The Cato Corporation (CATO)
Women’s clothing stores, one pattern. Read October 19, 2026 from the annual report for the period ending January 31, 2026, filed March 25, 2026. Ranked 35 of the 184 Consumer Cyclical companies read so far, by the share within reach now.
Within reach now
24%
End of 2028
30%
Employees, annual report
6,700
Leading staffing pattern
Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers
Share of the working time within reach, long-run pace, four times in five
- Now24%
- End of 202729%
- End of 202830%
- End of 203031%
What changes for its people by the end of 2028, by its industries' figures
- Stays with people 69%
- Becomes checking a model's work 17%
- Handed over with lighter checks 13%
Cato’s approximately 6,700 full-time and part-time associates work mostly in store operations, with the home office and distribution center inside the clothing store pattern.
The figures on this page come from the company's own annual report and from BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. They are estimates with a stated method. Nothing here says what the company will do: within reach is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
What follows from the reading
Share of working time within reach of AI, on the long-run pace at four in five: 24% now, 29% at the end of 2027, 30% at the end of 2028, 31% at the end of 2030. By the patterns, the work is about 31% desk work, 27% people work and 42% body work. These are the site's industry estimates weighted by the shares below: estimates with a stated method and range, not a forecast of what the company will do. By the same patterns, at the end of 2028 about 69% of the working time stays with people (conversation, in-person and hands-on work), 17% becomes checking a model's work and 13% could be handed over with lighter checks, from the industries' own figures, not the company's roles.
Headcount
6,700 employees as of January 31, 2026 (stated). The filing’s human capital section counts no employees by country.
The filing: “As of January 31, 2026, the Company employed approximately 6,700 full-time and part-time associates.”
The workforce as industry patterns
| Pattern | Share | Reason, from the filing |
|---|---|---|
| Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers | 100% | By description (c): the filing says full-time associates work in the home office and distribution center and the remainder in store operations, women’s clothing stores; no counts. |
What the filing says about the workforce: Approximately 6,700 full-time and part-time associates, with additional part-time associates in peak retailing seasons; full-time associates in executive, operating and administrative functions at the home office and distribution center, the remainder in store operations; no collective bargaining agreements; over 80% of store and field management promoted from within.
Companies read with the same leading pattern
Other companies whose largest staffing pattern is also Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers, largest first, each read from its own annual report. Within reach now and at the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- TJX (TJX, 377,000 employees)24% now, 31% by 2028
- Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST, 111,000 employees)23% now, 29% by 2028
- Burlington Stores, Inc. (BURL, 83,309 employees)24% now, 31% by 2028
- The Gap, Inc. (GAP, 79,000 employees)24% now, 32% by 2028
- American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (AEO, 45,000 employees)24% now, 30% by 2028
- Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF, 43,200 employees)24% now, 30% by 2028
- Lululemon Athletica Inc. (LULU, 39,000 employees)24% now, 30% by 2028
- Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN, 31,000 employees)24% now, 30% by 2028
What the filing says about AI
10 sentences in the filing name AI. The filing names AI ten times: exploring AI in technology development, operations and merchandise, and the competitive, legal and operational risks of AI.
- “We are exposed to risks related to the use of AI by us and our competitors.”
- “We are exploring incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities into the development of technologies, our business operations and our merchandise.”
- “AI technology is complex and rapidly evolving and may subject us to significant competitive, legal, regulatory, operational and other risks.”
- “There is no guarantee that our use of AI will enhance our technologies, benefit our business operations, or 18 produce apparel and accessories that are preferred by our customers.”
- “Our competitors may be more successful in their AI strategy and develop superior products with the aid of AI technology.”
Its annual reports, year by year
Sentences naming AI in each annual report, counted by one rule, beside the median report in the Index that year. Each count links its filing. Every company, by year and sector
- Fiscal 20210median 0
- Fiscal 20220median 0
- Fiscal 20230median 1
- Fiscal 20240median 4
- Fiscal 202510median 10
Headcount by filing year
As reported in each year's annual report, with the filing. A year marked not read had no figure the reading could take from the report's text.
