Free cash flow remains negative at -$3.7 million in Q3 2026, as capital expenditures averaging 17.5% of revenue consistently outpace operating cash flow, highlighting the high capital intensity of the growth strategy.
Kura Sushi USA, Inc. (KRUS) cash flow statement — 10-year operating, investing & financing cash flows
| Metric | TTM | Aug'26 | Aug'25 | Aug'24 | Aug'23 | Aug'22 | Aug'21 | Aug'20 | Aug'19 | Aug'18 | Aug'17 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 27.7M | 31.87M | 24.6M | 15.61M | 18.06M | 23.69M | -7.23M | -13M | 5.99M | 5.24M | 2.94M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 9.71% | 8.7% | 6.56% | 9.64% | 16.79% | -11.14% | -28.79% | 9.33% | 10.13% | 7.88% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 1188.51% | 29.53% | 57.6% | -13.58% | -23.76% | 427.81% | 44.42% | -316.99% | 14.3% | 78.58% | - |
| Net Income | -2.08M | -4.64M | -1.9M | -8.8M | 1.5M | -764K | -10.29M | -17.36M | 1.46M | 1.74M | 707K |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 16.62M | 17.86M | 14.05M | 11.79M | 7.83M | 5.61M | 7.18M | 3.16M | 2.17M | 1.68M | 1.37M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 4.78M | 4.82M | 4.74M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 590K | 105K | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43K | 0 | 0 | 1.12M | -61K | -60K | 173K |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 285K | 13.83M | 454K | 10.48M | 7.35M | 5.61M | 1.52M | 3.28M | 0 | 234K | 10K |
| Working Capital Changes | 8.09M | 0 | 7.27M | 2.15M | 1.34M | 13.23M | -5.64M | -3.21M | 1.84M | 1.55M | 676K |
| Change in Receivables | -1.99M | 2.54M | -2.05M | -1.86M | -301K | 42K | -581K | 843K | -649K | 173K | -486K |
| Change in Inventory | -267K | -487K | 78K | -472K | -627K | -387K | -366K | 122K | -155K | -115K | -41K |
| Change in Payables | 3.17M | 490K | 2.85M | 623K | 1.68M | -172K | 908K | -614K | 1.65M | 250K | 523K |
| Cash from Investing | -51.53M | -51.48M | -93.72M | -36.46M | -49.9M | -28.17M | -14.67M | -14.78M | -11.26M | -6.59M | -6.04M |
| Capital Expenditures | -20.95M | 3.77M | -48.34M | -44.53M | -40.81M | -27.66M | -14.23M | -14.46M | -11.26M | -7.1M | -6.05M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | - | 1.15% | 17.09% | 18.72% | 21.77% | 19.61% | 21.93% | 32.01% | 17.52% | 13.73% | 16.24% |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 502K | 7K |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -34.5M | -62.34M | -513K | -432K | -550K | -510K | -436K | -319K | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Financing | 1.08M | 500K | 65.64M | 2.14M | 65.75M | -170K | 53.07M | -1M | 37.59M | 4.18M | 4.59M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -15K | 0 | 58K | -73K | -498K | -975K | -950K | -1.03M | -1.03M | -824K | -405K |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 1.49M | 0 | 65.92M | 2.49M | 66.25M | 959K | 54.02M | 30K | 38.63M | 0 | 0 |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | -401K | 500K | -346K | -280K | 0 | -154K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5M | 5M |
| Net Change in Cash | -22.76M | -19.11M | -3.49M | -18.71M | 33.91M | -4.65M | 31.17M | -28.79M | 32.33M | 2.83M | 2.88M |
| Free Cash Flow | 7.92M | 35.63M | -21.55M | -28.64M | -21M | -3.07M | -21.3M | -27.4M | -4.73M | -1.85M | -3.09M |
| FCF Margin % | - | 10.85% | -7.62% | -12.04% | -11.21% | -2.18% | -32.83% | -60.67% | -7.37% | -3.57% | -8.3% |
| FCF Growth % | - | 265.36% | 24.77% | -36.36% | -583.72% | 85.58% | 22.26% | -479% | -156.39% | 40.3% | - |
| FCF per Share | 0.64 | 2.94 | -1.81 | -2.56 | -1.97 | -0.32 | -2.50 | -3.29 | -0.86 | -0.23 | -0.39 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | -3.82x | -6.86x | -12.92x | -1.77x | 12.03x | -31.01x | 0.70x | 0.75x | 4.12x | 3.01x | 4.15x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 81 | 8K | 189K | 116K | 80K |
| Taxes Paid | -24K | 0 | 257K | 265K | 108K | 206K | 148 | 132K | 56K | 4K | 137K |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying KRUS stock.
