The Cato Corporation cash flow to debt ratio of -0.97% indicates that the company cannot generate enough cash to cover its debt over time. This level indicates weak financial health.

The Cato Corporation's free cash flow has increased -81.08% from $-27.62M last year to $-5.22M, signaling increasing performance

The Cato Corporation's debt to equity ratio is 0.87, which means that the company's assets are unhealthy financed, signaling financial risk.

The Cato Corporation's debt has decreased relative to shareholder equity from 0.90 last year to 0.87 today, signaling strengthened financials

The Cato Corporation has a net debt to EBITDA ratio of 29.82x, which exceeds the 3.00x threshold, indicating high leverage and potential financial risk

The Cato Corporation earns at least as much interest as it pays. Interest obligations are fully covered.

The Cato Corporation's profit margin has increased (-98.78%) in the last year from -2.86% to -0.03%, signaling increasing performance

The Cato Corporation's short-term assets of $193.27M exceed its short-term liabilities of $155.89M

The Cato Corporation's return on assets of 0.00% is lower than the 5.00% threshold, indicating inefficient asset utilization

The Cato Corporation's return on equity of -0.14%, is lower than 15.00%, indicating bad performance

The Cato Corporation's operating cash flow is lower than its net income, indicating that earnings may not be fully backed by cash generation

The Cato Corporation had positive net income in only 2 out of 5 years, indicating unstable earnings

The Cato Corporation has negative free cash flow, indicating the company is burning cash rather than generating it

The Cato Corporation has negative free cash flow, indicating cash burn

The Cato Corporation's yearly earnings has increased -68.24% since last year from $-18.61M to $-5.91M, signaling increasing performance

The Cato Corporation's yearly revenue has increased 0.62% since last year from $649.81M to $653.81M, signaling increasing performance

ROIC 0.13% (Source: FMP key-metrics). Below the 5% partial-credit threshold. Score: 0 of 2. The 5% and 10% cutoffs anchor to typical US weighted-average cost of capital. Below 5% indicates the company is not generating returns above its likely cost of capital under this definition of invested capital. Invested capital here includes equity, non-current liabilities (pension obligations, deferred taxes, lease obligations), and short-term debt. Cash is not subtracted. Companies with substantial float, lease portfolios, or cash holdings will score lower under this definition than under narrower operating-capital definitions. See methodology.

The Cato Corporation's 3-year revenue CAGR of -4.86% is negative, indicating declining revenue over the past 3 years

The Cato Corporation had revenue growth in only 2 out of 5 years, indicating inconsistent revenue performance

The Cato Corporation had positive ROE in only 2 out of 5 years, indicating inconsistent returns on equity

The Cato Corporation has insufficient data to evaluate this check.

The Cato Corporation has negative trailing-twelve-month earnings; this ratio is not meaningful and the check fails

The Cato Corporation is overvalued relative to its fair value price of 0.00 based on EBITDA multiple model

The Cato Corporation has an EV/EBITDA ratio of 54.12x, which exceeds the 20.00x threshold, indicating the stock may be overvalued relative to its operating earnings

The Cato Corporation is overvalued relative to its fair value price of -8.05 based on Earnings Fair Value model

The Cato Corporation has negative trailing-twelve-month earnings; this ratio is not meaningful and the check fails

The Cato Corporation has a price-to-book ratio of 0.39x, which is below the 5.00x threshold, indicating reasonable valuation relative to its book value

The Cato Corporation has a price-to-sales ratio of 0.10x, which is below the 8.00x threshold, indicating reasonable valuation relative to its revenue