The Cato (The Cato) Operating Margin %

The Cato Annual Data
	Trend	Jan15	Jan16	Jan17	Jan18	Jan19	Jan20	Jan21	Jan22	Jan23	Jan24
Operating Margin %							4.50	-13.78	4.80	-0.34	-2.66

The Cato Quarterly Data
	Apr19	Jul19	Oct19	Jan20	Apr20	Jul20	Oct20	Jan21	Apr21	Jul21	Oct21	Jan22	Apr22	Jul22	Oct22	Jan23	Apr23	Jul23	Oct23	Jan24
Operating Margin %																-2.27	2.95	0.62	-7.50	-7.89

For the Apparel Retail subindustry, The Cato's Operating Margin %, along with its competitors' market caps and Operating Margin % data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.

For the Retail - Cyclical industry and Consumer Cyclical sector, The Cato's Operating Margin % distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where The Cato's Operating Margin % falls into.

The Cato Operating Margin % Calculation

Operating Margin % - also known as operating income margin, operating profit margin and return on sales (ROS) - is the ratio of Operating Income divided by net sales or Revenue, usually presented in percent.

The Cato's Operating Margin % for the fiscal year that ended in Jan. 2024 is calculated as

The Cato's Operating Margin % for the quarter that ended in Jan. 2024 is calculated as

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

The Cato  (NYSE:CATO) Operating Margin % Explanation

Just like Gross Margin %, it is important to see a company maintains its operating margin over time. Among the same industry, a company with higher operating margin is more efficient in its operation. It is also more stable during industry slowdown or recessions. Peter Lynch prefers those with higher margins than those with lower margins.

Be Aware

Operating Margin % can be manipulated by adjusting the rate of depreciation, depletion and amortization (DDA).

If a company is facing competition, its Operating Margin % may decline. Often the Operating Margin % declines well before the company's Revenue or even profit decline. Therefore, Operating Margin % is a very important indicator of whether the company is facing problems.

For instance, by 2012, Nokia (NOK)'s problems were well known and its stock had lost more than 90% of its market value since 2007. But Nokia’s Operating Margin % had already been in decline since 2002, although its Earnings per Share (Diluted) were still rising. Investors who paid attention to Operating Margin % would have avoided this huge loss. The same can be said for Research-in-Motion (RIMM).

Therefore, Operating Margin % is a very important screening filter for GuruFocus. GuruFocus's Buffett-Munger screener requires that the profit margin is either consistent or expanding. The Model Portfolio of the Buffett-Munger screener has outperformed the market every year since inception in 2009.

The Cato Operating Margin % Related Terms

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The Cato (The Cato) Business Description