KARAT PACKAGING INC (KRT)
Industrials · Foodservice disposables distribution and manufacturing · NASDAQ
Karat Packaging is a fast-growing provider of disposable foodservice products that enables restaurants and retailers to manage their take-out and delivery needs through a flexible, omni-channel distribution platform.
What KARAT PACKAGING INC does
Karat Packaging is a distributor and manufacturer of disposable foodservice products including food containers, bags, cups, lids, cutlery, straws, specialty beverage ingredients, gloves, and janitorial supplies. The company operates an asset-light model sourcing from a diversified global network of nearly 150 vendors, complemented by select domestic U.S. manufacturing capabilities. It offers environmentally-friendly products in plastic, paper, biopolymer-based, and compostable forms, along with customized solutions including design, printing, and logistics services. The company serves national and regional distributors, restaurant chains, supermarkets, retail establishments, and online customers through both B2B and e-commerce channels.
Themes: Foodservice disposables distribution, Sustainable packaging / eco-friendly products, E-commerce and omni-channel retail, Supply chain diversification, Take-out and food delivery
Fundamentals
- Price$48.05 as of 2026-08-21 close
- Market cap$958M as of 2026-08-21
- 1-year return+92.5% 2025-08-21 close $24.96 → 2026-08-21 close $48.05
- P/E30.09 as of 2026-08-24
- Net margin+6.6% as of 2026-08-24
- Gross margin+35.9% as of 2026-08-24
- ROE+21.0% as of 2026-08-24
- Debt / equity0.24 as of 2026-08-24
- Revenue growth (YoY)+11.7% as of 2026-08-24
- Revenue CAGR (3y)+3.4% SEC XBRL
- Beta0.78 as of 2026-08-24
- Last reported earnings2026-08-06 SEC EDGAR Form 8-K (Item 2.02)
Dividend: yield +3.7%; at least 4 years of non-decreasing per-share dividends (SEC XBRL) — we do not hold the year before it, so the real streak may be longer.
How KRT compares in its sector
- price-to-earnings ratiomiddle range 357 covered Industrials peers, as of 2026-08-24
- net profit marginmiddle range 457 covered Industrials peers, as of 2026-08-24
- operating marginmiddle range 457 covered Industrials peers, as of 2026-08-24
- gross marginmiddle range 455 covered Industrials peers, as of 2026-08-24
- return on equitymiddle range 460 covered Industrials peers, as of 2026-08-24
- 3-year revenue CAGRmiddle range 426 covered Industrials peers
- indicated dividend yieldtop 10% 267 covered Industrials peers, as of 2026-08-24
- free cash flow (absolute dollars, latest fiscal year)middle range 414 covered Industrials peers, as of FY2025
Position among covered Industrials companies that report each metric (minimum 5 peers). A relative position within our covered catalog — not a valuation, quality, or investment judgment. A higher percentile is simply a higher value (for P/E, more expensive on earnings — never "better"). Informational only.
Dividend coverage (FY2025)
Exceeded at least one reported measure. In FY2025, KRT's dividend exceeded at least one reported measure of what it earned or generated (earnings payout 115%, free-cash-flow payout 109%). A payout above 100% in one year is not necessarily unsustainable, but it is not fully covered by that measure.
- Earnings payout115% dividends / net income
- Free-cash-flow payout109% dividends / (operating cash flow − capex)
Coverage derived from reported SEC EDGAR XBRL figures for FY2025 (dividends paid vs. net income and free cash flow, same fiscal year). This describes PAST coverage for one fiscal year — it does not predict whether a dividend will be maintained, raised, or cut, and a one-year payout ratio can be distorted by non-recurring items. Informational only — not financial advice.
