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Cato Corp (CATO)

NYSE: CATO · Retail-Women's Clothing Stores · Charlotte, NC · filing with the SEC since 1994
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Grade4.2
◀ Past 4.4● Present 3.4▶ Future 5.1
2 est.
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The grade of Cato Corp

Nine metrics read from its own filings, by tense
Headline grade
4.2/10
◀ Past4.425% of the headline
● Present3.445% of the headline
▶ Future5.130% of the headline

All three tenses have at least two readings, so the archetype blend applies as printed.

Of the nine metrics, 7 read as filed from the record and 2 are SI estimates, each with its reasoning, its confidence and what would change it on its card.

◀ Past

What did they actually do?

4.4/1025% of the headline grade · 2 of 3 filed, 1 estimated

Surviving crises

as filed
5.8/10

Has it survived what it has been through?

No warning events in its filings since 2017.

weight 45% of this tense · 58th percentile among 6 sector filers · read for itself

From the record

Cato Corp's filings since 2017 show no warning events in the scan: no bankruptcy or receivership notice, no debt default notice, no exchange listing notice, no restatement warning, no auditor change, no material cyber incident and no late-report notice (its current reports).

A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.

Track record

as filed
1.5/10

What has it actually done, year after year?

-4.1% a year over 10 filed years; profitable in 6 of 10.

weight 33% of this tense · 15th percentile among 6 sector filers · read for its customers

From the record

Cato Corp's 10 filed years say what it did: revenue went from $957 million in fiscal 2017 to $654 million in fiscal 2026, down 4.1% a year; it rose in 2 of 9 years; the deepest fall was 40% from fiscal 2017 to fiscal 2021; net income was positive in 6 of 10 of those years (its annual reports).

What it rests on

  • revenue growth over the filed span-4.1%bottom 8% of its family
  • the share of years revenue rosebottom 8% of its family
  • the share of filed years with a profitbottom 33% of its family
  • the deepest fall from a revenue peak39.9%bottom 8% of its family

A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.

Shareholder treatment

SI estimate
5.8/10

How has it treated the people who own it?

SI estimate 5.8/10, confidence 35 of 100 (one part).

weight 22% of this tense · 58th percentile among 6 sector filers · read for its shareholders

SI estimate Inferred, not read as filed

Why it is an estimate
Read from one part only, the share count over the years, which ranks in the top 42% of 6 in its family; fewer than two of the parts can be read: the share count over the years, and the cash returned against a positive operating cash flow or net income.
What the record cannot read
Fewer than two of the parts can be read: the share count over the years, and the cash returned against a positive operating cash flow or net income.
How it was reasoned
one part: the share count over the years, the one part on file, ranked among 6 in its family.
Confidence
35 of 100
What would change it
A filing that carries the missing parts replaces this estimate with the filed reading.

From the record

SI estimate, not a filed reading: Cato Corp's shareholder treatment is put at 5.8 of 10 with a confidence of 35 of 100, because read from one part only, the share count over the years, which ranks in the top 42% of 6 in its family; fewer than two of the parts can be read: the share count over the years, and the cash returned against a positive operating cash flow or net income. A filing that carries the missing parts replaces this estimate with the filed reading.

● Present

What are they doing right now?

3.4/1045% of the headline grade · 2 of 3 filed, 1 estimated

Financial health

as filed
4.6/10

Is it financially healthy right now?

ROE -4%: lost 4¢ per shareholder dollar. Leverage 63%: owes 63¢ per asset dollar.

weight 45% of this tense · 46th percentile among 6 sector filers · read for itself

From the record

Return on equity: in the fiscal year ended 2026-01-31, Cato Corp lost about 4 cents for every dollar of shareholders' money, and gross profitability: its products earned about 53 cents per dollar of everything the company owns (revenue less the cost of revenue). Leverage: it owed about 63 cents per dollar of assets, and net share issuance: its share count shrank 2.4% over the year (the filed statements).

What it rests on

  • what it owes per dollar of assetsbottom 42% of its family
  • return on equitybottom 8% of its family
  • gross profit against assetstop 42% of its family
  • the share count against the year beforetop 25% of its family

A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.

