CEO Hajime Uba was paid $1,155,662 in fiscal year 2025, ↑ up 24.1% from fiscal year 2024, the 29th percentile of its disclosed peer group (SEC filing 0001193125-25-314444 ↗): executive and director compensation, incentive-plan design, equity activity, and governance — every figure in this brief is traceable to its exact location in the company’s SEC filing — the document, the section, the page, and the table, linked directly.
$1,155,662 ↑ Hajime Uba total, FY2025 | 29th CEO pay percentile vs peers | — CEO-to-median pay ratio | 98.59% Say-on-pay support, latest vote |
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KRUS's next annual pay disclosure, estimated December 10, 2026.est. Filing ↗
| Named executive officer | Salary | Bonus | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Pension / NQDC | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hajime Uba | $517,500 | — | $454,750 | $0 | $183,412 | $0 | $0 | $1,155,662 |
| President, Chief Executive Officer, Director and Chairman of the Board | ||||||||
| Jeffrey Uttz | 387,500 | — | 280,000 | 0 | 107,745 | 0 | 0 | 775,245 |
| Chief Financial Officer | ||||||||
| Shahin Allameh | 316,000 | — | 196,200 | 0 | 80,074 | 0 | 0 | 592,274 |
| Chief Operating Officer | ||||||||
| Robert Kluger | 291,000 | — | 163,350 | 0 | 87,882 | 0 | 0 | 542,232 |
| Chief Development Officer | ||||||||
| Arlene Petokas | 281,000 | — | 157,850 | 0 | 63,252 | 0 | 0 | 502,102 |
| Chief People Officer | ||||||||
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column; 0 means it reported zero. Figures are as printed in the filing, without adjustment.
| Named executive officer | FY2025 total | FY2024 total | FY2023 total | Δ FY2024→2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hajime Uba | $1,155,662 | $931,498 | $1,074,617 | ↑ +224,164 |
| Jeffrey Uttz | 775,245 | 654,371 | 1,991,854 | ↑ +120,874 |
| Shahin Allameh | 592,274 | 499,302 | 537,475 | ↑ +92,972 |
| Robert Kluger | 542,232 | 473,174 | — | ↑ +69,058 |
| Arlene Petokas | 502,102 | 433,991 | — | ↑ +68,111 |
Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.
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Each company listed discloses KRUS in its own benchmarking peer group, as disclosed in each company's most recent proxy statement within the last two proxy seasons. Two companies are therefore absent by design: one that named KRUS in an earlier year and no longer does, and one whose own most recent disclosure is older than the last two seasons.
One page per officer: the same table above, read for one person at a time — his own figure and every fiscal year the register holds.
| Executive | Role | FY2025 total |
|---|---|---|
| Arlene Petokas | Chief People Officer | $502,102 |
| Hajime Uba | CEO | $1,155,662 |
| Jeffrey Uttz | CFO | $775,245 |
| Robert Kluger | Chief Development Officer | $542,232 |
| Shahin Allameh | COO | $592,274 |
One page per director: the seat, the committees and the fee table, read for one person at a time.
| Director | Role | FY2025 total |
|---|---|---|
| Carin Stutz | Independent Director | $135,000 |
| Kim Ellis | Independent Director | $120,000 |
| Shintaro Asako | Independent Director | $165,000 |
| Treasa Bowers | Independent Director | $132,151 |
No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.
| Executive | Award | Grant date | Threshold | Target | Granted | Maximum | Grant-date fair value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shahin Allameh | PSU | 2025-02-03 | 613 | 1,226 | — | 1,839 | $98,100 |
| Arlene Petokas | PSU | 2025-02-03 | 493 | 986 | — | 1,479 | 78,925 |
| Hajime Uba | PSU | 2025-02-03 | 1,421 | 2,842 | — | 4,263 | 227,375 |
| Robert Kluger | PSU | 2025-02-03 | 510 | 1,020 | — | 1,530 | 81,675 |
| Jeffrey Uttz | PSU | 2025-02-03 | 875 | 1,750 | — | 2,625 | 140,000 |
| Named executive officer | Time-vested (RSU) | Performance-vested (PSU) | Options / SARs | % performance-vested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shahin Allameh | $0 | $98,100 | $0 | 100.0% |
| Arlene Petokas | 0 | 78,925 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Hajime Uba | 0 | 227,375 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Robert Kluger | 0 | 81,675 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Jeffrey Uttz | 0 | 140,000 | 0 | 100.0% |
% performance-vested = PSU grant-date fair value ÷ (RSU + PSU + Options), a computed value with the derivation shown in the register.
