Kura Sushi USA, Inc. KRUS reported second-quarter fiscal 2025 results, with earnings and revenues missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The top line increased year over year, while the bottom line fell from the prior-year quarter’s figure.

Stay up-to-date with all quarterly releases: See Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Management pointed out meaningful progress across key initiatives, including tapping into new market opportunities following a successful launch in Bakersfield, advancing its intellectual property pipeline, and initiating long-planned systems projects. Although weather-related challenges created some short-term sales pressure, management remains confident in the company’s strategic direction. With continued operational progress and strong unit-level performance, KRUS is well-positioned to drive growth in the coming periods.

KRUS Fiscal Q2 Earnings & Revenues

In the quarter under review, the company reported an adjusted loss per share of 14 cents, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 8 cents per share. In the year-ago quarter, the company reported an adjusted loss per share of 9 cents.

Kura Sushi USA, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Kura Sushi USA, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Kura Sushi USA, Inc. Quote

Quarterly revenues of $64.9 million missed the consensus mark of $66 million by 2%. In the prior-year quarter, the company reported revenues of $57.3 million.

KRUS’ Q2 Comps Fall YoY

During the fiscal second quarter, comparable restaurant sales decreased 5.3% year over year. In the year-ago quarter, the company reported comparable restaurant sales growth of 3% year over year. The downside was primarily due to a fall in traffic.

Operating Highlights

During the fiscal second quarter, restaurant-level operating profit amounted to $11.2 million, almost flat from the prior-year quarter levels. Restaurant-level operating profit margin during the quarter came in at 17.3% compared with 19.6% reported in the year-ago period.

General and administrative expenses in the fiscal second quarter came in at $11 million compared with $8.2 million reported in the prior-year period.

During the quarter, food and beverage costs (as a percentage of sales) came in at 28.7% compared with 29.6% in the prior-year quarter. The decrease is primarily due to a rise in menu prices and supply chain initiatives. However, this was partially offset by food cost inflation.

Adjusted EBITDA in the fiscal second quarter came in at $2.7 million compared with $2.9 million reported in the prior-year quarter.

Balance Sheet

As of Feb. 28, 2025, cash and cash equivalents totaled $85.2 million compared with $51 million as of Aug. 31, 2024.

Total stockholders’ equity at the end of the fiscal second quarter totaled $225 million compared with $162.5 million at the end of fourth-quarter fiscal 2024.

Store Developments

In the fiscal second quarter of 2025, the company opened three new restaurant locations in Berkeley, CA; Fort Worth, TX; and Paramus, NJ. After February 28, 2025, it added two more restaurants in Scottsdale, AZ and Lynnwood, WA. Overall, the company plans to open a total of 14 new restaurants during fiscal year 2025.

KRUS Fiscal 2025 Outlook

For fiscal 2025, the company anticipates sales to be $275-$279 million. It expects general and administrative expenses (as a percentage of sales) to be approximately 13.5%.

KRUS’ Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

Kura Sushi currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Some other top-ranked stocks from the Zacks Retail-Wholesale sector are BJ's Restaurants, Inc. BJRI, Portillo's Inc. PTLO and Brinker International, Inc. EAT.

BJ's Restaurants currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The company delivered a trailing four-quarter negative earnings surprise of 84.7%, on average. The stock has declined 9.4% in the past six months. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BJ's Restaurants’ 2025 sales and EPS indicates growth of 3.3% and 13.6%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.

Portillo's currently sports a Zacks Rank #1. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of negative 62.7%, on average. The stock has declined 20.1% in the past year.

The consensus estimate for Portillo's 2025 sales indicates growth of 11.7% from the year-ago period’s levels.

Brinker currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. The company delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 24.7%, on average. The stock has gained 61.3% in the past six months.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Brinker’s 2025 sales and EPS indicates a rise of 18.7% and 102.4%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s level.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (BJRI) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Brinker International, Inc. (EAT) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Kura Sushi USA, Inc. (KRUS) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Portillo's Inc. (PTLO) : Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research