Kura Sushi (KRUS)
NASDAQ:KRUS
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Kura Sushi USA
(NASDAQ:KRUS)
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Rating:54Neutral
Price Target:
$50.00
▼(-16.08% Downside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:04/15/26
The score is held back primarily by mixed financial quality (still slightly negative net profitability, inconsistent free cash flow, and higher leverage) and weak technical trend signals (below major moving averages with negative MACD). These are partially offset by a constructive earnings call featuring modestly raised guidance, strong comparable sales, and improving margin/labor trends that support the growth narrative.
Positive Factors
Revenue Scale & Comparable Sales
The company has rapidly scaled systemwide sales (from $64.9M in 2021 to $306.9M TTM) while delivering positive comparable-restaurant growth (Q2 comps +8.6%). This demonstrates durable demand, unit economics that can ramp with scale, and a platform for multi-year expansion.
Negative Factors
Persisting GAAP Losses & FCF Volatility
GAAP profitability remains inconsistent despite improving operating metrics. The company returned to small losses in recent years and free cash flow has been volatile, which limits durable return-on-capital and raises risk that short-term operating setbacks could reverse nascent margin gains.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Revenue Scale & Comparable Sales
The company has rapidly scaled systemwide sales (from $64.9M in 2021 to $306.9M TTM) while delivering positive comparable-restaurant growth (Q2 comps +8.6%). This demonstrates durable demand, unit economics that can ramp with scale, and a platform for multi-year expansion.
Read all positive factors
Kura Sushi USA Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Any
Comparable Restaurant Sales Growth
Measures the sales performance of restaurants open for a year or more, indicating how well existing locations are doing without the influence of new openings. This metric reveals customer loyalty, brand strength, and operational efficiency, providing insight into the company's ability to drive growth through its current footprint.
Measures the sales performance of restaurants open for a year or more, indicating how well existing locations are doing without the influence of new openings. This metric reveals customer loyalty, brand strength, and operational efficiency, providing insight into the company's ability to drive growth through its current footprint.
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The Fly
The FlyKura Sushi USA (KRUS) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$595.00M
Dividend YieldN/A
Average Volume (3M)376.94K
Price to Earnings (P/E)―
Beta (1Y)1.71
Revenue Growth18.74%
EPS Growth82.49%
CountryUS
Employees3,300
SectorConsumer Cyclical
Sector Strength84
IndustryRestaurants
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)-0.15
Shares Outstanding11,147,832
10 Day Avg. Volume253,531
30 Day Avg. Volume376,938
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio6.66
Price to Book (P/B)4.37
Price to Sales (P/S)3.57
P/FCF Ratio-46.90
Enterprise Value/Market Cap1.44
Enterprise Value/Revenue2.80
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit25.05
Enterprise Value/Ebitda60.56
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$76.80Price Target Upside28.90% Upside
Rating ConsensusModerate Buy
Number of Analyst Covering8
EPS Forecast (FY)-0.21
Revenue Forecast (FY)$333.93M
Kura Sushi USA Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Kura Sushi USA, Inc. manages a chain of technology-enhanced Japanese restaurants throughout the United States. These eateries offer Japanese cuisine primarily through their signature "Kura Experience," an engaging revolving sushi service. As of Au...
How the Company Makes Money
Kura Sushi USA primarily makes money through restaurant-level sales generated at its company-owned locations. The core revenue stream is food and beverage sales to customers, including sushi and other menu items ordered from the conveyor-belt sele...
Kura Sushi USA Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Apr 07, 2026
(Q2-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Jul 14, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call presented a clear improvement in operational performance and profitability trends: robust comparable sales (+8.6%), significant labor cost leverage (-410 bps), meaningful adjusted EBITDA growth (+~103.7%), a strong unit development pipeline (16 planned openings, >20% growth), and a solid balance sheet (≈$69.7M cash, no debt). Key risks highlighted include elevated food costs and tariff/commodity pressures, ongoing litigation exposure in California, some one-off operational disruptions, and macro/geopolitical uncertainty that led management to take a prudent tone on guidance. Overall, positive momentum across sales, margins and unit growth outweighs the identified risks, though the company remains cautious on near-term external uncertainties.Positive Updates
Strong Top-Line Performance
Fiscal Q2 total sales of $80.0M vs $64.9M prior year (≈+23.3% YoY). Comparable restaurant sales +8.6% (traffic +4.3%; price & mix +4.3%). Year-to-date comparable sales through H1 at +3.0%; company now expects modestly positive full-year comps.
Negative Updates
Food & Beverage Cost Pressure and Tariff Dynamics
Food & beverage costs were 30.4% of sales in Q2 vs 28.7% prior year (+170 basis points). Management cited tariffs, commodity/seafood inflation and fuel as offsets to any modest tariff relief; timing of forward-contract benefits is staggered so any relief is diffuse.