How KARAT PACKAGING INC looks technically
KARAT PACKAGING INC (KRT) is trading 68.3% above its 200-day average, the long-term trend line — a longer-term uptrend. Its 50-day average crossed above its 200-day average about 101 trading days ago — a "golden cross", a bullish long-term signal. A strong uptrend is in place — ADX, a 0–100 trend-strength gauge, is 54, with buyers in control. Momentum is stretched — its 14-day RSI (a 0–100 momentum gauge) is 74, in overbought territory (above 70). MACD, a trend-momentum gauge, turned bearish about 2 trading days ago (its momentum flipped negative). It made a new 20-day high about 9 trading days ago.
Trend
7
| Distance from the 200-day | it is trading 68.3% above its 200-day average, the long-term trend line — a longer-term uptrend | +68.3% |
|---|---|---|
| 50-day moving average | its average price over the last 50 trading days — a short-term trend line — is $38.24 | $38.24 |
| 200-day moving average | its average price over the last 200 trading days — the long-term trend line — is $28.55 | $28.55 |
| Swing structure | each recent peak has been higher than the one before it and each dip has been shallower — the pattern chart-watchers call an uptrend, which describes where price has already been and not where it goes next | higher highs and higher lows |
| Last swing turn | its last significant turn was a swing high 9 calendar days ago — the swings before that are what the structure reading is measured on | 9 sessions |
| Since the 50/200 cross | its 50-day average crossed above its 200-day average about 101 trading days ago — a "golden cross", a bullish long-term signal | 101 sessions |
| Trend strength (14-day ADX) | a strong uptrend is in place — ADX, a 0–100 trend-strength gauge, is 54, with buyers in control | 53.8 |
Momentum
3
| 14-day RSI | momentum is stretched — its 14-day RSI (a 0–100 momentum gauge) is 74, in overbought territory (above 70) | 73.7 |
|---|---|---|
| Position in its 14-day range | it is trading in the upper half of its 14-day range ($40.98 to $50.81) — its "stochastic" reading is 72 out of 100, where 0 would mean closing exactly at the 14-session low and 100 exactly at the high. This measures WHERE the price sits inside its recent range, which is a different question from the RSI beside it: RSI is a momentum gauge, measuring how FAST the price has been moving, so a stock can drift quietly to the bottom of its range with an ordinary RSI, or fall sharply and still sit in the middle. It has been slipping within that range over the last few sessions. | 71.9 |
| Since the MACD crossed zero | MACD, a trend-momentum gauge, turned bearish about 2 trading days ago (its momentum flipped negative) | 2 sessions |
Range
12
| 52-week high | its highest closing price over the past year (about 252 trading days) was $50.81 | $50.81 |
|---|---|---|
| From the 52-week high | it is 5.4% below its 52-week high (its highest price of the past year) | -5.4% |
| Above the 52-week low | it is 133.1% above its 52-week low (its lowest price of the past year) | +133.1% |
| Below the 52-week high | it is 5.4% below its highest point of the past year | 5.4% |
| Since a 20-day breakout | it made a new 20-day high about 9 trading days ago | 9 sessions |
| Since a 55-day breakout | it made a new 55-day high about 9 trading days ago | 9 sessions |
| All-time high | its highest closing price on record is $50.81 (set on 2026-08-12) | $50.81 |
| Given back of the 52-week move | over the past year its closes ranged ($21.06 to $50.06), and it has given back only a small part of its rise from last year’s low — 7% of it. Chart-watchers call 61.8%-65% given back the "golden pocket" — for this company that is $31.21 to $32.14. It is watched widely enough that orders cluster there, which is the honest reason it matters; it is not a forecast. | 6.9% |
| From the all-time high | it is 5.4% below its all-time high | -5.4% |
| Nearest price level | it is trading 31.5% above a support level at $32.90 — a price it turned at three times since 2024-12-16, most recently on 2026-07-10. Since 2024-08-21 it has 12 such levels below the current price and 0 above. Levels like these describe where the price has reversed or paused before; they are not a forecast of where it will go. | -31.5% |
| All-time low | its lowest closing price on record is $12.50 (set on 2022-12-16) | $12.50 |
| Above the all-time low | it is 284.4% above its all-time low | +284.4% |
