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Cash from operations is positive | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Return on assets rose | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Debt fell relative to assets | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Current ratio rose | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Share count didn't rise | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Gross margin rose | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| F-score | β / 3 | 6 / 8 | 7 / 8 | 5 / 8 | 2 / 8 | 7 / 8 | 5 / 8 | 5 / 8 | 2 / 8 | 6 / 8 |
| Accruals ratio | β4.1% | β4.9% | β5.9% | β3.0% | β2.6% | β3.7% | β2.2% | β4.7% | 0.4% | β1.0% |
| Altman Z'' | β | 6.41 | 6.69 | 3.86 | 1.84 | 2.96 | 2.19 | 1.61 | 0.93 | 1.20 |
Every number, year by year.
Amounts in USD. Hover a ratioβs name for its definition.
In plain words: Every number we have, year by year. Download it as a spreadsheet if you want to dig deeper.
| Fiscal year | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | $957M | $850M | $830M | $825M | $575M | $769M | $759M | $708M | $650M | $654M |
| Gross profit | $355M | $297M | $307M | $316M | $142M | $316M | $250M | $244M | $213M | $222M |
| Operating income | β | $16.0M | $33.1M | $43.2M | β$72.8M | $39.0M | β$3.6M | β$17.9M | β$26.4M | β$12.7M |
| Interest expense | $0.2M | $0.1M | $0.1M | $0.0M | $0.2M | $0.1M | $0.1M | $0.0M | $0.1M | $0.1M |
| Pretax income | $49.1M | $16.0M | $33.1M | $43.2M | β$72.8M | $39.0M | $1.8M | β$13.8M | β$16.1M | β$7.5M |
| Income tax | $1.9M | $7.4M | $2.6M | $7.3M | β$25.3M | $2.1M | $1.7M | $10.1M | $1.9M | β$1.6M |
| Net income | $47.2M | $8.5M | $30.5M | $35.9M | β$47.5M | $36.8M | $0.0M | β$23.9M | β$18.1M | β$5.9M |
| Net income to common | $46.3M | $8.4M | $29.6M | $34.6M | β$45.4M | $34.9M | $0.0M | β$22.6M | β$18.6M | β$5.9M |
| Diluted EPS | $1.72 | $0.34 | $1.23 | $1.46 | β$2.01 | $1.65 | $0.00 | β$1.17 | β$0.97 | β$0.31 |
| Diluted shares | 0.03B | 0.02B | 0.02B | 0.02B | 0.02B | 0.02B | 0.02B | 0.02B | 0.02B | 0.02B |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | $72.1M | $36.0M | $60.2M | $53.4M | β$30.7M | $59.8M | $13.4M | $0.5M | β$19.7M | β$1.5M |
| Capital expenditure | $27.3M | $11.1M | $4.4M | $8.3M | $14.0M | $4.1M | $19.4M | $12.5M | $7.9M | $3.8M |
| Free cash flow | $44.8M | $24.9M | $55.9M | $45.1M | β$44.7M | $55.7M | β$6.1M | β$12.1M | β$27.6M | β$5.2M |
| Depreciation and amortization | $22.7M | $19.6M | $16.5M | $15.5M | $14.7M | $12.4M | $11.1M | $9.9M | $9.8M | $10.0M |
| Stock-based compensation | $4.2M | $4.2M | $4.9M | $4.7M | $4.1M | $4.1M | $2.6M | $4.2M | $2.3M | $1.7M |
| Share buybacks | $42.6M | $38.9M | $13.3M | $9.6M | $19.7M | $22.0M | $15.2M | $2.6M | $3.9M | $1.0M |
| Dividends paid | $35.4M | $33.7M | $32.6M | $32.6M | $7.9M | $10.0M | $14.4M | $14.0M | $10.5M | $0.0M |
| Dividends and buybacks | $78.0M | $72.6M | $45.9M | $42.2M | $27.6M | $32.0M | $29.6M | $16.5M | $14.4M | $1.0M |
| Balance sheet | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | $251M | $197M | $207M | $212M | $144M | $166M | $129M | $103M | $77.7M | $73.6M |
| Current assets | $444M | $372M | $371M | $363M | $291M | $356M | $278M | $243M | $223M | $193M |
| Current liabilities | $172M | $139M | $141M | $199M | $182M | $244M | $203M | $188M | $188M | $156M |
