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. In the quarter to July 2026, revenue fell 6.24%, EPS fell 82.9% and free cash flow grew 26.0%, each against the same quarter a year earlier. Dividend growth for three consecutive years.
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Cato Corporation (The) (CATO) Piotroski F-score
Cato Corporation (The)'s Piotroski F-score for fiscal 2026 is 7 out of 9: 7 of nine tests of profitability, leverage and efficiency passed, up from 4 in fiscal 2025.
Piotroski F-score, annual
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Annual newest first
| Period | Piotroski F-score | Change (points) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 7 | 3.00 |
| FY2025 | 4 | (2.00) |
| FY2024 | 6 | 0.00 |
| FY2023 | 6 | (2.00) |
| FY2022 | 8 | 5.00 |
| FY2021 | 3 | (4.00) |
| FY2020 | 7 | (1.00) |
| FY2019 | 8 | 2.00 |
| FY2018 | 6 | 1.00 |
| FY2017 | 5 | — |
How fiscal 2026’s score is made up
| Test | This year | Year before | Result | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positive return on assets | (1.35%) | (3.96%) | Fail | 0 |
| Positive operating cash flow | (1.46m) | (19.74m) | Fail | 0 |
| Rising return on assets | (1.35%) | (3.96%) | Pass | 1 |
| Cash flow above net income | 4.45m | (1.14m) | Pass | 1 |
| Falling long-term leverage | 0.00 | 0.00 | Pass | 1 |
| Rising current ratio | 1.24 | 1.19 | Pass | 1 |
| No new shares issued | 18,786,700 | 19,249,100 | Pass | 1 |
| Rising gross margin | 33.99% | 32.84% | Pass | 1 |
| Rising asset turnover | 1.50 | 1.38 | Pass | 1 |
| Piotroski F-score | Strong — most fundamentals improved | 7 | ||
How the Piotroski F-score works
One point for each of nine tests, this fiscal year against the one before: positive return on assets, positive operating cash flow, rising return on assets, cash flow above net income, falling long-term leverage, a rising current ratio, no new shares issued, a rising gross margin and rising asset turnover. The ratios are the ones on this site, so each can be checked.
Joseph Piotroski (2000) called 8–9 high and 0–1 low; reading it in three bands is the common convention:
| 7–9 | Strong — most fundamentals improved |
|---|---|
| 4–6 | Mixed |
| 0–3 | Weak — most fundamentals deteriorated |
Where this differs from the paper: return on assets is on average rather than beginning-of-year assets, and weighted basic shares stand in for shares issued. The score is shown only when all nine tests can be worked out, which takes three fiscal years; banks and insurers, which report no current assets or gross profit, have none.
Piotroski F-score against peers
| Company | Piotroski F-score |
|---|---|
| CATO Cato Corporation (The) | 7 |
| LVLU Lulu's Fashion Lounge Holdings, Inc. compare | 6 |
| TLYS Tilly's, Inc. compare | 6 |
| RENT Rent the Runway, Inc. compare | 5 |
| AKA a.k.a. Brands Holding Corp. compare | 4 |
| DXLG Destination XL Group, Inc. compare | 4 |
| BRIA BrilliA Inc compare | 3 |
| JEM 707 Cayman Holdings Limited compare | 3 |
| BIRD Smartbird, Inc. compare | 2 |
What Piotroski F-score is
The Piotroski F-Score tells an investor how many signs of improving profitability, funding and efficiency a company shows against a year earlier.
One point for each of nine tests against a year earlier: positive return on assets, positive operating cash flow, rising return on assets, cash flow above net income, falling long-term leverage, rising current ratio, no new shares issued, rising gross margin, and rising asset turnover