Volatility
5
| Band width vs its own 6 months | day-to-day price swings are unusually wide versus its own recent history (wider than about 85% of the past ~6 months) | 85th percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Typical daily range | in a typical session it travels about $1.75 between its high and its low — about 3.6% of its price. That is its "average true range" over the last 14 sessions, which also counts the distance from the previous close, so a day that opens well away from yesterday counts as the large move it was | $1.75 |
| Bollinger bands (20-day, ±2σ) | most of its recent trading has stayed between about $37.90 and $52.00 — the "Bollinger bands", a range drawn two standard deviations either side of its 20-day average price, which widens when the stock gets more volatile and narrows when it settles | $37.90 – $44.95 – $52.00 |
| Typical daily range (% of price) | its price moves about 3.6% in a typical session — about typical for the companies we cover. This is the average gap between a session's high and low over the last 14 sessions, counting overnight moves, expressed against the current price so it can be compared with companies trading at any price | 3.6% |
| Stretch from the 200-day average | it is trading 11.1 daily ranges above its 200-day average price (68.3% above it in plain percentage terms) — a way of asking how far it has stretched from its own average in units of how far it normally moves in a day, so a calm company and a jumpy one can be compared on the same scale | 11.1 daily ranges above its 200-day average |
Volume
1
| Volume vs its 30-day average | trading volume is about normal versus its 30-day average | 1.37× |
|---|
Analyst
2
| Change in the average price target | analysts' average price target is unchanged from the prior reading | 0.0% |
|---|---|---|
| Change in the consensus rating | the analyst consensus rating is unchanged since the prior reading | unchanged |
Candlestick patterns
2
| Since a doji | 1 session ago it opened and closed at almost the same price after trading through a wider range — a "doji", the classic picture of buyers and sellers finishing the session level | 1 session ago |
|---|---|---|
| Since a hammer | 1 session ago, after a stretch of decline, it sold off hard during the session and then closed back near its high — a "hammer", the long lower wick showing the drop was bought back before the close | 1 session ago |
Price gaps
2
| Gap at the open | it opened on 2026-08-21 0.5% below the previous session's close — an overnight gap, the part of the move that happened while the market was shut, and traded back through that level before the close | -0.5% |
|---|---|---|
| Open gap | it gapped 5.8% above the previous close 10 sessions ago and has not traded back through the level it left behind at 42.37 — an "unfilled gap", which describes a price range no trade has since crossed and is not a forecast that it will be crossed | +5.8% |
Price streaks
1
| Closing streak | it closed higher in its latest session, after a session that did not close higher — a single up day rather than a run | 1 session up |
|---|
Relative strength
4
| vs market, 1 month | over the past 1 month this stock beat the market by 22.6 percentage points (the stock gained 24.9% while the market gained 2.3%) | +22.6% |
|---|---|---|
| vs market, 3 months | over the past 3 months this stock beat the market by 76.7 percentage points (the stock gained 79.8% while the market gained 3.1%) | +76.7% |
| vs market, 6 months | over the past 6 months this stock beat the market by 79.1 percentage points (the stock gained 90.1% while the market gained 11.1%) | +79.1% |
| vs market, 12 months | over the past 12 months this stock beat the market by 72.0 percentage points (the stock gained 92.5% while the market gained 20.5%) | +72.0% |
Signal agreement
2
| Bullish technical signals | 5 of the 9 technical signals we can compute for it are currently in a bullish state: a strong uptrend, with buyers in control, a "golden cross" — its 50-day average is above its 200-day, trading above its 200-day average, outperforming the market over 6 months, trading above the Ichimoku cloud — these describe past price behaviour, not a forecast | 5 of 9 |
|---|---|---|
| Bearish technical signals | 2 of the 9 technical signals we can compute for it are currently in a bearish state: its RSI momentum gauge is overbought (a stretched reading), MACD momentum is negative — these describe past price behaviour, not a forecast | 2 of 9 |
