Form 8-K

8-K — CATO CORP

Accession: 0001562762-26-000106

Filed: 2026-09-18

Period: 2026-09-18

CIK: 0000018255

SIC: 5621 (RETAIL-WOMEN'S CLOTHING STORES)

Item: Other Events

Item: Financial Statements and Exhibits

Documents

8-K — cato-20260918.htm (Primary)

EX-99.1 (exhibit99.htm)

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8-K — FORM 8-K

8-K (Primary)

Filename: cato-20260918.htm · Sequence: 1

cato-20260918

FALSE

0000018255

2026-09-18

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

450 Fifth Street NW

Washington, D.C. 29549

Form

8-K

CURRENT REPORT PURSUANT

TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF

THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):

September 18, 2026

THE CATO CORPORATION

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

Delaware

1-31340

56-0484485

(State or Other Jurisdiction

Incorporation

(Commission

File Number)

(IRS Employer

Identification No.)

8100 Denmark Road

Charlotte

North Carolina

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

28273-5975

(Zip Code)

(704)

554-8510

(Registrant’s Telephone

Number, Including Area Code)

Not Applicable

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

Check

the

appropriate

box

below

the

Form

8-K

filing

intended

simultaneously

satisfy

the

filing

obligation

the

registrant

under any of the following provisions:

☐

Written communications pursuant to Rule 425

under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

☐

Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a

-12)

☐

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange

Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

☐

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange

Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class

Trading Symbol(s)

Name of each exchange on which registered

Class A - Common Stock, par value $.033 per share

CATO

New York Stock Exchange

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company

as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933

(§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

(§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company

☐

If an emerging growth company,

indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended

transition period for

complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided

pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.

☐

THE CATO

CORPORATION

Item 8.01.

Other Events.

On September 18, 2026, The Cato Corporation issued a press release updating its anticipated

store closings and

related closing cost expectations for the fiscal year ended January 30, 202

A copy of this press release is hereby

incorporated as Exhibit 99.1 hereto.

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits

Exhibit 99.1 - Press Release issued September 18, 2026

Exhibit 104 – Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within Inline XBRL document)

Signatures

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the

Registrant has duly caused this

report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly

authorized.

THE CATO

CORPORATION

September 18, 2026

/s/ John P.

D. Cato

Date

John P.

D. Cato

Chairman, President and

Chief Executive Officer

September 18, 2026

/s/ Charles D. Knight

Date

Charles D. Knight

Executive Vice President

Chief Financial Officer

Exhibit Index

Exhibit

No.

99.1 - Press Release issued September 18, 2026

99.1

104

Cover page Interactive Data File (embedded within Inline

XBRL document)

104

EX-99.1

Filename: exhibit99.htm · Sequence: 5

exhibit99

EXHIBIT 99.1

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For Further Information Contact:

Charles D. Knight

Executive Vice President

Chief Financial Officer

InvestorRelations@catocorp.com

CATO ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL THIRD AND FOURTH QUARTER STORE CLOSINGS

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (September 18, 2026) – The Cato Corporation (NYSE:

CATO)

today announced that they plan to

close approximately 70 additional underperforming stores in the third and

fourth quarters bringing total planned stores

closures to approximately 120 stores in fiscal 2026.

“Annually we review approximately one-third of our stores to exercise available

lease options or negotiate an extension

based on each store’s performance including store sales trend and current and projected store profitability.

In years past,

marginal stores were renewed for an additional year to give the store more time

to improve its sales trend and

profitability,” stated John Cato, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer.

“In light of the current economic

environment, especially with the negative pressure on our customers’ discretionary

income, we do not expect these

marginal stores to improve appreciably.

As a result, we are closing more stores than expected this year.

We believe that

closing these additional stores will have a positive impact on our operating

results in fiscal 2027 and beyond.”

The Company expects to incur between $1.0 million and $1.3 million

in costs to exit these additional stores through the

end of 2026.

These costs relate primarily to expenses for the disposal of external

signage and fixtures and returning store

systems back to corporate.

As these stores are all at the end of their lease term, the Company

will not be paying rent for

these locations beyond 2026.

Statements in this press release that express a belief, expectation or intention, as well as those that are not a historical

fact,

including, without limitation, statements regarding additional planned store closures and the expected costs and

potential impact on future operating results associated with these planned closures are considered “forward-looking”

within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act

of 1995.

Such forward-looking statements are based

on current expectations that are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause

actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements.

Such factors include, but

are not limited to, any actual or perceived deterioration in the conditions that drive consumer confidence and spending,

including, but not limited to, prevailing social, economic, political and public health conditions

and uncertainties, war or

similar hostilities and their collateral effects, levels of unemployment, fuel,

energy and food costs, inflation, wage rates,

tax rates, tariff rates, interest rates, home values, consumer net worth and the availability of credit; changes in laws,

regulations or government policies affecting our business, including but not limited to tariffs, taxes and

customs

enforcement; uncertainties regarding the impact of any governmental action regarding, or responses to, the foregoing

conditions; competitive factors and pricing pressures; our ability to predict and respond to rapidly changing fashion

trends and consumer demands; our ability to successfully open new stores in attractive locations and the ability of any

such new stores to grow and perform as expected; underperformance or other factors that may lead to a continuation or

acceleration of store closures and negatively affect

the Company’s

profitability, financial condition or prospects; adverse

weather,

public health threats, acts of war or aggression or similar conditions and related consequences that may affect

our sales or operations; inventory risks due to shifts in market demand,

including the ability to liquidate excess inventory

at anticipated margins; adverse developments or volatility affecting the financial services industry or

broader financial

markets; and other factors discussed under “Risk Factors” in Part I,

Item 1A

of the Company’s

most recently filed

annual report on Form 10-K and in other reports the Company files with or furnishes to the SEC from time to time.

The

Company does not undertake, and expressly declines any obligation, to publicly update or revise the forward-looking

statements even if experience or future changes make it clear that the projected results expressed or implied therein will

not be realized. The Company is not responsible for any changes made to this press release by wire or Internet services.

* * *

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