Kura Sushi Comparable Sales Drop 5.7% in Fourth Quarter

The Tip Desk · November 11, 2026 · 4 min read

The revolving-sushi operator posted $88.9 million of sales and a $0.3 million net loss, or $(0.02) a share, as traffic fell 11.5%.

Kura Sushi USA (KRUS) reported comparable restaurant sales down 5.7% in the fiscal fourth quarter ended August 31, 2026, a sharper drop than the 0.4% decline in the prior quarter after an 8.6% increase two quarters earlier. Traffic fell 11.5%; price and mix rose 5.8%.

Total sales were $88.9 million, up from $79.4 million a year earlier. The company swung to an operating loss of $0.6 million from operating income of $1.5 million in the year-ago quarter. Net loss was $0.3 million, or $(0.02) a share, versus net income of $2.3 million, or $0.18 a share, a year earlier. Adjusted net income was $0.9 million, or $0.08 a share, compared with $2.5 million, or $0.20 a share, in the fourth quarter of 2025.

The swing from a year-ago profit included $1.2 million of impairment and disposal of long-lived assets, which the company said included an impairment related to one restaurant’s performance and losses on disposal of equipment at other locations.

Restaurant-level operating profit was $17.0 million, or 19.1% of sales, compared with $15.7 million, or 19.8% of sales, a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA was $7.7 million.

Food and beverage costs were 29.7% of sales, compared with 28.4% a year earlier. The company said the increase was primarily due to tariffs on imported ingredients, partially offset by higher menu prices. Labor and related costs were 30.4% of sales, compared with 31.1% a year earlier, which the company attributed primarily to operational efficiencies and pricing, partially offset by low-single-digit wage inflation.

Occupancy and related expenses were $6.9 million, compared with $5.6 million a year earlier, and depreciation and amortization was $4.9 million, compared with $3.8 million. The company said both increases were primarily due to sixteen new restaurants that have opened since the fourth quarter of 2025. Other costs were 14.6% of sales, compared with 15.0% a year earlier, primarily due to a one-time tariff refund benefit of approximately $0.5 million on some promotional items.

General and administrative expenses were $9.9 million, or 11.2% of sales, compared with $9.3 million, or 11.7% of sales, a year earlier. The company said the dollar increase was primarily due to $0.5 million of compensation-related costs and $0.3 million of other net expenses, partially offset by a $0.2 million decrease in litigation costs, and that the percentage decline was primarily due to sales leverage.

Four new restaurants opened in the fiscal fourth quarter, in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Sunset Valley, Texas; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Parsippany, New Jersey. After August 31, the company opened three more, in Glen Allen, Virginia; West Des Moines, Iowa; and Greenwood Village, Colorado. It ended the period with 95 restaurants.

For the full fiscal year 2026, total sales were $328.3 million, compared with $282.8 million in fiscal 2025. Comparable restaurant sales for the year decreased 0.4%, consisting of negative traffic of 4.3% and a price/mix increase of 3.9%. Average unit volumes were $3.8 million, compared with $3.9 million in fiscal 2025. Operating loss for the year was $6.6 million, compared with an operating loss of $4.8 million. Net loss was $4.6 million, or $(0.38) a share, compared with a net loss of $1.9 million, or $(0.16) a share. Adjusted net loss was $2.0 million, or $(0.16) a share, compared with adjusted net income of $0.4 million, or $0.03 a share. Restaurant-level operating profit for the year was $59.0 million, or 18.0% of sales, compared with $52.1 million, or 18.4% of sales. Adjusted EBITDA was $22.2 million.

President, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer Hajime Uba said that for fiscal 2026 tariffs collectively increased costs of goods sold and other costs by 180 basis points, which the company said it offset with labor leverage of 190 basis points versus fiscal 2025, driven by technological innovation, and that a 90-basis-point improvement in G&A leverage was reflected in the year.

For fiscal 2027, the company expects total sales of $376 million to $381 million, 17 new restaurants with average net capital expenditures of approximately $2.6 million per unit, general and administrative expenses of approximately 11.5% of sales, and restaurant-level operating profit margins of approximately 19.0%.