10-Q · May 6, 2026
Noodles & Company (NDLS) reported Q4 for 2026, with total revenue of $122.8 million, rising slightly from $122 million in Q3 2025, reflecting a positive trend in revenue compared to prior quarters. The diluted EPS loss…
Earnings analysis · 10-Q
NDLS earnings analysis
Filed July 24, 2026 · Our reading of the company's report
The latest report
Noodles & Company delivered modest Q2 revenue growth to $127.037 million, supported by 10.3% system-wide comparable-sales growth, and substantially narrowed its GAAP operating loss to $1.540 million from $14.778 million…
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Noodles & Company delivered modest Q2 revenue growth to $127.037 million, supported by 10.3% system-wide comparable-sales growth, and substantially narrowed its GAAP operating loss to $1.540 million from $14.778 million a year earlier. Restaurant-level economics improved materially, with restaurant contribution margin reaching 17.2%, but revenue growth remains constrained by substantial restaurant closures and franchise-revenue contraction. Liquidity is tight at $1.3 million of cash against $105.4 million of debt, with a required refinancing or extension ahead of the July 27, 2027 credit-facility maturity.
Gross and operating margin
How much of each revenue dollar the business keeps.
One point per quarterly or annual filing. Both margins are shares of that report's revenue.
Where revenue came from
The business segments reported by the company.
Shares of the segments disclosed in this filing, largest first.
How we read each report
Our analysis across the last few reports.
Our model's reading of each filing, not the share price or the market's reaction. Annual and quarterly reports each occupy one position.
Reported figures
- Operating margin
- -1.2%
What stood out
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Revenue grew despite a smaller restaurant base
Q2 revenue rose $0.604 million, or 0.5% year over year, to $127.037 million. Sequentially, revenue increased $3.251 million from implied Q1 revenue of $123.786 million, while system-wide comparable sales grew 10.3%.
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Operating loss improved sharply year over year
Operating loss narrowed to $1.540 million, or a 1.2% operating margin, from a $14.778 million loss and an 11.7% loss margin a year earlier. The loss margin was modestly worse than the implied 0.7% Q1 2026 operating-loss margin.
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Restaurant-level profitability expanded
Restaurant contribution margin expanded 4.4 percentage points year over year to 17.2%, from 12.8%. Cost of sales declined to 24.9% of restaurant revenue from 26.5%, and labor declined to 29.4% from 31.7%.
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Comparable sales and unit volumes accelerated
Company-owned comparable sales increased 11.4% and franchise comparable sales increased 5.5%. Company-owned average unit volume increased 15.9% to $1.568 million from $1.353 million.
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First-half cash generation improved
First-half operating cash flow increased to $9.321 million from $3.181 million, while investing cash use fell to $3.586 million from $6.318 million. The resulting first-half operating-cash-flow-less-investing outflow measure was positive $5.735 million.
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Adjusted EBITDA and impairment burden improved
Adjusted EBITDA increased to $10.773 million from $6.016 million, although GAAP net loss remained $3.951 million. Restaurant impairments, closure costs and asset disposals fell to $5.527 million from $13.653 million.
What to watch
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Refinancing requirement remains material
The company had $105.4 million drawn under its credit facility and only $1.3 million of cash at June 30, 2026. The facility matures July 27, 2027, and management states it will require new financing, other capital, or an extension/refinancing by that date.
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Closures offset comparable-sales growth
The portfolio is contracting: 22 company-owned restaurants were permanently closed in the first two quarters of 2026, and management anticipates closing another 8 to 13 during 2026. Franchise royalties and fees declined $0.416 million, or 15.7%, to $2.236 million in Q2.
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Closure and impairment charges remain sizable
Q2 still recorded $5.527 million of impairments, closure costs and asset disposals, including fixed-asset impairment at 8 restaurants and lease-related write-downs at 6 restaurants. Management also impaired 11 restaurants in the first half.
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Delivery fees and tariffs pressure costs
Other restaurant operating costs increased to 20.3% of restaurant revenue from 19.7%, driven principally by a 0.9% impact from higher third-party delivery fees. Management expects tariffs may affect food, construction, equipment and other operating costs during the remainder of fiscal 2026.
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No formal risk-factor update; rate exposure persists
Item 1A states there were no material changes to risk factors reported in the December 30, 2025 Form 10-K. Nonetheless, the filing quantifies variable-rate debt exposure: a 1.0% rate change would affect annualized pre-tax interest expense by approximately $1.1 million.
Management's outlook
The 10-Q does not provide numeric revenue or EPS guidance. Management expects fiscal-2026 capital expenditures of approximately $9.0 million to $10.0 million, including $5.0 million to $6.0 million in the remainder of the year, and does not plan to open company-owned restaurants in 2026.
Earlier filings 4
10-K · March 26, 2026
Noodles & Company reported a modest revenue increase to $495.1 million in FY2025, driven by a 4.3% rise in comparable sales at company-owned outlets. Despite facing significant challenges including closures of…
10-Q · November 6, 2025
Noodles & Company's Q3 2025 results indicate flat revenue and continued operational challenges due to permanent restaurant closures. While total revenues slightly decreased by 0.5% to $122.1 million sequentially, they…
10-Q · August 14, 2025
Noodles & Company reported a challenging Q2 2025, with revenue of $126.4 million, reflecting a 0.7% decline year-over-year. The net loss expanded to $17.6 million from $13.6 million year-over-year, leading to a diluted…
This is our reading of a public filing, not the filing itself. Analysis can contain errors; check the source document for full context.