BABA
Alibaba Group Holding Limited
BABA's fundamentals are weak: its operating margin fell 10 points to 4.2% and free cash flow turned negative, though revenue grew 4.3%. Its PE isn't a useful guide right now because of how its recent earnings were reported.
CATO
The Cato Corporation
There isn't enough reported data to score CATO yet.
BABA Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Under pressure | |
| Weak | |
| Healthy |
BABA's balance sheet is currently healthy, and its revenue is stable, but its profitability and cash flow are under pressure.
CATO Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Strong |
CATO's balance sheet is currently strong, and its revenue, profitability and cash flow are stable.
BABA PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 16x | $69.66 | -26% |
| Fair | 20x | $86.59 | -8.2% |
| Current | 21x | $94.36 | — |
| Expensive | 26x | $115 | +22% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
BABA's PE is 21x, but its earnings don't support one, so it isn't a reliable read right now.
CATO PE Valuation
CATO has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
BABA Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for BABA, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
CATO Forward outlook
There aren't enough analyst estimates for CATO to show an outlook.
BABA Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $4.42 | -52% |
| Q1 2026 | $6.57 | -18% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.79 | -22% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.85 | +49% |
| Q2 2025 | $9.27 | +116% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.06 | +71% |
| Q4 2024 | $7.47 | +24% |
| Q3 2024 | $5.26 | -35% |
BABA has the edge over CATO on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
CATO Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$0.30 | +$0.70 |
| Q2 2026 | -$0.01 | +$1.33 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.31 | +$0.66 |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.49 | +$0.90 |
| Q3 2025 | -$1.00 | -$0.10 |
| Q2 2025 | -$1.34 | -$0.49 |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.97 | +$0.20 |
| Q4 2024 | -$1.39 | -$1.23 |
CATO is still losing money, but far less than before: $0.30 per share over the past year, against $2.01 at its worst in early 2021.
BABA Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $40.2B | +8.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $36.5B | +2.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $42.7B | +1.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $37.2B | +4.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $37.2B | +1.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $35.5B | +6.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $42B | +7.6% |
| Q3 2024 | $35.5B | +5.2% |
BABA has the edge over CATO on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 7.2% | -6.9 points |
| Q1 2026 | -0.3% | -12 points |
| Q4 2025 | 7.1% | -7.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 2.2% | -13 points |
| Q2 2025 | 14% | -0.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 12% | +5.4 points |
| Q4 2024 | 15% | +6.1 points |
| Q3 2024 | 15% | 0 points |
BABA has the edge over CATO on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
CATO Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $165.5M | -6.2% |
| Q2 2026 | $171.1M | +0.5% |
| Q1 2026 | $151.7M | -4% |
| Q4 2025 | $155.4M | +6.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $176.5M | +4.7% |
| Q2 2025 | $170.2M | -3.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $157.9M | -9.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $146.2M | -7.6% |
CATO's revenue fell from its 2021 peak and has held roughly level since: $166M last quarter, down 6.2% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.4% | -3.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 5.2% | +3.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | -8.9% | +6.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | -5.3% | +4.8 points |
| Q3 2025 | 3.1% | +2.7 points |
| Q2 2025 | 2% | -4.5 points |
| Q1 2025 | -15% | -8 points |
| Q4 2024 | -10% | -3.5 points |
CATO's operating margin was −0.4% last quarter, down 3.5 points from the same quarter a year ago.
BABA Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -$6.7B | -$4.1B |
| Q1 2026 | -$2.7B | +$1.5B |
| Q4 2025 | $1B | -90% |
| Q3 2025 | -$3.2B | -254% |
| Q2 2025 | -$2.7B | -182% |
| Q1 2025 | -$4.2B | -12231% |
| Q4 2024 | $10.4B | -4.8% |
| Q3 2024 | $2.1B | -62% |
BABA's free cash flow has turned negative after years in the green: −$11.6B over the past year.
CATO Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $13.1M | +26% |
| Q2 2026 | $7M | +145% |
| Q1 2026 | -$5.6M | +$2.3M |
| Q4 2025 | -$12.9M | +$10.9M |
| Q3 2025 | $10.4M | +555% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.8M | +17% |
| Q1 2025 | -$7.8M | +$5.6M |
| Q4 2024 | -$23.8M | -$12.1M |
CATO has the edge over BABA on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
BABA Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.5% | +11.1M shares |
| 1 year | +0.9% | +21.4M shares |
| 3 years | -6.2% | -161M shares |
| 5 years | -12% | -339M shares |
| Available history | -8.4% | -221M shares |
BABA has the edge over CATO on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | $269.8M |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
BABA spent $270M buying back its own shares over the past year, after none the year before.
CATO Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +1% | +182K shares |
| 1 year | +1% | +191K shares |
| 3 years | -2% | -395K shares |
| 5 years | -11% | -2.4M shares |
| Available history | -20% | -4.7M shares |
CATO has 19M diluted shares, up 1% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $111,000 |
| Q2 2026 | $311,000 |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | $60,000 |
| Q2 2025 | $935,000 |
| Q1 2025 | $1.5M |
| Q4 2024 | $161,000 |
CATO spent $422,000 buying back its own shares over the past year, down 84% from the year before.
BABA Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q3 2024 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
BABA's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
CATO Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -10.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2024 | -48.5x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2023 | -5.6x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2023 | -9.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2023 | -5.4x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2023 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2022 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2022 | -1.3x | Net Cash |
CATO has the edge over BABA on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
BABA Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 38.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 12.7 | Oversold |
BABA's weekly RSI is 38 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 13 (oversold).
CATO Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 32.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 2.2 | Oversold |
CATO's weekly RSI is 33 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 2 (oversold).
BABA PE vs Consumer Cyclical Sector
| Metric | BABA | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 21x | 18x | 19% above |
| PE % | 60 | 47 | 13 pts above |
BABA is trading at 21x earnings, a 19% premium to the Consumer Cyclical sector's median of 18x, though its earnings don't support one.
CATO PE vs Consumer Cyclical Sector
| Metric | CATO | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 18x | — |
CATO has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
BABA Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $104.7 | 9.9% below |
| 20 week MA | $111.1 | 15% below |
| 50 week MA | $128.0 | 26% below |
| 100 week MA | $127.7 | 26% below |
| 200 week MA | $106.4 | 11% below |
BABA is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 11% below its 200-week average.
CATO Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $2.36 | 3.8% below |
| 20 week MA | $2.77 | 18% below |
| 50 week MA | $2.97 | 24% below |
| 100 week MA | $3.16 | 28% below |
| 200 week MA | $4.98 | 54% below |
CATO is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 54% below its 200-week average.
BABA Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $215.5 | $222.0 | +3% |
| 2021 | $222.0 | $118.7 | -47% |
| 2022 | $118.7 | $85.7 | -28% |
| 2023 | $85.7 | $77.5 | -9.5% |
| 2024 | $77.5 | $85.1 | +9.7% |
| 2025 | $85.1 | $152.2 | +79% |
| 2026 YTD | $152.2 | $94.4 | -38% |
BABA has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's down 38% so far in 2026.
CATO Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $17.2 | $8.20 | -52% |
| 2021 | $8.20 | $16.9 | +106% |
| 2022 | $16.9 | $9.18 | -46% |
| 2023 | $9.18 | $7.14 | -22% |
| 2024 | $7.14 | $3.93 | -45% |
| 2025 | $3.93 | $3.08 | -22% |
| 2026 YTD | $3.08 | $2.27 | -26% |
CATO has the edge over BABA on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.