Is The Cato Corp. CATO stock Halal to invest in?

No, as of September 2026, The Cato Corp. stock (CATO) is not currently classified as a Shariah compliant stock. This verdict follows the screening methodology of AAOIFI (the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions), whose Shariah Standard No. 21 is the leading global benchmark for screening Halal stocks. To qualify as Halal under this standard, a company must keep non-permissible income below 5% of total revenue, keep both interest-bearing investments and interest-bearing debt below 30% of market capitalisation, and have no impermissible preference share structure. The Cato Corp. currently does not meet the threshold for the interest-bearing investments screen. Because screenings are refreshed monthly as new financial reports are published, a non-compliant stock can regain compliant status if its financial structure changes. You can track the latest status of The Cato Corp. and discover Shariah compliant alternatives among the Halal stocks in the Tabadulat app.

How often is The Cato Corp. CATO reviewed for Shariah compliance?

Tabadulat reviews The Cato Corp. CATO for Shariah compliance every month. Each review applies the AAOIFI Shariah Standard No. 21 methodology, screening the company's business activities, non-permissible income, interest-bearing investments, interest-bearing debt, and preference shares, against the company's latest available financial data. The process operates under the direct supervision of Tabadulat's dedicated Shariah Supervisory Board of Islamic finance scholars. Because compliance depends on financial ratios that move with market capitalisation and reported results, a stock's status can change from one review to the next. Monthly screening ensures the status shown for The Cato Corp. reflects current financial data rather than an outdated assessment, and Tabadulat app users are notified if a holding in their portfolio becomes non-compliant.

Does The Cato Corp. CATO pass the AAOIFI Non Permissible Income criteria?

Yes, as of September 2026, The Cato Corp. stock (CATO) passes the AAOIFI non-permissible income screen. In practice this screen asks a simple question: how much of the company's revenue comes from sources Islam prohibits, such as Riba, conventional financial services, alcohol, gambling or tobacco? AAOIFI allows at most 5%, and The Cato Corp. stays below that line this month. Even permissible levels of incidental impure income should still be purified: investors donate the corresponding share of dividends to charity, as reflected in the stock's purification factor. This screen is reassessed monthly using the company's latest financial disclosures.

Does The Cato Corp. CATO pass the AAOIFI Interest Bearing Investments criteria?

No, as of September 2026, The Cato Corp. stock (CATO) does not pass the AAOIFI interest-bearing investments screen. Under AAOIFI Shariah Standard No. 21, the cash a company places in interest-earning instruments (such as conventional deposits, bonds, treasury bills and money-market funds) must remain below 30% of its market capitalisation. The Cato Corp.'s interest-bearing investments currently exceed this 30% limit, meaning too large a share of the company's value derives from Riba-based instruments for the stock to qualify as Halal on this criterion. The ratio moves with both the balance sheet and the share price, and is reassessed monthly.

Does The Cato Corp. CATO pass the AAOIFI Interest Bearing Debt criteria?

Yes, as of September 2026, The Cato Corp. stock (CATO) passes the AAOIFI interest-bearing debt screen. Under AAOIFI Shariah Standard No. 21, a company's borrowings that accrue interest (conventional bank loans, bonds and similar Riba-based financing) must remain below 30% of its market capitalisation. This cap limits shareholders' exposure to interest-based leverage. The Cato Corp.'s interest-bearing debt is currently within the 30% threshold. Because market capitalisation changes daily, a company's debt ratio can drift toward or away from the limit even without new borrowing, which is why this screen is reassessed every month.

What is the dividend purification factor for The Cato Corp. CATO stock?

The Cato Corp. (CATO) is currently classified as not Shariah compliant, so no dividend purification factor applies, because purification factors are calculated only for stocks that pass the AAOIFI screens. Purification (Tazkiyah) is the practice of donating to charity the small portion of dividend income that stems from incidental non-permissible sources, such as interest earned on a compliant company's cash deposits. For non-compliant stocks the issue is not purification but eligibility: under AAOIFI Shariah Standard No. 21 the stock does not currently qualify as a Halal investment. If The Cato Corp. returns to compliance in a future monthly screening, its purification factor will be published alongside its updated status in the Tabadulat app.

Does The Cato Corp. CATO pass the AAOIFI Preference Share screen?

Yes, as of September 2026, The Cato Corp. stock (CATO) passes the AAOIFI preference share screen. AAOIFI Shariah Standard No. 21 prohibits investing in preference shares because they grant holders guaranteed or priority rights to dividends and capital ahead of ordinary shareholders, a structure that conflicts with the Shariah principle that investors should share profit and loss in proportion to their ownership. The Cato Corp. has no impermissible preference share structure affecting its ordinary shares, so the stock is compliant on this criterion. Like all AAOIFI screens, this is verified in each monthly review.

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Is Cato (CATO) stock Halal?

NYSE

Shariah-Compliant

Not Shariah

The Cato Corp. (CATO) is not Shariah compliant in the September 2026 AAOIFI screening: it fails the interest-bearing investments screen. Tabadulat re-screens CATO monthly, and a stock can return to compliance when new financial reports change its ratios.

Sector:

Consumer Cyclical

Industry:

Apparel Retail

Employees:

7000

Website:

https://www.catofashions.com

Market cap:

$52M

P/E ratio:

Dividend yield:

25.95%

52-week range:

$2.56 - $4.92

Data as of:

3 September 2026

Screening history:

September 2026: FAIL

Cato is a prominent retail company specializing in affordable fashion for women. It primarily operates through two main retail concepts: Cato and Versona. The Cato brand offers on-trend apparel, shoes, and accessories that cater to value-conscious female consumers, aiming to provide an efficient shopping experience with frequent inventory updates. Versona, on the other hand, targets a slightly more upscale customer with a range of sophisticated fashion choices and accessories. Before any of that matters to a Muslim investor, one question comes first: is Cato stock Halal?

Is Cato Shariah compliant?

Industrial businesses like Cato usually pass the activity screen without drama. The harder test is financial: heavy assets mean heavy financing, and AAOIFI Shariah Standard No. 21 tolerates interest bearing debt and investments only below 30% of market capitalisation, ratios that shift with every move in the share price.

Does Cato pass the business activity test?

The activity screen is only part of the picture this month: Cato currently fails the interest-bearing investments screen, so the overall verdict is not compliant regardless of the business itself. The activity itself raises no Shariah objection; the scrutiny belongs to the financing.

Is Cato's income Halal?

Yes, within AAOIFI's tolerance. Cato's income from non-permissible sources stays below 5% of revenue in the September 2026 screening.

Does Cato meet AAOIFI's debt and investment ratio requirements?

Not in full. Interest bearing investments currently exceed the 30% cap, while the other ratio stays within it. One breach is enough to fail the screening; the ratios are reassessed monthly under our Shariah Supervisory Board.

Tabadulat is an ADGM regulated brokerage whose license covers Shari'a Compliant Regulated Activities, as the FSRA permission names them. New to the terminology? Gharar and Maysir, Sukuk, Zakat and purification are all explained in plain English.

New to the four screens? Read AAOIFI Standards Explained: What Makes a Stock Halal?

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