Trend (Ichimoku cloud)
1
| Vs the Ichimoku cloud | trading 41% above the Ichimoku cloud — a band drawn from where its own highs and lows sat up to 2026-07-16 and projected forward over today's price, the side traders read as an established uptrend, with the band below acting as the level that would have to give way. The band itself is moderate, spanning 4.6% of the share price. | +41.1% |
|---|
Volume-weighted price
2
| Vs this year’s average price paid | the price is 48% above the average price paid so far this year, so the typical buyer over that stretch is showing a gain. That average is $32.41 — a volume-weighted average of daily closes over 155 sessions, not a true tick-by-tick VWAP. | +48.3% |
|---|---|---|
| Vs the average paid since it last reported | the price is 1% above the average price paid since it last reported on 2026-08-06 (its 8-K), so the typical buyer over that stretch is showing a gain. That average is $47.73 — a volume-weighted average of daily closes over 12 sessions, not a true tick-by-tick VWAP. | +0.7% |
Price levels it has turned at before
KRT last closed at $48.05 on 2026-08-21. Since 2024-08-21 it has turned at 12 prices below its last close and 0 above; the 3 nearest below are listed, nearest first.
| Level | Side | Distance | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| $32.90 | Support | 31.5% below the last close | turned there three times · 2024-12-16 to 2026-07-10 |
| $31.89 | Support | 33.6% below the last close | turned there twice · 2025-01-27 to 2025-05-12 |
| $30.87 | Support | 35.8% below the last close | turned there five times · 2024-11-13 to 2026-06-15 |
A level is a price this company reversed or paused at more than once — they describe past behaviour, not a forecast of where the price will go.
Wave structure
No Elliott-wave labelling currently fits its swings: the recent highs and lows do not satisfy the three rules a five-wave count has to obey, so there is no count to show rather than a count we are unsure about.
Read from daily closes as of 2026-08-21.
An Elliott-wave count describes the swings already printed and the level that would disprove it. It is not a forecast, a target, or advice.
Screens: Trading above the 200-day moving average · Overbought (14-day RSI above 70) · MACD just crossed bearish (12/26/9) · in a strong, established uptrend (ADX) · beating the market · Stretched far above its 200-day average (6+ daily ranges) | Learn: moving average · golden cross · adx · rsi · macd · breakout
Based on daily closing prices as of 2026-08-21. Describes past price behavior only — informational, not financial advice.
Analyst consensus
- Consensus ratingBuy (2.00 mean, 1=Strong Buy…5=Strong Sell) — 2 analysts
- Mean price target$41.50 range $33.00 – $50.00
Analyst estimates, as of 2026-08-22. These are third-party analyst opinions and price targets, aggregated — not a recommendation, prediction, or advice from stocks-llm. Informational only.
Analyst EPS estimate for KRT
- Consensus EPS estimate$0.46 next reporting period, as of 2026-08-22
Change over time is not available yet: it needs two readings of the same reporting period at least 30 days apart, and we have been recording these estimates since 2026-08-04. An estimate for a DIFFERENT quarter is not a revision, so a reading from before the last report is never compared with one after it.
The consensus estimate for the next reporting period, and how it has moved between readings of that SAME period. A change is measured only between readings estimating one period — when a company reports, the consensus moves to the next quarter and the two numbers are not comparable. Informational only, not a forecast and not advice.
Key risks (from latest filing)
["Exposure to tariff environment changes and trade policy uncertainty, which could impact import costs and margins as the company sources from a global vendor network","Reliance on restaurant and foodservice industry demand, which is sensitive to economic downturns and consumer spending patterns","Supply chain disruption risks despite diversification efforts, given dependency on nearly 150 global vendors and vulnerable to freight cost volatility"]
What changed in the latest 10-Q
AI-assisted comparison of KRT's 10-Q filed 2026-05-08 against the prior one filed 2025-11-07.
