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Kura Sushi USA (KRUS)
NASDAQ:KRUS
US Market
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Kura Sushi USA (KRUS) AI Stock Analysis

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KRUS

Kura Sushi USA

(NASDAQ:KRUS)

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Neutral 54 (OpenAI - 5.2)
Rating:54Neutral
Price Target:
$62.00
▲(2.02% Upside)
Action:ReiteratedDate: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 & Unit Growth
Multi-year revenue scaling to ~$307M TTM and reiterated plans for ~16 new restaurants support durable top‑line expansion. Continued unit growth spreads fixed costs, builds brand presence and creates longer-term revenue runway if unit economics remain stable.
Negative Factors
Persisting Net Losses
Despite improving adjusted EBITDA, GAAP net losses persist, indicating the business has not fully converted operating improvements into durable bottom-line profitability. Continued losses constrain retained earnings, heighten sensitivity to cost shocks, and can limit reinvestment capacity over months.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Revenue & Unit Growth
Multi-year revenue scaling to ~$307M TTM and reiterated plans for ~16 new restaurants support durable top‑line expansion. Continued unit growth spreads fixed costs, builds brand presence and creates longer-term revenue runway if unit economics remain stable.
Read all positive factors

Kura Sushi USA (KRUS) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)

Kura Sushi USA Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description
Kura Sushi USA, Inc. operates technology-enabled Japanese restaurants in the United States. The company's restaurants provide Japanese cuisine through an engaging revolving sushi service model, which is known as 'Kura Experience'. As of August 31,...
How the Company Makes Money
Kura Sushi USA primarily makes money through company-owned restaurant sales. The largest revenue stream is food and beverage revenue from guests dining in its Kura Revolving Sushi Bar locations, including sushi plates delivered via a revolving con...

Kura Sushi USA Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Any
Any
Comparable Restaurant Sales Growth
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.
Chart InsightsPost‑pandemic momentum has faded to near‑flat and recently moved modestly negative, indicating traffic weakness that pricing hasn’t fully offset. Management is relying on loyalty/reservation rollouts, menu price increases and upcoming robotic dishwashers to restore same‑store sales, while rapid unit growth continues to drive total sales. Tariff-driven COGS pressure and elevated promotional spend create timing risk — watch for tariff relief and early tech adoption impact as the key catalysts for a sustainable comp recovery.
Data provided by:The Fly

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.
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Q2-2026 Updates
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
Strong multi-year revenue scaling and improving operating trend versus FY2024, with consistently positive operating cash flow. Offsetting this, net profitability remains slightly negative and free cash flow has been inconsistent, while leverage has drifted higher, limiting overall financial quality.
Income Statement
56
Neutral
Balance Sheet
60
Neutral
Cash Flow
52
Neutral
BreakdownTTMAug 2025Aug 2024Aug 2023Aug 2022Aug 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue306.89M282.76M237.86M187.43M141.09M64.89M
Gross Profit34.30M33.43M29.52M28.78M21.89M6.11M
EBITDA14.81M12.39M3.20M9.64M5.01M-9.57M
Net Income-1.93M-1.90M-8.80M1.50M-764.00K-10.29M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets460.98M430.94M328.52M304.66M201.36M177.67M
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments48.04M62.46M50.99M78.24M35.78M40.43M
Total Debt203.17M170.01M141.35M119.56M90.81M72.96M
Total Liabilities232.17M199.87M165.98M140.02M108.06M86.83M
Stockholders Equity228.81M231.07M162.54M164.64M93.29M90.84M
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow4.72M-21.55M-28.64M-21.00M-3.07M-21.30M
Operating Cash Flow24.06M24.60M15.61M18.06M23.69M-7.23M
Investing Cash Flow-83.39M-93.72M-36.46M-49.90M-28.17M-14.67M
Financing Cash Flow756.00K65.64M2.14M65.75M-170.00K53.07M

Kura Sushi USA Technical Analysis

Technical Analysis Sentiment
Negative
Last Price60.77
Price Trends
50DMA
66.03
Negative
100DMA
62.22
Negative
200DMA
67.03
Negative
Market Momentum
MACD
-1.33
Positive
RSI
45.20
Neutral
STOCH
24.63
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 60.77 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 63.24, below the 50-day MA of 66.03, and below the 200-day MA of 67.03, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -1.33 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 45.20 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 24.63 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

Overall Rating
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (61)
Financial Indicators
Name
Overall Rating
Market Cap
P/E Ratio
ROE
Dividend Yield
Revenue Growth
EPS Growth
69
Neutral
$806.98M17.0813.19%3.85%7.57%
61
Neutral
$18.38B12.79-2.54%3.03%1.52%-15.83%
54
Neutral
$728.87M-124.65-0.84%18.88%79.28%
54
Neutral
$416.80M13.094.32%2.40%-14.90%
53
Neutral
$717.15M15.510.83%17.27%-76.53%
52
Neutral
$1.07B-27.52-6.72%6.87%-95.91%
47
Neutral
$558.24M-9.962.26%10.60%-13.07%-1139.12%
* Consumer Cyclical Sector Average
Performance Comparison
Ticker
Company Name
Price
Change
% Change
KRUS
Kura Sushi USA
60.00
4.67
8.44%
BH
Biglari Holdings
335.36
126.51
60.57%
BJRI
BJ's Restaurants
38.07
6.63
21.09%
BLMN
Bloomin' Brands
6.55
-0.67
-9.30%
FWRG
First Watch Restaurant Group
11.73
-7.00
-37.37%
PTLO
Portillo's
5.52
-6.32
-53.38%

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 ...
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board ChangesShareholder Meetings
Kura Sushi USA Shareholders Back Governance, Add New Director
Positive
Jan 22, 2026
At its January 21, 2026 annual meeting in Irvine, California, Kura Sushi USA stockholders elected five directors to serve until the 2027 annual meeting, ratified KPMG LLP as the independent auditor for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2026, and a...
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.Date of analysis: Apr 15, 2026