stockrow
Friday 6 November 2026
Export CATO’s income statement to Excel — free account
Cato Corporation (The)
CATO Consumer Cyclical Apparel Retail
Cato Corporation (The)’s revenue for fiscal 2026 (year ended January 2026) was $653.8 million, up 0.62% from fiscal 2025.
- Revenue
- −6.24%
- EPS
- −82.9%
- Free cash flow
- +26.0%
Quarter to July 2026, against a year earlier
2.30
0.07
−2.95%
Follow CATO
Alert me
Target Price Range
Analyst price targets
Free accountTen years at a glance Fiscal years to January
| Ten-year view | Analyst estimates Powerpack | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group | Line | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | TTM Jul ’26 | Trend | 10 yrs | 2027e | 2028e | 2029e | Next 3/yr |
| Income, $m | ||||||||||||||||||
| Income, $m | Revenue | 957 | 850 | 830 | 825 | 575 | 769 | 759 | 708 | 650 | 654 | 644 | (4.1%) | — | — | — | — | |
| Gross margin, % | 37.07 | 34.93 | 37.02 | 38.34 | 24.68 | 41.10 | 32.87 | 34.42 | 32.84 | 33.99 | 33.62 | (3.1) pt | ||||||
| EBT | 49 | 16 | 33 | 43 | (73) | 39 | 2 | (14) | (16) | (7) | (7) | n/m | ||||||
| EBT margin, % | 5.13 | 1.88 | 3.98 | 5.24 | (12.66) | 5.07 | 0.23 | (1.95) | (2.48) | (1.15) | (1.11) | (6.3) pt | ||||||
| Net income | 47 | 9 | 30 | 36 | (47) | 37 | 0 | (24) | (18) | (6) | (6) | n/m | ||||||
| Per share, $ | ||||||||||||||||||
| Per share, $ | Revenue | 35.64 | 34.13 | 34.58 | 34.77 | 25.52 | 36.43 | 38.09 | 36.52 | 33.76 | 34.80 | 33.88 | (0.3%) | |||||
| Earnings | 1.72 | 0.34 | 1.23 | 1.46 | (1.96) | 1.65 | 0.00 | (1.17) | (0.97) | (0.31) | (0.30) | n/m | ||||||
| Cash flow | 2.69 | 1.45 | 2.51 | 2.25 | (1.36) | 2.83 | 0.67 | 0.02 | (1.03) | (0.08) | 0.29 | n/m | ||||||
| Capex | (1.02) | (0.45) | (0.18) | (0.35) | (0.62) | (0.19) | (0.97) | (0.65) | (0.41) | (0.20) | (0.20) | (16.5%) | ||||||
| Free cash flow | 1.67 | 1.00 | 2.33 | 1.90 | (1.98) | 2.64 | (0.30) | (0.62) | (1.43) | (0.28) | 0.09 | n/m | ||||||
| Book value | 14.30 | 13.10 | 13.20 | 13.33 | 10.94 | 12.04 | 11.37 | 9.92 | 8.43 | 8.37 | 8.84 | (5.8%) | ||||||
| Shares, m | 27 | 25 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | (3.9%) | ||||||
| Valuation, × | ||||||||||||||||||
| Valuation, × | P/E | 15.11 | 38.32 | 12.07 | 10.99 | 0.00 | 10.14 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.7 | |||||
| P/S | 0.71 | 0.35 | 0.43 | 0.46 | 0.43 | 0.45 | 0.26 | 0.19 | 0.10 | 0.09 | 0.07 | 0.3 | ||||||
| P/B | 1.78 | 0.91 | 1.12 | 1.20 | 1.00 | 1.37 | 0.87 | 0.68 | 0.40 | 0.36 | 0.26 | 1.0 | ||||||
| EV/Sales | 0.45 | 0.11 | 0.18 | 0.20 | 0.17 | 0.23 | 0.09 | 0.03 | (0.02) | (0.03) | (0.08) | 0.1 | ||||||
| EV/FCF | 9.58 | 3.83 | 2.60 | 3.65 | (2.20) | 3.22 | (10.83) | (2.00) | 0.58 | 3.68 | (32.46) | 1.2 | ||||||
| Cash, $m | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cash, $m | Operating cash flow | 72 | 36 | 60 | 53 | (31) | 60 | 13 | 0 | (20) | (1) | 5 | n/m | |||||
| Capex | (27) | (11) | (4) | (8) | (14) | (4) | (19) | (13) | (8) | (4) | (4) | (19.8%) | ||||||
| Free cash flow | 45 | 25 | 56 | 45 | (45) | 56 | (6) | (12) | (28) | (5) | 2 | n/m | ||||||
| Balance, $m | ||||||||||||||||||
| Balance, $m | Working capital | 272 | 233 | 230 | 163 | 109 | 112 | 75 | 55 | 35 | 37 | 55 | (19.8%) | |||||
| Net debt | (252) | (201) | (211) | (216) | (148) | (170) | (132) | (107) | (81) | (76) | (96) | (12.4%) | ||||||
| Shareholders’ equity | 384 | 326 | 317 | 317 | 246 | 254 | 227 | 192 | 162 | 157 | 168 | (9.4%) | ||||||
