The Cato Corporation (CATO) Financial Ratios
30 years of historical data (1996–2025) · Consumer Cyclical · Apparel - Retail
EV/EBITDA
↑
N/A
—
5yr avg: 27.40
30Y Low5.0·High44.6
P/FCF
N/A
—
5yr avg: 6.26
30Y Low6.3·High26.8
P/B Ratio
↓
0.40
↓-46% vs avg
5yr avg: 0.74
30Y Low0.4·High3.1
ROE
↓
-3.7%
↑-68% vs avg
5yr avg: -2.2%
30Y Low-16%·High20%
Debt/EBITDA
↑
N/A
—
5yr avg: 12.87
30Y Low0.3·High22.1
Percentile shows where the current value sits in 30-year historical distribution. Sparklines show 5-year trend.
CATO Valuation Multiples
Price-based multiples — how expensive the stock is relative to earnings, sales, book value, and cash flow
The Cato Corporation currently has a negative P/E ratio, indicating the company is operating at a loss on a trailing-twelve-month basis.
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market Cap | $59M | $58M | $64M | $131M | $198M | $349M | $256M | $381M | $368M | $298M | $697M |
| Enterprise Value | $190M | $189M | $190M | $260M | $353M | $513M | $445M | $579M | $343M | $220M | $650M |
| P/E Ratio → | -10.65 | — | — | — | 6626.67 | 10.01 | — | 10.99 | 12.07 | 34.94 | 14.76 |
| P/S Ratio | 0.09 | 0.09 | 0.10 | 0.19 | 0.26 | 0.45 | 0.45 | 0.46 | 0.44 | 0.35 | 0.73 |
| P/B Ratio | 0.40 | 0.37 | 0.40 | 0.68 | 0.87 | 1.37 | 1.04 | 1.20 | 1.16 | 0.91 | 1.82 |
| P/FCF | — | — | — | — | — | 6.26 | — | 8.44 | 6.58 | 11.99 | 15.55 |
| P/OCF | — | — | — | 274.79 | 14.82 | 5.83 | — | 7.13 | 6.10 | 8.29 | 9.66 |
P/E links to full P/E history page with 30-year chart
CATO EV Ratios
Enterprise-value multiples — capital-structure-neutral measures of total business value
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EV / Revenue | — | 0.29 | 0.29 | 0.37 | 0.46 | 0.67 | 0.77 | 0.70 | 0.41 | 0.26 | 0.68 |
| EV / EBITDA | — | — | — | — | 44.56 | 10.24 | — | 10.97 | 7.43 | 5.75 | 8.27 |
| EV / EBIT | — | — | — | — | 190.02 | 13.15 | — | 13.40 | 10.38 | 13.80 | 13.23 |
| EV / FCF | — | — | — | — | — | 9.22 | — | 12.85 | 6.14 | 8.85 | 14.49 |
CATO Profitability
Margins and return-on-capital ratios measuring operating efficiency
The Cato Corporation earns an operating margin of -2.2%, below the Consumer Cyclical sector average of 2.0%. A negative ROE of -3.7% indicates the company is currently destroying shareholder equity.
Margins
Full margin charts and quarterly trend are on the Earnings History page
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Margin | 32.5% | 32.5% | 31.3% | 33.0% | 31.4% | 39.5% | 22.1% | 36.5% | 35.0% | 32.6% | 34.7% |
| Operating Margin | -2.2% | -2.2% | -4.2% | -2.4% | -0.4% | 4.9% | -11.4% | 4.5% | 3.6% | 2.2% | 5.8% |
| Net Profit Margin | -0.9% | -0.9% | -2.9% | -3.2% | 0.0% | 4.5% | -7.9% | 4.2% | 3.6% | 1.0% | 4.8% |
Return on Capital
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROE | -3.7% | -3.7% | -10.5% | -10.8% | 0.0% | 13.9% | -16.1% | 10.9% | 9.2% | 2.4% | 11.6% |
| ROA | -1.4% | -1.4% | -4.0% | -4.3% | 0.0% | 5.7% | -7.1% | 5.8% | 5.8% | 1.5% | 7.4% |
| ROIC | -3.7% | -3.7% | -6.7% | -3.6% | -0.6% | 6.6% | -10.3% | 6.9% | 8.2% | 4.8% | 12.3% |
| ROCE | -5.4% | -5.4% | -9.6% | -5.3% | -0.9% | 9.5% | -14.6% | 8.9% | 8.1% | 4.6% | 12.6% |
CATO Leverage & Debt
Solvency and debt-coverage ratios — lower is generally safer
Net debt stands at $131M ($150M total debt minus $19M cash).
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debt / Equity | 0.96 | 0.96 | 0.90 | 0.80 | 0.77 | 0.73 | 0.84 | 0.66 | — | — | — |
| Debt / EBITDA | — | — | — | — | 22.07 | 3.68 | — | 3.98 | — | — | — |
| Net Debt / Equity | — | 0.83 | 0.77 | 0.67 | 0.68 | 0.65 | 0.77 | 0.63 | -0.08 | -0.24 | -0.12 |
| Net Debt / EBITDA | — | — | — | — | 19.54 | 3.28 | — | 3.76 | -0.53 | -2.04 | -0.60 |
| Debt / FCF | — | — | — | — | — | 2.96 | — | 4.40 | -0.44 | -3.14 | -1.05 |
| Interest Coverage | — | — | -272.10 | -393.31 | 21.34 | 542.18 | -388.34 | 1490.90 | 344.28 | 140.11 | 279.06 |
CATO Liquidity & Efficiency
Short-term solvency ratios and asset-utilisation metrics
A current ratio of 1.24x means The Cato Corporation can comfortably meet its short-term obligations, though there is limited excess liquidity. The quick ratio of 0.70x is notably lower than the current ratio, indicating a significant portion of current assets is tied up in inventory. The current ratio has declined from 1.29x to 1.24x over the past 3 years.