Read all updates
Q2-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Strong Top-Line Performance
Fiscal Q2 total sales of $80.0M vs $64.9M prior year (≈+23.3% YoY). Comparable restaurant sales +8.6% (traffic +4.3%; price & mix +4.3%). Year-to-date comparable sales through H1 at +3.0%; company now expects modestly positive full-year comps.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Kura raised its fiscal 2026 outlook modestly: total sales are now expected to be $333–$335 million with comparable sales finishing modestly positive (year-to-date comps +3%; Q2 comps +8.6% with +4.3% traffic and +4.3% price/mix), and the company still plans to open 16 new units (keeping annual unit growth above 20%) with ~8 units currently under construction and average net capex per unit of about $2.5 million. Management reiterated full-year food & beverage (COGS) around 30%, now expects restaurant-level operating profit margins of 18.0%–18.5%, and G&A to be approximately 12% of sales (excluding litigation); they noted strong Q2 operating/adjusted EBITDA metrics (Q2 adjusted EBITDA $5.5M) and a cash balance of $69.7M with no debt. On labor and technology, they said YTD labor improved materially (Q2 labor 30.7% vs prior 34.8%), expect roughly 150 bps of year‑over‑year labor improvement across Q3–Q4, plan to retrofit most of ~50 robot‑capable restaurants by year‑end, and forecast the robots to deliver an incremental ~50 bps of labor benefit in fiscal 2027.Kura Sushi USA Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
56
Neutral
Balance Sheet
60
Neutral
Cash Flow
52
Neutral
| Breakdown | TTM | Aug 2025 | Aug 2024 | Aug 2023 | Aug 2022 | Aug 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 306.89M | 282.76M | 237.86M | 187.43M | 141.09M | 64.89M |
| Gross Profit | 34.30M | 33.43M | 29.52M | 28.78M | 21.89M | 6.11M |
| EBITDA | 14.19M | 12.39M | 3.20M | 9.64M | 5.01M | -9.57M |
| Net Income | -1.93M | -1.90M | -8.80M | 1.50M | -764.00K | -10.29M |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 460.98M | 430.94M | 328.52M | 304.66M | 201.36M | 177.67M |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 48.04M | 62.46M | 50.99M | 78.24M | 35.78M | 40.43M |
| Total Debt | 204.02M | 170.01M | 141.35M | 119.56M | 90.81M | 72.96M |
| Total Liabilities | 232.17M | 199.87M | 165.98M | 140.02M | 108.06M | 86.83M |
| Stockholders Equity | 228.81M | 231.07M | 162.54M | 164.64M | 93.29M | 90.84M |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 4.72M | -21.55M | -28.64M | -21.00M | -3.07M | -21.30M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 24.06M | 24.60M | 15.61M | 18.06M | 23.69M | -7.23M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -83.39M | -93.72M | -36.46M | -49.90M | -28.17M | -14.67M |
| Financing Cash Flow | 756.00K | 65.64M | 2.14M | 65.75M | -170.00K | 53.07M |
Kura Sushi USA Technical Analysis
Negative
59.58
Price Trends
54.85
Negative
61.06
Negative
61.05
Negative
Market Momentum
-2.67
Positive
45.86
Neutral
35.86
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For KRUS, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 59.58 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 50.41, above the 50-day MA of 54.85, and below the 200-day MA of 61.05, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -2.67 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 45.86 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 35.86 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for KRUS.
Kura Sushi USA Risk Analysis
Kura Sushi USA disclosed 54 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Kura Sushi USA reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Kura Sushi USA Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (61)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
70 Outperform | $1.11B | 25.10 | 11.97% | ― | 3.02% | 110.25% | |
61 Neutral | $18.38B | 12.79 | -2.54% | 3.03% | 1.52% | -15.83% | |
56 Neutral | $1.08B | -56.92 | -2.77% | ― | 8.16% | 68.84% | |
55 Neutral | $709.74M | 32.52 | 5.91% | 10.60% | -5.10% | ― | |
54 Neutral | $595.00M | -306.95 | -0.84% | ― | 18.74% | 82.49% | |
53 Neutral | $763.78M | 43.17 | 2.85% | ― | 20.41% | 59.88% | |
52 Neutral | $336.58M | 20.47 | 3.37% | ― | 2.37% | -49.32% |
* Consumer Cyclical Sector Average
KRUS
Kura Sushi USA
48.98
-30.15
-38.10%
BH
Biglari Holdings
339.90
66.72
24.42%
BJRI
BJ's Restaurants
52.62
7.41
16.39%
BLMN
Bloomin' Brands
8.29
-0.88
-9.55%
FWRG
First Watch Restaurant Group
12.39
-3.16
-20.32%
PTLO
Portillo's
4.44
-7.58
-63.06%
Kura Sushi USA Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board ChangesFinancial Disclosures
Kura Sushi USA Reports Strong Q2 Growth, Narrows Loss
Positive
Apr 7, 2026
On April 2, 2026, Kura Sushi USA announced that Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Jeffrey J. Uttz will resign effective April 28, 2026, to take another role in the restaurant industry, with the company stating his departure does not stem from ...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.