| Returns, % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Returns, % | ROA | 7.41 | 1.49 | 5.84 | 5.85 | (7.11) | 5.70 | 0.01 | (4.35) | (3.96) | (1.35) | (1.29) | (8.8) pt | |||||
| ROIC | 20.04 | 5.46 | 16.65 | 23.14 | (50.21) | 27.28 | (2.69) | (13.81) | (21.30) | (10.86) | (12.79) | (30.9) pt | ||||||
| ROE | 11.61 | 2.36 | 9.20 | 10.93 | (16.12) | 13.94 | 0.02 | (10.79) | (10.49) | (3.70) | (3.27) | (15.3) pt | ||||||
| People | ||||||||||||||||||
| People | Employees | 10,200 | 10,500 | 10,350 | 10,060 | 7,400 | 7,500 | 7,600 | 7,300 | 7,000 | 6,700 | — | (4.6%) | |||||
| Revenue/emp, $m | 0.09 | 0.08 | 0.08 | 0.08 | 0.08 | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.09 | 0.10 | — | +0.4% | ||||||
Negative figures in brackets.
estimates
Fiscal years to Jan 2026 · latest quarter Jul 2026
Cato Corporation (The) vs peers in Apparel Retail (Q) = latest quarter vs a year earlier
| Company | Market cap | P/E | Fwd P/E | Revenue growth (Q) | EPS growth (Q) | FCF growth (Q) | Gross margin (Q) | EBIT margin (Q) | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DLTH Duluth Holdings Inc. | $155.1M | 25.4× | — (loss-making) | −7.84% (below 0%: shrinking) | +1,200.00% (above 0%: growing) | −5.47% (below 0%: shrinking) | 72.79% | 15.53% | Compare |
| TLYS Tilly's, Inc. | $128.8M | 59.9× | 19.1× | +8.10% (above 0%: growing) | +154.55% (above 0%: growing) | +55.77% (above 0%: growing) | 35.53% | 5.00% | Compare |
| AKA a.k.a. Brands Holding Corp. | $109.9M | — (loss-making) | — (loss-making) | +9.70% (above 0%: growing) | n/m | −2,444.48% (below 0%: shrinking) | 60.08% | (2.56%) | Compare |
| RENT Rent the Runway, Inc. | $76.7M | 0.2× | — (loss-making) | +20.77% (above 0%: growing) | n/m | +75.44% (above 0%: growing) | 36.13% | (7.98%) | Compare |
| JEM 707 Cayman Holdings Limited | $51.6M | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Compare |
| CATO Cato Corporation (The) | $45.8M | — (loss-making) | — (loss-making) | −6.24% (below 0%: shrinking) | −82.86% (below 0%: shrinking) | +26.04% (above 0%: growing) | 33.43% | (0.59%) | |
| BRIA BrilliA Inc | $42.9M | — | — | — | — | +91.95% (above 0%: growing) | — | — | Compare |
| LVLU Lulu's Fashion Lounge Holdings, Inc. | $30.1M | — (loss-making) | — (loss-making) | −16.82% (below 0%: shrinking) | n/m | +107.63% (above 0%: growing) | 48.60% | (1.83%) | Compare |
| DXLG Destination XL Group, Inc. | $24.5M | — (loss-making) | — (loss-making) | −3.42% (below 0%: shrinking) | n/m | −13.87% (below 0%: shrinking) | 47.88% | 1.74% | Compare |
| Median of peers | $64.1M | 25.4× | — | +2.34% | — | +55.77% | 48.24% | (0.05%) |
Pay and ownership Proxy statement filed 10 April 2026
Chief executive’s pay
| Year | Total pay | Actually paid | $100 invested |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1.49m | 1.28m | 35.32 |
| 2025 | 2.40m | 1.86m | 38.79 |
| 2024 | 2.95m | 2.41m | 70.95 |
| 2023 | 3.19m | 2.41m | 95.66 |
| 2022 | 5.47m | 6.36m | 149.43 |
Ownership
Directors and executive officers, together
54.50% of the votes
John P. D. Cato
53.30% of the votes
Aldebaran Capital, LLC
3.10% of the votes
Total pay is as the Summary Compensation Table states it; actually paid revalues the year’s share awards
at its end, as the SEC’s pay-versus-performance rule asks. $100 invested is what $100 in the company’s
shares at the start of the earliest year shown was worth at each year’s end.
Ownership is the proxy’s own table: the directors and officers as a group, and every holder of 5% or more.
Read the proxy statement