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Side-by-side financial comparison of CATO CORP (CATO) and H2O AMERICA (HTO). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
H2O AMERICA is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($199.4M vs $155.4M, roughly 1.3× CATO CORP). H2O AMERICA runs the higher net margin — 8.1% vs -3.3%, a 11.5% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, CATO CORP posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (6.3% vs 1.5%). Over the past eight quarters, H2O AMERICA's revenue compounded faster (15.3% CAGR vs -5.7%).
The Cato Corporation is an American retailer of women's fashions and accessories. The company is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. As of January 2016, the company operated 1,372 stores under the names Cato, Cato Plus, It's Fashion, It's Fashion Metro and Versona.
H2O Wireless is a United States-based prepaid cell phone service, that utilizes the AT&T network. It is a brand of the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Locus Telecommunications, a subsidiary of Telrite Holdings, Inc., since 2019. Locus was formerly a subsidiary of KDDI America corporation, starting in 2010. H2O Wireless is primarily advertised as a non-restrictive phone service for customers to bring or buy unlocked smartphones, although AT&T contract/locked phones may be accepted as well.
CATO vs HTO — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q3 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $155.4M | $199.4M |
| Net Profit | $-5.2M | $16.2M |
| Gross Margin | 32.7% | — |
| Operating Margin | -5.3% | 16.6% |
| Net Margin | -3.3% | 8.1% |
| Revenue YoY | 6.3% | 1.5% |
| Net Profit YoY | 65.6% | -29.2% |
| EPS (diluted) | $-0.28 | $0.45 |
Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.
8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend
Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.
| Q4 25 | $155.4M | $199.4M | ||
| Q3 25 | $176.5M | $243.5M | ||
| Q2 25 | $170.2M | $197.8M | ||
| Q1 25 | $157.9M | $164.9M | ||
| Q4 24 | $146.2M | $196.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | $168.6M | $216.7M | ||
| Q2 24 | $177.1M | $173.1M | ||
| Q1 24 | $174.9M | $150.0M |
| Q4 25 | $-5.2M | $16.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $6.8M | $45.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $3.3M | $24.7M | ||
| Q1 25 | $-14.1M | $16.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $-15.1M | $22.9M | ||
| Q3 24 | $95.0K | $38.7M | ||
| Q2 24 | $11.0M | $20.7M | ||
| Q1 24 | — | $11.7M |
| Q4 25 | 32.7% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 36.8% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 35.8% | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 29.2% | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 29.6% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 35.3% | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 36.5% | — | ||
| Q1 24 | 32.1% | — |
| Q4 25 | -5.3% | 16.6% | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.1% | 26.5% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.0% | 22.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | -15.2% | 21.8% | ||
| Q4 24 | -11.6% | 22.2% | ||
| Q3 24 | -0.4% | 26.9% | ||
| Q2 24 | 3.5% | 23.4% | ||
| Q1 24 | -9.5% | 18.6% |
| Q4 25 | -3.3% | 8.1% | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.9% | 18.5% | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.9% | 12.5% | ||
| Q1 25 | -8.9% | 10.0% | ||
| Q4 24 | -10.3% | 11.7% | ||
| Q3 24 | 0.1% | 17.8% | ||
| Q2 24 | 6.2% | 12.0% | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 7.8% |
| Q4 25 | $-0.28 | $0.45 | ||
| Q3 25 | $0.35 | $1.27 | ||
| Q2 25 | $0.17 | $0.71 | ||
| Q1 25 | $-0.73 | $0.49 | ||
| Q4 24 | $-0.79 | $0.70 | ||
| Q3 24 | $0.01 | $1.17 | ||
| Q2 24 | $0.54 | $0.64 | ||
| Q1 24 | $-1.15 | $0.36 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $79.0M | $20.7M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | — | $1.9B |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $167.6M | $1.5B |
| Total Assets | $450.2M | $5.1B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | — | 1.23× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $79.0M | $20.7M | ||
| Q3 25 | $90.8M | $11.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $80.0M | $19.8M | ||
| Q1 25 | $77.7M | $23.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $86.2M | $11.1M | ||
| Q3 24 | $104.7M | $4.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $105.4M | $22.8M | ||
| Q1 24 | $103.0M | $4.5M |
| Q4 25 | — | $1.9B | ||
| Q3 25 | — | — | ||
| Q2 25 | — | — | ||
| Q1 25 | — | — | ||
| Q4 24 | — | $1.7B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | — | ||
| Q2 24 | — | — | ||
| Q1 24 | — | — |
| Q4 25 | $167.6M | $1.5B | ||
| Q3 25 | $172.2M | $1.5B | ||
| Q2 25 | $164.9M | $1.5B | ||
| Q1 25 | $162.3M | $1.4B | ||
| Q4 24 | $177.1M | $1.4B | ||
| Q3 24 | $195.1M | $1.3B | ||
| Q2 24 | $196.9M | $1.3B | ||
| Q1 24 | $192.3M | $1.2B |
| Q4 25 | $450.2M | $5.1B | ||
| Q3 25 | $436.9M | $5.0B | ||
| Q2 25 | $440.8M | $4.8B | ||
| Q1 25 | $452.4M | $4.7B | ||
| Q4 24 | $424.4M | $4.7B | ||
| Q3 24 | $455.6M | $4.6B | ||
| Q2 24 | $477.1M | $4.4B | ||
| Q1 24 | $486.8M | $4.4B |
| Q4 25 | — | 1.23× | ||
| Q3 25 | — | — | ||
| Q2 25 | — | — | ||
| Q1 25 | — | — | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 1.26× | ||
| Q3 24 | — | — | ||
| Q2 24 | — | — | ||
| Q1 24 | — | — |
Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency
How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | $-12.4M | $63.5M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $-12.9M | — |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | -8.3% | — |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 0.3% | — |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | — | 3.92× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $-7.5M | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $-12.4M | $63.5M | ||
| Q3 25 | $11.8M | $77.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $3.9M | $60.8M | ||
| Q1 25 | $-6.5M | $43.2M | ||
| Q4 24 | $-22.1M | $41.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | $3.1M | $53.5M | ||
| Q2 24 | $5.7M | $49.3M | ||
| Q1 24 | $-11.2M | $51.2M |
| Q4 25 | $-12.9M | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $10.4M | — | ||
| Q2 25 | $2.8M | — | ||
| Q1 25 | $-7.8M | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $-23.8M | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.6M | — | ||
| Q2 24 | $2.4M | — | ||
| Q1 24 | $-13.5M | — |
| Q4 25 | -8.3% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 5.9% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.7% | — | ||
| Q1 25 | -5.0% | — | ||
| Q4 24 | -16.3% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 0.9% | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.4% | — | ||
| Q1 24 | -7.7% | — |
| Q4 25 | 0.3% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 0.8% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.6% | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.9% | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.2% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 0.9% | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.8% | — | ||
| Q1 24 | 1.3% | — |
| Q4 25 | — | 3.92× | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.72× | 1.71× | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.17× | 2.47× | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 2.61× | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 1.81× | ||
| Q3 24 | 32.95× | 1.39× | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.52× | 2.38× | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 4.38× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
CATO
| Retail Segment | $154.7M | 100% |
| Credit Card | $5.3M | 3% |
HTO
| Water Utility Services | $191.0M | 96% |
| Other | $8.4M | 4% |
