Kura Sushi Usa Stock Earnings Reports

Kura Sushi reported fiscal Q1 sales of $73.5M, with comparable restaurant sales down 2.5% (traffic down ~2.5%, flat price & mix). Management highlighted sequential improvement late in the quarter that continued into December and expressed confidence in achieving flat-to-slightly-positive comps for fiscal 2026. The company implemented a 3.5% menu price increase on November 1 (effective price noted as 3.5% for Q1 and 4.5% lapping into Q2) and expects full-year food & beverage costs around 30% of sales, driven in part by tariff headwinds. Labor was 32.5% of sales (down from 32.9% prior year) and management reiterated a goal to improve labor by 100 basis points in FY26. Other expense pressure came from tariffs on promotional/imported items and sales deleverage in Q1. Kura opened four restaurants in Q1, has 10 under construction and plans 16 new openings for the year, with most openings scheduled in the back half of the year. Digital and system initiatives include decoupling the reservation system from loyalty to broaden adoption, continued marketing collaborations (Kirby, Sanrio, Jujutsu Kaisen) and on-schedule manufacture/installation of robotic dishwashers starting in Q3. Financials: operating loss of $3.7M, net loss $3.1M (–$0.25/sh), adjusted EBITDA $2.4M. Kura ended the quarter with $78.5M cash and no debt. Full-year guidance reiterated: total sales $330–334M, ~16 new restaurants, ~30% COGS, G&A 12–12.5% of sales, and full-year restaurant-level operating profit margin target approximately 18%.