| Inventory | $146M | $122M | $120M | $115M | $84.1M | $125M | $112M | $98.6M | $111M | $83.7M |
| Property and equipment, net | $126M | $109M | $94.3M | $88.7M | $72.6M | $63.1M | $70.4M | $64.0M | $60.3M | $53.7M |
| Total assets | $606M | $516M | $498M | $685M | $591M | $634M | $553M | $487M | $452M | $421M |
| Total liabilities | $222M | $190M | $181M | $368M | $345M | $380M | $327M | $294M | $290M | $264M |
| Preferred stock | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M |
| Shareholders' equity | $384M | $326M | $317M | $317M | $246M | $254M | $227M | $192M | $162M | $157M |
| Margins | ||||||||||
| Gross margin | 37.1% | 34.9% | 37.0% | 38.3% | 24.7% | 41.1% | 32.9% | 34.4% | 32.8% | 34.0% |
| Operating margin | β | 1.9% | 4.0% | 5.2% | β12.7% | 5.1% | β0.5% | β2.5% | β4.1% | β1.9% |
| EBITDA margin | β | 4.2% | 6.0% | 7.1% | β10.1% | 6.7% | 1.0% | β1.1% | β2.5% | β0.4% |
| Net margin | 4.9% | 1.0% | 3.7% | 4.3% | β8.3% | 4.8% | 0.0% | β3.4% | β2.8% | β0.9% |
| FCF margin | 4.7% | 2.9% | 6.7% | 5.5% | β7.8% | 7.2% | β0.8% | β1.7% | β4.3% | β0.8% |
| Returns | ||||||||||
| Return on capital employed | β | 4.2% | 9.3% | 8.9% | β17.8% | 10.0% | β1.0% | β6.0% | β10.0% | β4.8% |
| Return on equity | 12.3% | 2.4% | 9.5% | 11.3% | β16.9% | 14.7% | 0.0% | β11.4% | β10.2% | β3.7% |
| Return on assets | 7.8% | 1.5% | 6.0% | 6.1% | β7.4% | 6.0% | 0.0% | β4.6% | β3.8% | β1.4% |
| Return on tangible equity | 12.0% | 2.6% | 9.3% | 10.9% | β18.4% | 13.7% | 0.0% | β11.7% | β11.5% | β3.8% |
| Growth | ||||||||||
| Revenue growth | β | β11.1% | β2.4% | β0.5% | β30.3% | 33.8% | β1.3% | β6.7% | β8.2% | 0.6% |
| Net income growth | β | β81.9% | 256.7% | 17.8% | β232.3% | β | β99.9% | β82,655.2% | β | β |
| EPS growth | β | β80.2% | 261.8% | 18.7% | β237.7% | β | β100.0% | β | β | β |
| FCF growth | β | β44.5% | 124.5% | β19.3% | β199.1% | β | β110.9% | β | β | β |
| Share count change | β | β7.2% | β3.7% | β1.1% | β5.1% | β6.3% | β5.6% | β2.7% | β0.7% | β2.4% |
| Financial health | ||||||||||
| Interest coverage | β | 140.1x | 344.3x | 1,489.9x | β389.3x | 541.2x | β41.1x | β511.4x | β446.9x | β110.1x |
| Current ratio | 2.6x | 2.7x | 2.6x | 1.8x | 1.6x | 1.5x | 1.4x | 1.3x | 1.2x | 1.2x |
| Quick ratio | 1.7x | 1.8x | 1.8x | 1.2x | 1.1x | 0.9x | 0.8x | 0.8x | 0.6x | 0.7x |
| Capital allocation | ||||||||||
| Capex / revenue | 2.9% | 1.3% | 0.5% | 1.0% | 2.4% | 0.5% | 2.6% | 1.8% | 1.2% | 0.6% |
| Stock comp / revenue | 0.4% | 0.5% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 0.4% | 0.3% |
| Payouts / FCF | 174.0% | 291.7% | 82.2% | 93.6% | β | 57.5% | β | β | β | β |
| Quality scores | ||||||||||
| Piotroski F-score | β | 6.0 | 7.0 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 7.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 6.0 |
| Altman Z'' | β | 6.4 | 6.7 | 3.9 | 1.8 | 3.0 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 1.2 |
| Accruals ratio | β4.1% | β4.9% | β5.9% | β3.0% | β2.6% | β3.7% | β2.2% | β4.7% | 0.4% | β1.0% |
Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL filings (CIK 0000018255). Data updated October 24, 2026. Quarterly fourth quarters are the full year minus the first nine months. For information only β not investment advice. Check the original filings before relying on any figure.