| Executive | Award | Shares unvested | Exercise price | Market value unvested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shahin Allameh | RSU | 384 | — | $32,567 |
| Jeffrey Uttz | PSU | 1,750 | — | 148,418 |
| Robert Kluger | RSU | 326 | — | 27,648 |
| Shahin Allameh | RSU | 350 | — | 29,684 |
| Robert Kluger | Option | 1,051 | 98.13 | — |
| Arlene Petokas | Option | 1,015 | 98.13 | — |
| Hajime Uba | RSU | 665 | — | 56,399 |
| Shahin Allameh | Option | 1,012 | 62.14 | — |
| Jeffrey Uttz | RSU | 558 | — | 47,324 |
| Hajime Uba | RSU | 2,842 | — | 241,030 |
| Hajime Uba | PSU | 2,842 | — | 241,030 |
| Jeffrey Uttz | RSU | 1,750 | — | 148,418 |
| Shahin Allameh | RSU | 1,226 | — | 103,977 |
| Shahin Allameh | PSU | 1,226 | — | 103,977 |
| Robert Kluger | RSU | 1,020 | — | 86,506 |
| Robert Kluger | PSU | 1,020 | — | 86,506 |
| Arlene Petokas | RSU | 986 | — | 83,623 |
| Arlene Petokas | PSU | 986 | — | 83,623 |
| Hajime Uba | RSU | 859 | — | 72,852 |
| Jeffrey Uttz | RSU | 505 | — | 42,829 |
| Arlene Petokas | RSU | 315 | — | 26,715 |
| Robert Kluger | RSU | 297 | — | 25,189 |
| Arlene Petokas | RSU | 287 | — | 24,340 |
| Hajime Uba | Option | 7,148 | 46.15 | — |
| Hajime Uba | Option | 1,934 | 62.14 | — |
| Hajime Uba | Option | 2,771 | 98.13 | — |
| Jeffrey Uttz | Option | 6,838 | 73.58 | — |
| Jeffrey Uttz | Option | 1,467 | 62.14 | — |
| Jeffrey Uttz | Option | 1,800 | 98.13 | — |
| Shahin Allameh | Option | 1,240 | 98.13 | — |
| Robert Kluger | Option | 864 | 62.14 | — |
| Arlene Petokas | Option | 1,250 | 45.75 | — |
| Arlene Petokas | Option | 831 | 62.14 | — |
The Compensation Committee's goal is to ensure that the total compensation paid to our executive officers is fair, competitive, and properly structured to attract and retain talent and align management's interests with those of our stockholders.
| CEO STI target (% of salary) | — |
|---|---|
| CEO LTI target (% of salary) | — |
| Independent consultant | Pearl Meyer & Partners, LLC |
| Clawback policy | true |
| Anti-hedging | true |
| Anti-pledging | true |
| Meeting year | Meeting date | For | Against | Abstain | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-01-21 | 18,594,882 | 265,335 | 5,865 | 98.59% | Passed |
| 2025 | 2025-01-23 | 19,386,397 | 217,187 | 5,790 | 98.89% | Passed |
Rows are labeled by annual-meeting year, with the meeting date beside each; the vote held in a given year acts on the prior fiscal year's compensation.
| Meeting year | Meeting date | Approval — company's computation |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-01-21 | 98.59%a |
| 2025 | 2025-01-23 | 98.89%b |
a. Voting standard not stated in the filing.
b. Voting standard not stated in the filing.
Approval percentages are the company's own reported computations under its own stated standard, not recomputed by Velarion. Where a company does not state a standard, none is assumed.
| Director | Cash fees | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shintaro AsakoIndependent · Compensation · Nominating · Audit | $95,000 | $70,000 | — | — | — | $165,000 |
| Carin StutzIndependent · Nominating · Audit | 65,000 | 70,000 | — | — | — | 135,000 |
| Treasa BowersIndependent · Compensation (Chair) · Nominating · Audit | 62,151 | 70,000 | — | — | — | 132,151 |
| Kim EllisIndependent · Compensation · Not standing for re-election | 50,000 | 70,000 | — | — | — | 120,000 |
| Hajime UbaEmployee director · Board Chair | — | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| Claudia SchaeferIndependent · Newly elected | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Annual cash retainer | $50,000 |
|---|---|
| Annual equity retainer | $70,000 |
| Per board meeting fee | — |
| Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov) | — |
| Stock ownership guideline | — |
| Component | FY2025 |
|---|---|
| Cash retainers and fees | $272,151 |
| Equity awards (grant-date value) | $280,000 |
| All other compensation | $0 |
| Total cost of the board | $552,151 |
Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.
