Regional bank Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ: CATY) reported Q4 CY2025 results beating Wall Street’s revenue expectations, with sales up 18.7% year on year to $222.8 million. Its GAAP profit of $1.33 per share was 8.3% above analysts’ consensus estimates.
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Cathay General Bancorp (CATY) Q4 CY2025 Highlights:
- Net Interest Income: $195 million vs analyst estimates of $194.8 million (14% year-on-year growth, in line)
- Net Interest Margin: 3.4% vs analyst estimates of 3.4% (in line)
- Revenue: $222.8 million vs analyst estimates of $211.8 million (18.7% year-on-year growth, 5.2% beat)
- Efficiency Ratio: 41.4% vs analyst estimates of 43.1% (176 basis point beat)
- EPS (GAAP): $1.33 vs analyst estimates of $1.23 (8.3% beat)
- Tangible Book Value per Share: $37.90 vs analyst estimates of $37.75 (8.9% year-on-year growth, in line)
- Market Capitalization: $3.57 billion
“We are pleased by the continued increase in the net interest margin compared to the third quarter of 2025 and fourth quarter of 2024. During the fourth quarter of 2025, we repurchased 1,099,803 shares at an average cost of $47.15 per share for a total of $51.9 million,” commented Chang M. Liu, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company.
Company Overview
Founded in 1962 with its first branch in Los Angeles' Chinatown, Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ: CATY) operates Cathay Bank, providing commercial banking services to businesses and individuals with a strong presence in Asian-American communities.
Sales Growth
Net interest income and and fee-based revenue are the two pillars supporting bank earnings. The former captures profit from the gap between lending rates and deposit costs, while the latter encompasses charges for banking services, credit products, wealth management, and trading activities. Unfortunately, Cathay General Bancorp’s 6.7% annualized revenue growth over the last five years was tepid. This was below our standard for the banking sector and is a poor baseline for our analysis.
Long-term growth is the most important, but within financials, a half-decade historical view may miss recent interest rate changes and market returns. Cathay General Bancorp’s recent performance shows its demand has slowed as its annualized revenue growth of 1.6% over the last two years was below its five-year trend. 
Note: Quarters not shown were determined to be outliers, impacted by outsized investment gains/losses that are not indicative of the recurring fundamentals of the business.
This quarter, Cathay General Bancorp reported year-on-year revenue growth of 18.7%, and its $222.8 million of revenue exceeded Wall Street’s estimates by 5.2%.
Net interest income made up 92% of the company’s total revenue during the last five years, meaning Cathay General Bancorp lives and dies by its lending activities because non-interest income barely moves the needle.
Net interest income commands greater market attention due to its reliability and consistency, whereas non-interest income is often seen as lower-quality revenue that lacks the same dependable characteristics.
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Tangible Book Value Per Share (TBVPS)
The balance sheet drives banking profitability since earnings flow from the spread between borrowing and lending rates. As such, valuations for these companies concentrate on capital strength and sustainable equity accumulation potential.
This explains why tangible book value per share (TBVPS) stands as the premier banking metric. TBVPS strips away questionable intangible assets, revealing concrete per-share net worth that investors can trust. On the other hand, EPS is often distorted by mergers and flexible loan loss accounting. TBVPS provides clearer performance insights.
Cathay General Bancorp’s TBVPS grew at an excellent 8.1% annual clip over the last five years. The last two years show a similar trajectory as TBVPS grew by 8.1% annually from $32.43 to $37.90 per share.
Over the next 12 months, Consensus estimates call for Cathay General Bancorp’s TBVPS to grow by 9% to $41.31, paltry growth rate.
Key Takeaways from Cathay General Bancorp’s Q4 Results
We were impressed by how significantly Cathay General Bancorp blew past analysts’ revenue expectations this quarter. We were also glad its EPS outperformed Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, we think this was still a solid quarter with some key areas of upside. The stock remained flat at $52.36 immediately after reporting.
So do we think Cathay General Bancorp is an attractive buy at the current price? If you’re making that decision, you should consider the bigger picture of valuation, business qualities, as well as the latest earnings. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).