Management's Discussion & Analysis (MD&A)
- Added:
- Newer filing (2026-05-08) references 2025 Form 10-K filed March 13, 2026 in Risk Factors section
- Newer filing (2026-05-08) adds specific supply chain realignment data: domestic purchases increased to 18.3% from 13.8% for Q1 2026 vs Q1 2025
- Newer filing (2026-05-08) adds sourcing reduction data: Taiwan reduced from 53.7% to 46.3%, China reduced from 18.4% to 11.3% for Q1 2026 vs Q1 2025
- Newer filing (2026-05-08) adds sourcing increase data: Malaysia and Vietnam increased from 12.2% to 17.2% for Q1 2026 vs Q1 2025
- Newer filing (2026-05-08) reports quarterly net sales of $116.9 million for Q1 2026, up 12.9% in amount and 10.4% in volume vs Q1 2025
- Newer filing (2026-05-08) reports gross margin of 35.5% for Q1 2026 (text appears truncated)
- Removed:
- Older filing (2025-11-07) references 2024 Form 10-K filed March 14, 2025 in Risk Factors section (replaced with 2025 10-K reference)
- Older filing (2025-11-07) contains Q3 2025 specific supply chain data: domestic purchases 20.4% for three months ended September 30, 2025 vs 14.6% for June 30, 2025
- Older filing (2025-11-07) contains Taiwan sourcing data: reduced from 58.0% for June 30, 2025 to 41.6% for September 30, 2025
- Older filing (2025-11-07) reports record quarterly net sales of $124.5 million for Q3 2025, up 10.4% in amount and 8.7% in volume vs Q3 2024
- Older filing (2025-11-07) reports nine months ended September 30, 2025 net sales of $352.1 million, up 9.7% in amount and 10.8% in volume (text truncated)
- Reworded:
- Newer filing (2026-05-08) changes supply chain language from 'We are focusing on strengthening' to 'We have strengthened our supply chain resilience and efficiency'
- Newer filing (2026-05-08) adds phrase 'in a dynamic global trade landscape' when describing supply chain diversification efforts
- Notes:
- Both filings appear to have truncated text at end of Business Highlights section; newer filing's gross margin statement is incomplete
- The older filing's final bullet point about nine-month results is also truncated, making full comparison of that metric impossible
Risk Factors
The two filings could not be meaningfully compared for this section.
AI-assisted comparison of two SEC filing sections. It describes wording and theme changes only, makes no materiality, legal, or investment judgement, and is not financial advice. Informational only — not financial advice.
Insider activity (SEC Form 4)
No open-market insider purchases or sales recorded in the last 90 days.
Most recent open-market transaction: 2025-11-12. As of 2026-08-25.
View full insider trading history → View SEC Form 3/4/5 filingsAsk about KRT's insider activity →
Only open-market purchases (SEC code P) and sales (code S) are counted here. Option exercises, vesting/awards, gifts, and shares withheld for taxes are excluded — they are compensation or mechanical, not open-market conviction. Sales may be planned and non-discretionary (e.g. a Rule 10b5-1 plan) and are not necessarily bearish; open-market buying is not a recommendation to buy. Informational only — not financial advice.
Institutional ownership (13F)
5 institutional 13F filers reported holding KRT as of 2026-03-31 (quarter-end position, filed within 45 days).
- Distinct 13F filers 5
- Reported shares held 858,812
- Reported value $23,978,032
reported quarterly holdings change (2025-12-31 → 2026-03-31): 0 new, 3 increased, 2 decreased, 0 exited. Change counts cover only managers that filed 13F reports in BOTH quarters, derived between two quarter-end snapshots — not same-day trades; a single manager is never said to have "bought" or "sold".
