At a glance
Cathay General Bancorp is worth $4.31B, about 14 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 12.1% to $817.9M in fiscal 2025, with 38.5% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 6.6% a year. It pays a 2.29% dividend yield, and returned $1.08B to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned +42.8% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +12.2% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 48.6% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 21.5% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 10 months and 18 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
Cathay General Bancorp is the parent company of Cathay Bank, a California-chartered commercial bank that opened in 1962 in the Chinatown area of Los Angeles. It mainly serves individuals, professionals and small to medium-sized businesses, and many staff speak English plus Chinese dialects or Vietnamese. As of December 31, 2025, it had $24.23 billion in assets, $19.94 billion in net loans and $20.89 billion in deposits.
Most of its revenue is net interest income: the gap between interest earned on loans and securities and interest paid on deposits and borrowings. In 2025 that was $742 million of $818 million. Its loans are largely secured by real estate, including commercial property loans on shops, offices and warehouses, home mortgages it generally keeps rather than sells, and construction loans, mainly for multi-unit projects. It also offers business credit lines and Small Business Administration loans. The remaining $75 million was noninterest income, such as fees.
The 10-K does not split revenue by region, but as of December 31, 2025, the bank had 24 branches in Southern California, 17 in Northern California, nine in New York, four in Washington and one or two in several other states. It also had a Hong Kong branch, whose deposits lack US deposit insurance, and liaison-only representative offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Taipei.
Price history
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CATY +42.8% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
Latest results
- In Q2 FY2026 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was $222.3M, up 13.1% from a year earlier, and net income was $92.2M (+19.1%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $817.9M (+12.1% year over year; +6.6% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 38.5% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +6.6% good |
|---|---|
| Return on equity | 10.8% watch |
| Net income / revenue | 38.5% good |
| Deposits | $21.06B |
| Loans | $20.39B |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $594.9M | $228.9M | — |
| FY2021 | $652.4M | $298.3M | — |
| FY2022 | $790.5M | $360.6M | — |
| FY2023 | $810.0M | $354.1M | — |
| FY2024 | $729.7M | $286.0M | — |
| FY2025 | $817.9M | $315.1M | — |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $4.31B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 14.2 |
| Dividend yield | 2.29% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Cathay General Bancorp’s market value went from $3.00B at the end of 2016 to $4.31B on Oct 28, 2026, up 44%; since the end of 2025 it is up 31%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $4.31B | +31.0% |
| 2025 | $3.29B | -2.9% |
| 2024 | $3.39B | +4.7% |
| 2023 | $3.24B | +6.7% |
| 2022 | $3.04B | -8.6% |
| 2021 | $3.32B | +29.5% |
| 2020 | $2.56B | -15.4% |
| 2019 | $3.03B | +11.6% |
| 2018 | $2.72B | -20.2% |
| 2017 | $3.41B | +13.6% |
| 2016 | $3.00B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CATY price data to Oct 28, 2026 | +36.3% | +42.8% | +28.4% | +12.2% | +11.5% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +36.3% |
| 2025 | +4.6% |
| 2024 | +10.3% |
| 2023 | +13.5% |
| 2022 | -2.1% |
| 2021 | +37.8% |
| 2020 | -11.5% |
| 2019 | +17.5% |
| 2018 | -18.5% |
| 2017 | +13.4% |
| 2016 | +24.3% |
| 2015 | +24.7% |
| 2014 | -3.2% |
| 2013 | +37.3% |
| 2012 | +31.1% |
| 2011 | -10.4% |
| 2010 | +122.0% |
| 2009 | -67.7% |
| 2008 | -7.9% |
| 2007 | -22.3% |
| 2006 | -3.0% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 75.9% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 76.7%, back to its old high 75 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 48.3% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 48.6%, back to its old high 9.5 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 3.5% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 21.5%, back to its old high 18.4 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 15 sales ($5.3M).
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 2026 | Peter Wu Vice Chairman, Director | sell | $1.1M |
| Jul 29, 2026 | Richard Sun Director | sell | $633K |
| Jul 29, 2026 | Richard Sun Director | sell | $633K |
| Jun 8, 2026 | Anthony M Tang Vice Chairman, Director | sell | $589K |
| Jun 4, 2026 | Anthony M Tang Vice Chairman, Director | sell | $582K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 6.14% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 5.07% | Mar 31, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in CATY
| QABA First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund | 1.57% |
| PSCF Invesco S&P SmallCap Financials ETF | 0.88% |
| GRPZ Invesco S&P SmallCap 600 GARP ETF | 0.85% |
| SQLV Royce Quant Small‑Cap Quality Value ETF | 0.75% |
| XSVM Invesco S&P SmallCap Value with Momentum ETF | 0.66% |
| SVAL iShares US Small Cap Value Factor ETF | 0.48% |
| SDVD FT Vest SMID Rising Dividend Achievers Target Income ETF | 0.43% |
| SDVY First Trust SMID Cap Rising Dividend Achievers ETF | 0.43% |
What could go wrong
- Heavy dependence on California's economy. Most of its branches are in Southern and Northern California. A regional recession, property slump or natural disaster there could hit many borrowers and depositors at the same time.