The compensation peer group as the company disclosed it in its own proxy — the reference set behind the percentile above.
Of the companies Kura Sushi USA names as compensation peers, which name it back in their own disclosed peer groups. A peer set the market reciprocates reads differently from one selected in a single direction.
Reciprocity shown where the peer's own current proxy has been read — each mark is cited in the register to that peer's filing. A dash means the peer's current proxy was read and names no reciprocal group including Kura Sushi USA.
Most recent fiscal-year chief executive compensation at each disclosed peer, taken from that company's own proxy statement.
| Rank | Company | FY | Chief executive | Salary | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shake Shack Inc. | 2025 | Robert Lynch | $1,000,000 | $5,000,161 | $0 | $1,011,750 | $7,210,818 |
| 2 | El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. | 2025 | Elizabeth Williams | 750,950 | 1,434,000 | 717,000 | 581,162 | 3,539,320 |
| 3 | Chuy's Holdings, Inc. | 2023 | Steve Hislop | 745,498 | 559,088 | 0 | 745,498 | 2,068,041 |
| 4 | Nathan's Famous, Inc. | 2025 | Eric Gatoff | 625,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,694,216 |
| 5 | Portillo's Inc. | 2025 | Michael Miles Jr. | 16,319 | 1,320,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,467,689 |
| 6 | Kura Sushi USA | 2025 | Hajime Uba | 517,500 | 454,750 | 0 | 183,412 | 1,155,662 |
| 7 | Noodles & Company | 2025 | Joseph Christina | 407,116 | 388,700 | 0 | 82,569 | 889,720 |
| 8 | Ark Restaurants Corp. | 2025 | Michael Weinstein | 825,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 825,000 |
| — | Good Times Restaurants Inc. | — | — | — | — | — | — | not in coverage universe |
| — | The ONE Group Hospitality, Inc. | — | — | — | — | — | — | not in coverage universe |
Each peer's compensation is from its most recently filed proxy; fiscal years differ by company. Each peer's figures come from its own filings; the subject company is highlighted. Peers whose chief executive compensation is outside our coverage universe are stated as such, never left blank.
| Company | Annual incentive payout | Long-term vehicle mix | PSU measures include TSR | Compensation consultant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kura Sushi USA | not disclosed | RSU 50 · PSU 50 | not disclosed | Pearl Meyer & Partners, LLC |
| Ark Restaurants Corp. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Chuy's Holdings, Inc. | 100% | RSU 100 | not disclosed | Mercer |
| El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. | 77.5% | Option 33.33 · RSA 33.33 · PSU 33.33 | No | Semler Brossy |
| Good Times Restaurants Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Nathan's Famous, Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Noodles & Company | not disclosed | PSU 60 · RSU 40 | No | FW Cook |
| Portillo's Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | Meridian Compensation Partners |
| Shake Shack Inc. | 67.5% | PSU 60 · RSU 40 | No | Pearl Meyer & Partners |
| The ONE Group Hospitality, Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed |
Read from each company's Compensation Discussion and Analysis: annual incentive payout as a percentage of target, the disclosed long-term vehicle mix, whether performance-share measures include a total shareholder return component, and the retained compensation consultant. “Not disclosed” appears only where the company's filing does not state the item.
Answers are drawn only from the figures disclosed in this brief and cited to their location in the source filing. Where a figure required for an answer is not disclosed, that is stated rather than estimated.
Each figure is listed with the filing it comes from, where it appears in that filing, and the value as printed. Any figure can be independently confirmed against the source.
