Cato (CATO) Operating Margin (2010 - 2026)
Cato's Operating Margin was -65.79% in fiscal Q2 2027 (quarter ended Aug 1, 2026), down 6.34 percentage points from -59.45% a year earlier and down 9.39 percentage points from the prior quarter.
Cato (CATO) Operating Margin (2010 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
On a trailing twelve-month basis, Cato's Operating Margin was -67.49% through Aug 1, 2026, up 2.16 percentage points year-over-year; for FY2026 (ended Jan 31, 2026), it came in at -67.15%, up 2.49 percentage points from FY2025.
- Operating Margin shows a five-year change of +20.83 percentage points (FY2021 to FY2026).
- In earlier fiscal years, Operating Margin was -69.64% in FY2025 (-2.12 pp), -67.52% in FY2024 (-0.63 pp), -66.89% in FY2023 (-13.06 pp) and -53.83% in FY2022 (+34.15 pp).
- Quarterly Operating Margin has moved between -80.53% (fiscal Q3 2025) and -56.40% (fiscal Q1 2027) over five years.
- Compared with a year earlier, Operating Margin was higher in four of the last eight quarters, with an average year-over-year change of -0.22 percentage points.
- The best year-over-year quarter for Operating Margin over five years was fiscal Q3 2022 (a gain of 22.55 percentage points); the worst was fiscal Q2 2023 (a drop of 18.48 percentage points).
- Per Business Quant data, CATO's Operating Margin in the three fiscal quarters before Q2 2027 was -56.40% (Q1 2027), -77.92% (Q4 2026) and -71.34% (Q3 2026).
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | Operating Margin (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amazon Com | 2,826.22 Bn | 2,342.91 Bn | 104.83 Bn | 13.69% |
| 2 | Home Depot | 312.87 Bn | 306.11 Bn | 16.12 Bn | 14.29% |
| 3 | Tjx Companies | 162.20 Bn | 139.75 Bn | 5.07 Bn | 13.09% |
| 4 | Lowes Companies | 110.98 Bn | 103.94 Bn | 8.58 Bn | 13.67% |
| 5 | Ross Stores | 75.30 Bn | 58.23 Bn | 2.12 Bn | 17.62% |
| 6 | O Reilly Automotive | 74.25 Bn | 73.33 Bn | 2.52 Bn | 20.15% |
| 7 | Target | 70.03 Bn | 64.62 Bn | 8.94 Bn | 9.65% |
| 8 | Autozone | 52.03 Bn | 50.93 Bn | 2.52 Bn | 19.08% |
| 9 | Carvana | 43.27 Bn | 33.76 Bn | 1.38 Bn | 9.22% |
| 10 | Cato | 43.89 Mn | -283.46 Mn | 55.32 Mn | -65.79% |
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Aug 1, 2026 | -65.79% |
| May 2, 2026 | -56.40% |
| Jan 31, 2026 | -77.92% |
| Nov 1, 2025 | -71.34% |
| Aug 2, 2025 | -59.45% |
| May 3, 2025 | -61.72% |
| Feb 1, 2025 | -79.53% |
| Nov 2, 2024 | -80.53% |
| Aug 3, 2024 | -64.27% |
| May 4, 2024 | -56.96% |
| Feb 3, 2024 | -75.06% |
| Oct 28, 2023 | -73.41% |
| Jul 29, 2023 | -62.97% |
| Apr 29, 2023 | -60.15% |
| Jan 28, 2023 | -70.46% |
| Oct 29, 2022 | -75.22% |
| Jul 30, 2022 | -65.19% |
| Apr 30, 2022 | -58.31% |
| Jan 29, 2022 | -65.74% |
| Oct 30, 2021 | -58.84% |
Cato Operating Margin 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-margin&ticker=CATO&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEYimport requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "operating-margin", "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-margin&ticker=CATO&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();