- Loans lean heavily on real estate. The loan book is largely secured by property, from offices, shops and warehouses to hotels, apartments and homes. A real estate slump could raise defaults and leave collateral worth less than the loans.
- Exposure to conditions in Asia. The bank's 10-K lists a Hong Kong branch and offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Taipei, and flags adverse conditions in Asia as a risk. Trouble there could hurt the bank and its clients.
- Riskier business, property and construction loans. These loans are often large and hinge on one project or company succeeding. The bank set aside $72.6 million for credit losses in 2025, and losses above its estimates could cut earnings.
- Affordable housing tax investments may disappoint. Cathay invests in projects that offer tax benefits, including twelve affordable housing partnerships. If projects falter or tax benefits fall short, returns could miss expectations and hurt results.
- Interest rate swings can squeeze profits. Net interest income made up $742 million of $818 million in 2025 revenue. If deposit costs rise faster than loan rates, or falling rates cut loan income first, that income can shrink.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Shareholder vote results
- Other company announcement
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Executive or board change
- Executive or board change
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
For income and retirement investors
Cathay paid $1.36 a share in dividends in each year from 2022 through 2025, after $1.24 in 2020 and $1.27 in 2021. That means no streak of annual increases, and growth averaged just 1.9% a year from 2020 to 2025. The 2025 dividend took 29.8% of earnings, a modest share. The yield was 2.29% as of October 28, 2026. The company has spent more on buying back shares than on dividends: $590 million versus $491 million from 2021 through 2025, and the share count fell 13.6% between October 2021 and July 2026.
The shares have fallen hard in downturns. They dropped 76.7% in the 2008 financial crisis and took 75 months to recover. In the 2020 COVID crash they fell 48.6% and recovered in about 9.5 months; in 2022 they fell 21.5% and took 18.4 months. Single stocks carry more risk than diversified funds, because one company's setbacks are not offset by others.
Questions investors ask
How does Cathay General Bancorp make money?
Mostly from lending. Its subsidiary, Cathay Bank, takes deposits and lends to individuals, professionals and small to medium-sized businesses, with a loan book largely secured by real estate. In 2025, net interest income, the gap between interest earned on loans and securities and interest paid on deposits and borrowings, was $742 million of its $818 million in revenue. The other $75 million was noninterest income, such as fees. Net income was $315 million, up 10.2% from 2024.
Is Cathay Bank a Chinese bank?
No. Cathay Bank is a US commercial bank chartered in California and insured by the FDIC, the federal deposit insurer. It opened in 1962 in the Chinatown area of Los Angeles, and many staff speak Chinese dialects or Vietnamese as well as English. As of December 31, 2025, most of its branches were in California, with others in New York, Washington and several other states. It also had one branch in Hong Kong, where deposits are not FDIC-insured, and representative offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Taipei.
Does Cathay General Bancorp raise its dividend every year?
No. Cathay held its dividend at $1.36 a share in each year from 2022 through 2025. It rose from $1.24 in 2020 to $1.27 in 2021 before reaching $1.36 in 2022, for average growth of about 1.9% a year over five years. The 2025 dividend used 29.8% of earnings, and the yield was 2.29% as of October 28, 2026. Regulators can restrict the payments Cathay Bank makes to its parent company, which could limit shareholder dividends.
How did Cathay General stock do in the 2008 financial crisis?
Very badly. The shares fell 76.7% from October 9, 2007 to March 5, 2009, and did not regain their earlier peak until June 4, 2015, about 75 months after the low. They lost 67.7% in calendar 2009 alone. Later downturns were milder but still painful: the stock fell 48.6% in the 2020 COVID crash and 21.5% in 2022, recovering in about 9.5 and 18.4 months.
Which ETFs hold Cathay General Bancorp stock?
Cathay shares appear in 92 ETFs. The largest weight is in the First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund (QABA), at 1.57%, followed by the Invesco S&P SmallCap Financials ETF (PSCF) at 0.88% and the Invesco S&P SmallCap 600 GARP ETF (GRPZ) at 0.85%. The top holders are mainly small-company, community bank and dividend funds, which fits a company with a market value of about $4.3 billion as of October 28, 2026. These funds spread risk across many holdings, so Cathay is a small slice of each.