| Period | Employees | Filed | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-31 | 6,700 | 2026-03-25 | 10-K |
| 2025-02-01 | 7,000 | 2025-03-31 | 10-K |
| 2024-02-03 | 7,300 | 2024-03-27 | 10-K |
| 2023-01-28 | 7,600 | 2023-03-23 | 10-K |
| 2022-01-29 | 7,500 | 2022-03-23 | 10-K |
| 2021-01-30 | 7,400 | 2021-03-29 | 10-K |
| 2020-02-01 | 10,060 | 2020-03-27 | 10-K |
| 2019-02-02 | 10,350 | 2019-03-27 | 10-K |
| 2018-02-03 | 10,500 | 2018-03-27 | 10-K |
| 2017-01-28 | 10,200 | 2017-03-23 | 10-K |
| 2016-01-30 | 10,500 | 2016-03-24 | 10-K |
| 2015-01-31 | 10,000 | 2015-03-30 | 10-K |
| 2014-02-01 | 10,000 | 2014-04-02 | 10-K |
| 2013-02-02 | 9,600 | 2013-04-02 | 10-K |
| 2012-03-27 | 9,500 | 2012-03-27 | 10-K |
| 2011-03-29 | 9,600 | 2011-03-30 | 10-K |
| 2010-01-30 | 9,100 | 2010-03-30 | 10-K |
| 2009-01-31 | 9,100 | 2009-03-31 | 10-K |
| 2008-02-02 | 9,800 | 2008-04-01 | 10-K |
| 2007-02-03 | 10,400 | 2007-04-03 | 10-K |
| 2006-01-28 | 10,000 | 2006-04-11 | 10-K |
| 2005-01-29 | 9,600 | 2005-04-28 | 10-K |
| 2004-01-31 | 9,100 | 2004-04-22 | 10-K |
| 2003-02-01 | 8,800 | 2003-04-30 | 10-K |
| 2002-02-02 | 8,600 | 2002-04-24 | 10-K |
| 2001-02-03 | 9,000 | 2001-04-26 | 10-K405 |
| 2000-01-29 | 8,500 | 2000-04-28 | 10-K405 |
| 1999-01-30 | 7,000 | 1999-04-22 | 10-K405 |
| 1998-01-31 | 7,100 | 1998-04-22 | 10-K405 |
| 1997-02-01 | 6,800 | 1997-04-25 | 10-K405 |
| 1996-02-03 | 6,600 | 1996-04-25 | 10-K |
| 1995-01-28 | 6,600 | 1995-04-28 | 10-K |
Limits of this reading
- No count by kind of work; the home office and distribution center stay inside the store pattern (rule 6).
- The revenue table (credit card, gift card breakage) is not a segment table and was not used.
Source: the company's annual report on EDGAR, accession 0001562762-26-000041, the filing. Read by Claude Fable 5.1 under rubric version 1, by the method. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.
The report on The Cato Corporation, $29
This page as a document to keep, with what it does not show: the share within reach at every date on three paces and two reliabilities, a typical workforce of this shape at the stated headcount role by role and task by task (the industries' staffing, never the company's roster), where to start, what changes for the people and what they would learn, every sentence in the filing that names AI, the headcount by year, the companies read with the same leading pattern, the method and a citation line. To print or save as a PDF, open again in your browser for a year.
See the report, $29See the sample first: Walmart's report is free
Questions about this company
- How much of The Cato Corporation's working time is within reach of AI?
- An estimated 24% now and 30% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five, from the workforce The Cato Corporation's own annual report describes and BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. It is an estimate with a stated method. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings, and it says nothing about what the company will do.
- How many people does The Cato Corporation employ?
- 6,700 as of January 31, 2026, as its annual report for the period ending January 31, 2026 states.
- What kinds of work make up The Cato Corporation's workforce?
- Read from its annual report as a blend of 1 industry staffing pattern, the largest Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers; by those patterns the work is about 31% desk work, 27% people work and 42% body work. Each share has a one-sentence reason on this page that can be checked against the filing.
- What does The Cato Corporation's annual report say about AI?
- 10 sentences in the filing name AI. Its annual reports for fiscal 2021 to 2025 name it in 0, 0, 0, 0 and 10 sentences, year by year. They are counted and quoted on this page, never judged: a count says how much a filing talks about AI, not what the company does with it.
- How is this estimated?
- Claude Fable 5.1 read the annual report under the Index's written rubric (version 1) on October 19, 2026: the stated headcount, the share in the U.S. when stated, and the workforce as a blend of industry staffing patterns. The estimates are the site's industry estimates weighted by those shares, from O*NET tasks with estimated lengths and METR's measurements of how long a task AI models can finish. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.