Industry position

as filed
0.8/10

How strong is its position in its industry?

bottom 8% of 6 in its family; net margin -0.9%.

weight 33% of this tense · 8th percentile among 6 sector filers · read for its customers

From the record

Cato Corp's standing among 6 graded names in its industry family: revenue of $654 million in fiscal 2026 ranks in the bottom 8% by size; a net margin of -0.9% ranks in the bottom 8%; revenue growth of -4.8% a year over the last 3 filed years ranks in the bottom 8% (its annual reports).

What it rests on

  • revenue against the family$654Mbottom 8% of its family
  • net margin-0.9%bottom 8% of its family
  • three-year revenue growth-4.8%bottom 8% of its family

A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.

Leadership

SI estimate
5.0/10

What are the people in charge doing?

SI estimate 5.0/10, confidence 20 of 100 (family median).

weight 22% of this tense · 50th percentile among 5 sector filers · read for its shareholders

SI estimate Inferred, not read as filed

Why it is an estimate
No officer or director has filed a Form 3, 4 or 5 for it in the last fifteen months, so the years in charge cannot be read, so the desk assumes the typical reading of its industry family, the median of 5 members with one.
What the record cannot read
No officer or director has filed a Form 3, 4 or 5 for it in the last fifteen months, so the years in charge cannot be read.
How it was reasoned
family median, 5 readings behind it.
Confidence
20 of 100
What would change it
Its next annual report on file with the inputs replaces this estimate with the filed reading.

From the record

SI estimate, not a filed reading: Cato Corp's leadership is put at 5.0 of 10 with a confidence of 20 of 100, because no officer or director has filed a Form 3, 4 or 5 for it in the last fifteen months, so the years in charge cannot be read, so the desk assumes the typical reading of its industry family, the median of 5 members with one. Its next annual report on file with the inputs replaces this estimate with the filed reading.

▶ Future

What are they set up to do next?

5.1/1030% of the headline grade · 3 of 3 filed

Room to expand

as filed
1.9/10

How much room does it have to grow?

bottom 19% of 6 in its family for room to expand.

weight 22% of this tense · 19th percentile among 6 sector filers · read for itself

From the record

Cato Corp's room to grow, from the newest filed statements (fiscal 2026): cash of $17 million against no long-term debt tagged leaves 4% of its assets as net cash, bottom 42% of its family; cash from operations less capital spending is -0.8% of revenue (bottom 8%); a gross margin of 34% (bottom 8%) (its annual report).

What it rests on

  • cash less debt against assets4.0%bottom 42% of its family
  • cash from operations less capital spending against revenue-0.8%bottom 8% of its family
  • gross margin34.0%bottom 8% of its family

A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.

Growth drivers

as filed
4.2/10

What could actually drive growth from here?

bottom 42% of 6 in its family for growth drivers.

weight 45% of this tense · 42nd percentile among 6 sector filers · read for its customers

From the record

Cato Corp's growth drivers, from the filed years to fiscal 2026: revenue grew -4.8% a year over the last three filed years against -4.1% over all 10, slowing (top 25% of its family); the newest year grew 0.6% (bottom 42%); capital spending grew -42.1% a year (bottom 8%) (its annual reports). Cato Corp reported 2 lines of business in fiscal 2026: Reportable Segments Retail at $651 million (100%), Reportable Segments Credit at $3 million (0%); 1 of 2 grew against the year before (its annual report).

What it rests on

  • three-year growth against the whole span-0.7 points a yeartop 25% of its family
  • the newest year's revenue growth0.6%bottom 42% of its family
  • three-year growth of capital spending-42.1%bottom 8% of its family

A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.

Expectations vs reality

as filed
8.6/10

Did its newest year beat what its own record pointed to?

top 14% of 6 in its family for expectations against reality.

weight 33% of this tense · 86th percentile among 6 sector filers · read for its shareholders

From the record

Cato Corp's newest year against its own record: revenue of $654 million in fiscal 2026 came in 8.7% above the $601 million its prior three years' pace pointed to (top 25% of its family); net income of $6 million against a prior three-year average of $14 million (top 8%); a net margin of -0.9% against -2.1% before (top 8%) (its annual reports).

What it rests on

  • revenue against the prior three years' pace8.7%top 25% of its family
  • net income against the prior three years' average+58%top 8% of its family
  • net margin against its prior average+1.1 pointstop 8% of its family

A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.

The grade is the company against its own industry, from its filings. It is not a view on the share price. How the grade is made

SI Assistanton CATO · research, not advice