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current Ratio | 1.24 | 1.24 | 1.19 | 1.29 | 1.37 | 1.46 | 1.60 | 1.82 | 2.61 | 2.68 | 2.58 |
| Quick Ratio | 0.70 | 0.70 | 0.60 | 0.77 | 0.82 | 0.95 | 1.13 | 1.24 | 1.77 | 1.80 | 1.73 |
| Cash Ratio | 0.49 | 0.49 | 0.41 | 0.55 | 0.63 | 0.68 | 0.79 | 1.06 | 1.46 | 1.42 | 1.45 |
| Asset Turnover | — | 1.55 | 1.44 | 1.45 | 1.37 | 1.21 | 0.97 | 1.20 | 1.66 | 1.65 | 1.58 |
| Inventory Turnover | 5.28 | 5.28 | 4.03 | 4.81 | 4.65 | 3.73 | 5.32 | 4.55 | 4.51 | 4.71 | 4.29 |
| Days Sales Outstanding | — | 14.21 | 13.78 | 15.34 | 12.74 | 26.48 | 33.47 | 11.54 | 12.38 | 12.03 | 11.58 |
CATO Shareholder Yields
Earnings, FCF, buyback, and dividend yields — total returns to shareholders
The Cato Corporation returns 1.7% to shareholders annually primarily through share buybacks.
Dividends
Full dividend history and growth charts are on the Dividend History page
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dividend Yield | — | — | 16.3% | 10.6% | 7.3% | 2.9% | 3.1% | 8.6% | 8.9% | 11.3% | 5.1% |
| Payout Ratio | — | — | — | — | 35046.3% | 28.6% | — | 94.2% | 110.1% | 403.1% | 76.6% |
Total Shareholder Return Metrics
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earnings Yield | — | — | — | — | 0.0% | 10.0% | — | 9.1% | 8.3% | 2.9% | 6.8% |
| FCF Yield | — | — | — | — | — | 16.0% | — | 11.8% | 15.2% | 8.3% | 6.4% |
| Buyback Yield | 1.7% | 1.7% | 6.0% | 2.0% | 7.7% | 6.3% | 7.7% | 2.5% | 3.6% | 13.0% | 6.1% |
| Total Shareholder Yield | 1.7% | 1.7% | 22.3% | 12.6% | 14.9% | 9.2% | 10.8% | 11.1% | 12.5% | 24.3% | 11.2% |
| Shares Outstanding | — | $19M | $19M | $19M | $20M | $21M | $23M | $24M | $25M | $25M | $27M |
Peer Comparison
Compare CATO with 10 similar companies in its peer group
| Company | Market Cap | P/E | EV/EBITDA | P/FCF | Gross Margin | Op Margin | ROE | ROIC | Debt/EBITDA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 CATOYou | $59M | -10.6 | — | — | 32.5% | -2.2% | -3.7% | -3.7% | — |
 PLCE | $76M | -0.9 | — | — | 27.2% | -4.3% | — | -8.1% | — |
 DXLG | $39M | -1.1 | 139.2 | 20.8 | 39.9% | -3.2% | -28.8% | -3.4% | 130.0 |
 CURV | $192M | -27.8 | 6.7 | — | 34.8% | 2.1% | — | 7.5% | 4.8 |
 CTRN | $505M | 96.3 | 57.8 | 809.8 | 37.3% | -0.9% | 4.5% | -1.9% | 19.5 |
 RCUS | $2B | -7.4 | — | — | 96.0% | -156.3% | -63.3% | -64.1% | — |
 TJX | $181B | 33.6 | 22.4 | 36.9 | 31.0% | 11.9% | 59.1% | 32.3% | 1.6 |
 ROST | $75B | 35.2 | 21.2 | 34.1 | 27.9% | 11.9% | 36.7% | 30.6% | 1.5 |
 BURL | $21B | 35.4 | 20.6 | 123.6 | 43.9% | 7.3% | 38.4% | 10.3% | 4.8 |
 FIVE | $11B | 30.0 | 18.5 | 26.1 | 32.0% | 9.6% | 17.9% | 9.9% | 3.1 |
 PSMT | $6B | 37.8 | 18.6 | 57.9 | 17.4% | 4.5% | 12.2% | 13.8% | 1.0 |
| Consumer Cyclical Median | — | 21.2 | 12.2 | 15.6 | 36.2% | 2.0% | 5.3% | 5.2% | 4.8 |
Peer selection based on competitive and market overlap. Compare multiple stocks →
Download Financial Ratios Data
Includes 30+ ratios · 30 years · Updated daily
Consensus-Based Analysis Tools
Intrinsic Valuation
DCF models, multiple analysis, and analyst estimates.
Check Valuation
Historical Returns
10-year return with dividends reinvested.
Calculate
DCA Calculator
See how regular investing compounds over time.
Run Numbers
Peer Comparison
Compare growth, multiples, and margins vs sector.
Compare
CATO — Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying CATO stock.
What is The Cato Corporation's P/E ratio?
The Cato Corporation's current P/E ratio is -10.6x. The historical average is 14.5x.
What is The Cato Corporation's ROE?
The Cato Corporation's return on equity (ROE) is -3.7%. The historical average is 10.9%.
Is CATO stock overvalued?
Based on historical data, The Cato Corporation is trading at a P/E of -10.6x. Compare with industry peers and growth rates for a complete picture.
What are The Cato Corporation's profit margins?
The Cato Corporation has 32.5% gross margin and -2.2% operating margin.