Cato (CATO) Operating Expenses (2010 - 2026)
Cato's Operating Expenses was $164.21 million in fiscal Q2 2027 (quarter ended Aug 1, 2026), down 3.4% from $169.97 million a year earlier but up 1.8% from the prior quarter.
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Analysis
Cato (CATO) Operating Expenses (2010 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
On a trailing twelve-month basis, Cato's Operating Expenses was $650.82 million through Aug 1, 2026, down 2.6% year-over-year; for FY2026 (ended Jan 31, 2026), it came in at $661.31 million, down 0.7% from FY2025.
- Operating Expenses has now declined for three consecutive fiscal years, though with a five-year compound annual growth rate of 0.4% (FY2021 to FY2026).
- In earlier fiscal years, Operating Expenses was $665.92 million in FY2025 (-7.7%), $721.86 million in FY2024 (-4.7%), $757.49 million in FY2023 (+3.7%) and $730.31 million in FY2022 (+12.7%).
- Quarterly Operating Expenses has moved between $160.92 million (fiscal Q3 2025) and $195.02 million (fiscal Q1 2023) over five years.
- Compared with a year earlier, Operating Expenses has declined for three straight quarters, with an average decline of 2.7% over the last eight quarters.
- The best year-over-year quarter for Operating Expenses over five years was fiscal Q4 2022 (growth of 9.7%); the worst was fiscal Q1 2025 (a decline of 10.8%).
- Per Business Quant data, CATO's Operating Expenses in the three fiscal quarters before Q2 2027 was $161.27 million (Q1 2027), $163.58 million (Q4 2026) and $161.75 million (Q3 2026).
Peer Set
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | Opex (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amazon Com | 2,826.22 Bn | 2,342.91 Bn | 104.83 Bn | 173.15 Bn |
| 2 | Home Depot | 312.87 Bn | 306.11 Bn | 16.12 Bn | 9.28 Bn |
| 3 | Tjx Companies | 162.20 Bn | 139.75 Bn | 5.07 Bn | 3.09 Bn |
| 4 | Lowes Companies | 110.98 Bn | 103.94 Bn | 8.58 Bn | 4.46 Bn |
| 5 | Ross Stores | 75.30 Bn | 58.23 Bn | 2.12 Bn | 1.02 Bn |
| 6 | O Reilly Automotive | 74.25 Bn | 73.33 Bn | 2.52 Bn | 1.53 Bn |
| 7 | Target | 70.03 Bn | 64.62 Bn | 8.94 Bn | 5.73 Bn |
| 8 | Autozone | 52.03 Bn | 50.93 Bn | 2.52 Bn | 1.60 Bn |
| 9 | Carvana | 43.27 Bn | 33.76 Bn | 1.38 Bn | 704.00 Mn |
| 10 | Cato | 43.89 Mn | -283.46 Mn | 55.32 Mn | 164.21 Mn |
Historic Data
Download Data
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Aug 1, 2026 | 164.21 Mn |
| May 2, 2026 | 161.27 Mn |
| Jan 31, 2026 | 163.58 Mn |
| Nov 1, 2025 | 161.75 Mn |
| Aug 2, 2025 | 169.97 Mn |
| May 3, 2025 | 166.01 Mn |
| Feb 1, 2025 | 171.63 Mn |
| Nov 2, 2024 | 160.92 Mn |
| Aug 3, 2024 | 167.89 Mn |
| May 4, 2024 | 165.48 Mn |
| Feb 3, 2024 | 187.36 Mn |
| Oct 28, 2023 | 168.61 Mn |
| Jul 29, 2023 | 180.41 Mn |
| Apr 29, 2023 | 185.48 Mn |
| Jan 28, 2023 | 183.29 Mn |
| Oct 29, 2022 | 185.74 Mn |
| Jul 30, 2022 | 193.44 Mn |
| Apr 30, 2022 | 195.02 Mn |
| Jan 29, 2022 | 182.50 Mn |
| Oct 30, 2021 | 169.32 Mn |
API Access
Cato Operating Expenses API
Pull this series into your own models, spreadsheets and apps with the Business Quant
Historical Metrics API. The request below matches the chart above — change the
frequency, period or values and it follows. Swap YOUR_API_KEY for your own key.
https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=operating-expenses&ticker=CATO&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEYimport requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "operating-expenses", "ticker": "CATO", "period": "max", "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY"}
data = requests.get(url, params=params).json()const res = await fetch("https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=operating-expenses&ticker=CATO&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();