| # | Supports | Document | Filed | Accession | Location in document |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Section 01, Hajime Uba | DEF 14A | 2025-12-10 | 0001193125-25-314444 | Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 1,155,662. View filing ↗ |
| 2 | Section 01, Jeffrey Uttz | DEF 14A | 2025-12-10 | 0001193125-25-314444 | Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 775,245. View filing ↗ |
| 3 | Section 01, Shahin Allameh | DEF 14A | 2025-12-10 | 0001193125-25-314444 | Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 592,274. View filing ↗ |
| 4 | Section 01, Robert Kluger | DEF 14A | 2025-12-10 | 0001193125-25-314444 | Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 542,232. View filing ↗ |
| 5 | Section 01, Arlene Petokas | DEF 14A | 2025-12-10 | 0001193125-25-314444 | Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 502,102. View filing ↗ |
| 6 | Section 03, Shahin Allameh PSU | DEF 14A | 2025-12-10 | 0001193125-25-314444 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗ |
| 7 | Section 03, Arlene Petokas PSU | DEF 14A | 2025-12-10 | 0001193125-25-314444 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗ |
| 8 | Section 03, Hajime Uba PSU | DEF 14A | 2025-12-10 | 0001193125-25-314444 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗ |
| 9 | Section 03, Robert Kluger PSU | DEF 14A | 2025-12-10 | 0001193125-25-314444 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗ |
| 10 | Section 03, Jeffrey Uttz PSU | DEF 14A | 2025-12-10 | 0001193125-25-314444 | Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗ |
| 11 | Section 08, Shintaro Asako | DEF 14A | 2025-12-10 | 0001193125-25-314444 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 165,000. View filing ↗ |
| 12 | Section 08, Carin Stutz | DEF 14A | 2025-12-10 | 0001193125-25-314444 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 135,000. View filing ↗ |
| 13 | Section 08, Treasa Bowers | DEF 14A | 2025-12-10 | 0001193125-25-314444 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 132,151. View filing ↗ |
| 14 | Section 08, Kim Ellis | DEF 14A | 2025-12-10 | 0001193125-25-314444 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 120,000. View filing ↗ |
| 15 | Section 08, Hajime Uba | DEF 14A | 2025-12-10 | 0001193125-25-314444 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗ |
| 16 | Section 08, Claudia Schaefer | DEF 14A | 2025-12-10 | 0001193125-25-314444 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: —. View filing ↗ |
| 17 | Section 06, 2026 vote | Form 8-K | 2026-01-22 | 0001193125-26-019473 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 98.59% (votes for as printed: 18,594,882). View filing ↗ |
| 18 | Section 06, 2025 vote | Form 8-K | 2025-01-24 | 0000950170-25-008843 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 98.89% (votes for as printed: 19,386,397). View filing ↗ |
| 19 | Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed) | Computed | — | — | Δ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer. |
| 20 | Section 03b vehicle mix (computed) | Computed | — | — | RSU / PSU / Options grant-date fair values summed per officer from the grants table; % performance-vested = PSU ÷ (RSU+PSU+Options). |
| 21 | Section 09b board cost (computed) | Computed | — | — | Cash 272,151 + equity 280,000 + all other 0 = 552,151, summed across the director compensation table rows. |
| 22 | Shake Shack Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-29 | 0001104659-26-051572 | CEO total compensation as printed in Shake Shack Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 7,210,818. View filing ↗ |
| 23 | El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-30 | 0001606366-26-000021 | CEO total compensation as printed in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 3,539,320. View filing ↗ |
| 24 | Chuy's Holdings, Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2024-06-13 | 0001524931-24-000072 | CEO total compensation as printed in Chuy's Holdings, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 2,068,041. View filing ↗ |
| 25 | Nathan's Famous, Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2025-07-25 | 0001104659-25-070823 | CEO total compensation as printed in Nathan's Famous, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 1,694,216. View filing ↗ |
| 26 | Portillo's Inc., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-17 | 0001871509-26-000024 | CEO total compensation as printed in Portillo's Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 1,467,689. View filing ↗ |
| 27 | Kura Sushi USA (subject), Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2025-12-10 | 0001193125-25-314444 | CEO total compensation as printed in Kura Sushi USA's own proxy. As printed: 1,155,662. View filing ↗ |
| 28 | Noodles & Company, Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-01 | 0001275158-26-000030 | CEO total compensation as printed in Noodles & Company's own proxy. As printed: 889,720. View filing ↗ |
| 29 | Ark Restaurants Corp., Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-01-26 | 0000779544-26-000004 | CEO total compensation as printed in Ark Restaurants Corp.'s own proxy. As printed: 825,000. View filing ↗ |
| 30 | Section 10a, Chuy's Holdings, Inc. reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001524931-24-000072 | Chuy's Holdings, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Kura Sushi USA. View filing ↗ |
| 31 | Section 10a, Portillo's Inc. reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001871509-26-000024 | Portillo's Inc. names Kura Sushi USA in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗ |
| 32 | Section 10a, Noodles & Company reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001275158-26-000030 | Noodles & Company's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Kura Sushi USA. View filing ↗ |
| 33 | Section 10a, Shake Shack Inc. reciprocity | DEF 14A | — | 0001104659-26-051572 | Shake Shack Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Kura Sushi USA. View filing ↗ |