Kura Sushi USA, Inc. (KRUS) generated $31.9M in net cash from operating activities in 2026. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Kura Sushi USA, Inc. (KRUS) generated $35.6M in free cash flow in 2026. Free cash flow is the cash left over after capital expenditures, which can be used to pay dividends, repurchase shares, or pay down debt.
Kura Sushi USA, Inc. (KRUS) spent $3.8M on capital expenditures in 2026. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
Negative FCF despite revenue growth
Metrics are mathematically derived from official filings.
Earnings Quality Masked by Non-Cash Charges
The company's operating cash flow consistently exceeds net income, with an OCF/NI ratio of 24.44 in Q3 2026, suggesting that non-cash items like depreciation and stock-based compensation are significant drivers of cash generation relative to reported losses.
This persistent positive gap between operating cash flow and net income indicates that the company's core operations are generating cash despite accounting losses, primarily due to substantial depreciation and amortization charges. However, the volatility in this ratio, swinging from -15.47 to 24.44, suggests that working capital fluctuations and the timing of cash receipts can heavily distort the underlying cash conversion quality in any given quarter.
FCF Negative Amidst Aggressive Expansion
Free cash flow has been negative in nine of the last ten quarters, with the most recent quarter showing a -$3.7 million deficit, as capital expenditures consistently outpace the cash generated from operations.
The negative FCF trajectory is a direct result of the company's aggressive unit growth strategy, with CapEx consistently consuming 13-23% of revenue. While operating cash flow has been positive, it is insufficient to fund the required capital investments, indicating that the business is currently in a cash-burning investment phase. This pattern is typical for a high-growth restaurant chain but underscores the dependency on external financing to fund expansion.
High Capital Intensity for Growth
Capital expenditures have averaged approximately 17.5% of revenue over the last ten quarters, a level that significantly exceeds the 3-5% typical for mature restaurant peers and reflects a heavy investment in new restaurant buildouts.
The sustained high CapEx-to-Revenue ratio confirms that the company is prioritizing unit growth over near-term cash flow generation. This level of investment suggests that a large portion of CapEx is growth-oriented rather than maintenance-related, as the company builds out its restaurant footprint. Investors should monitor whether this investment intensity can eventually translate into sufficient operating leverage to generate positive free cash flow.
Volatile Working Capital Swings
Working capital changes have been highly erratic, swinging from a -$139,000 use in Q1 2025 to a $4.6 million source in Q2 2025, indicating inconsistent management of receivables, inventory, and payables.
The volatility in working capital suggests that the company may be experiencing challenges in managing its operating cycle efficiently. The large positive swings, such as the $4.3 million source in Q3 2026, can temporarily boost operating cash flow but are not sustainable drivers of cash generation. This inconsistency adds noise to the cash flow statement and makes it difficult to assess the underlying operational efficiency.
Cash Reserved for Growth, Not Returns
The company has not paid dividends or repurchased shares over the last ten quarters, deploying all available cash and external financing towards capital expenditures for new restaurant openings.
The complete absence of shareholder returns is consistent with a company in a high-growth phase, where all financial resources are directed towards expansion. This strategy implies that management believes the highest return on invested capital comes from opening new units rather than returning cash to shareholders. However, it also means that investors are entirely dependent on future capital appreciation for a return on their investment.
Cash Flow Masked by Growth Accounting
The positive operating cash flow is heavily reliant on non-cash depreciation and stock-based compensation, which together accounted for over $5.5 million of the $10.3 million operating cash flow in Q3 2026.
A significant portion of the reported operating cash flow is derived from non-cash add-backs rather than pure cash earnings from operations. This means that the cash flow statement may overstate the company's ability to generate discretionary cash from its core business activities. Furthermore, the aggressive capitalization of costs related to new restaurant openings could be inflating operating cash flow at the expense of future depreciation charges.