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what it is
Cathay Bank lends to people and small businesses, and it does it with 1,266 employees and $24.08B in assets.
how it gets paid
Last year Cathay General made $1.3B in revenue. Commercial lending was the main engine at $0.56B, or 43% of sales.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 1.9% last year. Revenue was $977M, and the bank kept a 3.31% net interest margin.
what just happened
The last quarter brought $1.13 EPS and $977M in revenue.
At a glance
B++ balance sheet — above average — nothing keeping you up at night
80/100 earnings predictability — you can trust these numbers
11.7x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
3.2% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
$3.95 fy2024 eps est
xvary composite: 61/100 — average
What they do
Cathay Bank lends to people and small businesses, and it does it with 1,266 employees and $24.08B in assets.
You do not leave a bank because the sign got prettier when it holds $20.52B in deposits. Cathay has $20.52B in deposits and $19.90B in net loans, so your cash and borrowing already sit in one place.
How they make money
$1.3B
annual revenue · their business grew -1.9% last year
Commercial lending
$0.56B
0.0%
Residential mortgages
$0.27B
1.0%
SBA and small-business loans
$0.16B
+2.0%
Consumer and installment loans
$0.15B
3.0%
Wealth management and fees
$0.16B
+5.0%
The products that matter
business lending
Commercial & Industrial Loans
15% of portfolio today
it's only 15% of the portfolio today, and management wants that at 25–35%. if that mix shift happens, margins should improve.
management priority
real estate lending
Commercial Mortgage Loans
core lending book
if commercial & industrial loans are 15% today, most of the loan book is still tied to real estate. that's the steady earner — and the concentration risk.
core exposure
deposits and consumer banking
Retail Banking
funding base
customer deposits are what let the bank target a 3.4–3.5% net interest margin in 2026. cheap funding is the whole game in banking.
margin support
Key numbers
$24.08B
assets
assets (everything the bank controls) are $24.08B. That is a lot of balance sheet for a $3B stock.
$20.52B
deposits
deposits (customer cash) are $20.52B. That funds loans without needing expensive borrowed money.
11.7x
p/e
price-to-earnings ratio (what you pay for $1 of profit) is 11.7x. You are not paying growth-stock prices.
3.2%
dividend yield
dividend yield (cash back each year) is 3.2%. You get paid while the bank keeps doing bank things.
Financial health
B++
strength
- balance sheet grade B++ — above average financial health
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 70 / 100
- long-term debt $197M (6% of capital)
B++ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for CATY right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
beat estimates
The last quarter brought $1.13 EPS and $977M in revenue.
Revenue was $977M, and the bank kept a 3.31% net interest margin. For a lender, that spread is the whole story.
$977M
revenue
$1.13
eps
3.31%
margin
the number that mattered
3.31% net interest margin is the real number. It tells you the bank kept enough spread to earn money on $19.90B in loans.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is failing to turn 3.5% historical growth into an 11% plan.
high
growth plan misses reality
management projects $964M revenue by 2028. that requires 11% annual growth from a business that has grown around 3.5% historically. that's not a gap. that's the whole debate.
if the acceleration never shows up, the premium multiple loses its reason to exist.
high
net interest margin slips below target
management is guiding to a 3.4–3.5% net interest margin in 2026. that's banker jargon for the spread that powers earnings. if funding costs rise or loan yields disappoint, profit math gets worse fast.
missing that range would pressure the core earnings engine, not just sentiment.
med
loan mix shift stalls
commercial & industrial loans are 15% of the portfolio today. management wants 25–35%. if that never moves, CATY stays more tied to commercial real estate than the bull case suggests.
no mix shift means less margin upside and less strategic change than investors are paying for.
low
leadership transition adds noise
CFO Heng W. Chen retired in january 2026. for a bank with a 42.3% net margin and a multi-year portfolio shift in progress, an executive handoff is not nothing.
a clean transition is forgettable. a messy one shows up in guidance, capital allocation, and investor trust.
if growth stays near 3.5%, the 3.4–3.5% margin target slips, or commercial & industrial loans stay stuck near 15%, you're left paying 10.1x earnings for a bank that looks a lot like its 9.3x peers.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
net interest margin
q1 2026 results should show whether management is tracking toward the 3.4–3.5% range. that's the cleanest read on earnings quality.
trend
commercial & industrial mix
the loan book is 15% commercial & industrial today. if that number is not moving toward 25–35%, the strategic pivot is mostly slides.
calendar
next dividend declaration
the next quarterly dividend is typically declared in may. a maintained or raised $0.38 payout would signal that management still likes the capital position.
risk
new CFO messaging
listen for any change in tone around balance sheet discipline, deposit pricing, or the 2028 revenue path. wording changes before the numbers do.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
80 / 100
in human-speak, this bank's earnings tend to be steady. you usually get fewer surprises here than in more cyclical lenders.
risk rank
3
that puts CATY around the middle of the safety pack. not fragile, not fortress-level either.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for CATY is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$51
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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