CATO CORP
Cato Corporation (NYSE: CATO) operates a fashion specialty retail business primarily serving value-conscious consumers in the southeastern United States. The company's website is located at www.catofashions.com. Founded in 1946, Cato has established itself as a leading fashion retailer offering quality apparel and… From the company’s description.
Margins and return on equity change in ; everything else in percent. Fewer shares and less debt are shown plainly, not as bad news — it depends what you make of buybacks. Dotted labels explain each measure. is shown separately from the annual figures.
What CATO CORP does
In the company’s own words
Cato Corporation (NYSE: CATO) operates a fashion specialty retail business primarily serving value-conscious consumers in the southeastern United States. The company's website is located at www.catofashions.com. Founded in 1946, Cato has established itself as a leading fashion retailer offering quality apparel and accessories at everyday low prices across multiple store concepts and e-commerce platforms.
The company operates 1,069 fashion specialty stores across 31 states as of January 31, 2026, under several brand names including Cato, Cato Fashions, Cato Plus, It's Fashion, It's Fashion Metro, and Versona. The Versona concept also includes a Cache shop-within-shop offering elevated fashion items. These stores range from 2,400 to 19,000 square feet and are predominantly located in strip shopping centers anchored by national discounters or market-dominant grocery stores. The company employs approximately 6,700 full-time and part-time associates across its store base, distribution center, and home office operations.
Cato's business is organized into two reportable segments: Retail and Credit. The Retail segment comprises the company's store operations and e-commerce platforms, while the Credit segment manages the company's proprietary credit card program and layaway offerings. Credit and layaway sales represented six percent of retail sales in fiscal 2025.
The company's merchandise strategy emphasizes broad assortment across junior, missy, plus, men, and children sizes, featuring dressy, career, and casual sportswear, dresses, coats, shoes, lingerie, jewelry, and handbags. A significant portion of merchandise is sold under private labels produced by various vendors according to company specifications. The company sources merchandise from approximately 560 suppliers, with the majority coming from approximately 100 primary vendors, with substantial direct sourcing from manufacturers in Southeast Asia and Egypt.
Cato's competitive positioning centers on merchandise assortment and presentation, fashion-forward styling, value pricing, convenient strip center locations, and customer service. The company emphasizes internal promotion, with over eighty percent of store and field management promoted from within, supporting operational continuity and associate development.
Company details
- Sector
- Consumer Discretionary
- Industry
- Retail
- Headquarters
- CHARLOTTE, NC
- Fiscal year end
- January
- CIK
- 18255
- SIC
- 5621
Financial performance, year by year
Fiscal 2014–2026 · USDThe full income statement, balance sheet and cash flow for each of these years — every figure traceable to its filing — is on the Financials tab with a free account.
Who owns CATO CORP — and what changed
Funds as of 2026Q2 · superinvestors as of 2026-06-30
Largest fund holders · CATO CORP’s weight in each
Fund ownership is a floor, not a census — pensions, insurers and people holding shares directly are not visible here.
Fund ownership counts N-PORT filers only, so it is a floor rather than a census — pensions, insurers and direct holders are not visible here, and the remainder is not “held by individuals”.
Every fund and institutional holder, quarter by quarter, is on the Ownership tab with a free account.
Recent filings
All filings →Each filing opens into its own statements and disclosures here.
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