Institutional holdings are quarter-end long positions reported on SEC Form 13F-HR, filed up to 45 days after the quarter ends — they are delayed, are not real-time trades, exclude short positions and most non-US securities, and are not investment advice. Any increase/decrease is a reported change between two quarterly snapshots, not a same-day purchase or sale. These are quarter-end snapshots from the 13F filings on SEC EDGAR, filed within 45 days — not real-time, and any change is a difference between two quarterly reports, not a same-day trade. Informational only — not financial advice.
Short interest (FINRA)
KRT had 260,922 shares of reported short interest as of the 2026-07-31 FINRA settlement date (delayed, bi-monthly; not real-time).
KRT had 1.31% of its shares outstanding sold short as of the 2026-07-31 FINRA settlement date (percent of FLOAT would be higher — float is not disclosed in the source). FINRA reported 2.04 days to cover at the same settlement.
- Reported short interest (shares) 260,922
- Short interest (% of shares outstanding) 1.31%
- Prior settlement (shares) 284,839
- Reported change -8.4%
- Days to cover (reported) 2.04
Reported to FINRA as of the 2026-07-31 settlement date. Short interest is reported to FINRA and published on a delayed, bi-monthly schedule (as of a settlement date, disseminated roughly eight business days later) — it is NOT real-time, does not cover every venue or all US trading, and is not a short-squeeze prediction or investment advice. Days-to-cover is the value FINRA reports; percent of float is not shown because the source file carries no share-count denominator — where a percent appears it is of shares OUTSTANDING, the larger base, and is therefore a floor on percent of float. Informational only — not financial advice.
Competitors & peers
- Huhtamaki
- Dart Container Corporation
- Pactiv Evergreen
- Winpak
- Sealed Air Corporation
- Berry Global Group
AI-enriched competitor set. Linked names are companies covered by stocks-llm; other named peers are shown for reference only.
Frequently asked questions
What does KARAT PACKAGING INC (KRT) do?
Karat Packaging is a distributor and manufacturer of disposable foodservice products including food containers, bags, cups, lids, cutlery, straws, specialty beverage ingredients, gloves, and janitorial supplies. The company operates an asset-light model sourcing from a diversified global network of nearly 150 vendors, complemented by select domestic U.S. manufacturing capabilities.
What sector is KARAT PACKAGING INC (KRT) in?
KARAT PACKAGING INC (KRT) is classified in the Industrials sector. Its industry is Foodservice disposables distribution and manufacturing. It trades on NASDAQ.
Does KRT pay a dividend?
Yes — KARAT PACKAGING INC (KRT) pays a dividend, with an indicated yield of about 3.66% and at least 4 years of non-decreasing per-share dividends (SEC EDGAR XBRL) — we do not hold the year before it, so the real streak may be longer (market data, as of 2026-08-24). Informational only — not financial advice.
Who are KARAT PACKAGING INC's (KRT) competitors?
Notable peers of KARAT PACKAGING INC (KRT) include Huhtamaki, Dart Container Corporation, Pactiv Evergreen, Winpak and Sealed Air Corporation. This peer set is informational only — not financial advice.
Is KARAT PACKAGING INC (KRT) overbought or oversold right now?
KARAT PACKAGING INC (KRT) is currently in overbought territory (its 14-day RSI is 74, above 70) (as of 2026-08-21). RSI describes recent price momentum, not a forecast — informational only, not financial advice.
Where does stocks-llm's data on KRT come from?
Fundamentals and prices come from market data, as of 2026-08-24; company filings and profile facts come from SEC EDGAR. All figures are delayed daily-close data shown with their as-of date — informational only, not financial advice.
Fundamentals: market data, as of 2026-08-24. Filings: SEC EDGAR. Prices are delayed daily-close data.
Last updated 2026-08-21.
Informational only — NOT financial advice. All figures are delayed daily-close data from SEC EDGAR & market data, shown with their as-of date.