Noodles & Co (NDLS) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $38.18M
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Average Volume (3M): 99.15K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): ―
• Beta (1Y): 1.25
• Revenue Growth: -0.61%
• EPS Growth: -200.32%
• Country: US
• Employees: 7,300
• Sector: Consumer Cyclical
• Sector Strength: 77
• Industry: Restaurants
• EPS (TTM): -0.20
• Shares Outstanding: 45,943,640
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 123,668
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 99,154
• PEG Ratio: 0.11
• Price to Book (P/B): -6.92
• Price to Sales (P/S): 0.00
• P/FCF Ratio: -1.84
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 8.62
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 0.17
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 5.86
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 7.68
• 1Y Price Target: $3.00
• Price Target Upside: 248.84% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Moderate Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 2

Noodles & Co's stock is currently facing significant financial challenges with declining revenues and profitability. Despite strategic initiatives and leadership changes aimed at driving growth, the current financial instability and negative valuation metrics weigh heavily on the stock's outlook. Technical indicators suggest potential for a rebound, but overall, the stock remains a high-risk investment given its current financial position.

Positive Factors

Brand Awareness

Steve Kennedy, recently hired as Noodles CMO, has expanded the platforms for customer messaging, contributing to a double-digit increase in brand awareness, brand search traffic, and app sessions.

Customer Response

The new menu launch has seen strong initial response from customers, with several dishes selling more strongly than what management had seen in test markets.

Loyalty Program

The Noodles Rewards loyalty program has seen significant increases in both loyalty sign-up rates and loyalty transactions since the new menu launch.

Negative Factors

Cost Pressures

Restaurant level margin was down driven largely by higher commodity costs and costs pressures related to the menu launch.

Restaurant Margin

Restaurant level margin of 11.2% was down 350bps y-o-y driven largely by a 230bps increase in cost of goods sold.

Noodles & Co Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Noodles & Company (NDLS) is a fast-casual restaurant chain that specializes in serving globally inspired noodle dishes, pasta, salads, and soups. Established in 1995 and headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, the company operates in the restaurant sector, offering a variety of dishes that cater to diverse taste preferences, including options for vegetarians and people with dietary restrictions. With locations across the United States, Noodles & Company aims to provide fresh and customizable meals for dine-in, takeout, and delivery.

How the Company Makes Money

Noodles & Company generates revenue primarily through the sale of food and beverages at its restaurant locations. The company operates a combination of company-owned and franchised stores, with the majority of revenue coming from company-owned restaurants. Additionally, Noodles & Company benefits from digital sales through its online ordering platform and mobile app, which facilitate takeout and delivery options. The company also engages in strategic marketing partnerships and loyalty programs to increase customer engagement and drive repeat business. Other revenue streams include franchise fees and royalties from franchised locations.

Noodles & Co Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Noodles & Co faces significant financial challenges, including declining profitability, high leverage, and negative free cash flow. Operational inefficiencies and a high debt-to-equity ratio indicate financial instability.

Income Statement

Noodles & Co has faced challenges with profitability as reflected in negative EBIT and net income figures in recent years. The gross profit margin shows a decline, and revenue growth is inconsistent, indicating potential operational inefficiencies.

Balance Sheet

The company has a concerning negative stockholders' equity, indicating high leverage and financial instability. The debt-to-equity ratio is high, reflecting potential risk from heavy reliance on debt financing.

Cash Flow

Operating cash flow remains positive, but free cash flow is negative, highlighting cash flow management issues. The operating cash flow to net income ratio indicates some ability to convert earnings into cash.

Breakdown
Dec 2024	Mar 2024	Mar 2023	Dec 2021	Dec 2020
Income Statement		Total Revenue
493.27M	503.40M	509.48M	475.15M	393.65M
	Gross Profit
168.96M	84.21M	80.17M	82.08M	51.54M
	EBIT
-27.78M	-5.03M	5.33M	11.54M	-13.49M
	EBITDA
1.29M	21.76M	22.44M	28.15M	1.68M
	Net Income Common Stockholders
-36.21M	-9.86M	-3.31M	3.67M	-23.26M
Balance Sheet		Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments
1.15M	3.01M	1.52M	2.25M	7.84M
	Total Assets
324.65M	368.10M	343.84M	341.46M	353.63M
	Total Debt
291.50M	300.41M	264.16M	249.78M	280.42M
	Net Debt
290.35M	297.40M	262.64M	247.52M	272.58M
	Total Liabilities
330.23M	340.94M	305.48M	303.83M	323.93M
	Stockholders Equity
-5.58M	27.16M	38.36M	37.63M	29.70M
Cash Flow		Free Cash Flow
-21.21M	-24.55M	-24.33M	17.39M	-2.66M
	Operating Cash Flow
7.56M	27.50M	9.56M	36.16M	9.12M
	Investing Cash Flow
-26.71M	-51.80M	-32.31M	-18.37M	-10.95M
	Financing Cash Flow
17.29M	25.80M	22.02M	-23.38M	-798.00K

Noodles & Co Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Negative
• Last Price: 0.86
• 50DMA: Negative
• 100DMA: Negative
• 200DMA: Negative
• MACD: Positive
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Positive

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For NDLS, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 0.86 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 0.93, below the 50-day MA of 1.03, and below the 200-day MA of 1.14, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -0.05 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 39.19 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 19.37 is Positive, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for NDLS.

Noodles & Co Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
RAVE	76 Outperform	$37.38M	14.75	21.75%	―	2.93%	20.81%
PBPB	73 Outperform	$307.15M	7.29	117.47%	―	-3.96%	1036.87%
BDL	63 Neutral	$44.10M	13.35	5.48%	2.11%	8.87%	-5.22%
Sector *	61 Neutral	$6.98B	11.29	2.93%	3.90%	2.60%	-21.72%
FAT	41 Neutral	$46.77M	―	38.50%	21.45%	10.63%	-93.67%
NDLS	41 Neutral	$38.18M	―	-978.37%	―	-0.61%	-200.32%
RRGB	38 Underperform	$53.74M	―	92.02%	―	-4.19%	-266.52%

Noodles & Co Corporate Events

Noodles & Co Re-elects Directors at Annual Meeting

Noodles & Co held its annual meeting of stockholders on May 14, 2025. Shareholders voted to re-elect three Class III directors, approve executive compensation, set the frequency of future advisory votes on executive compensation to one year, and ratify Ernst & Young LLP as the independent registered public accounting firm for 2025. A stockholder proposal for simple majority voting requirements was not approved.

The most recent analyst rating on (NDLS) stock is a Buy with a $4.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Noodles & Co stock, see the NDLS Stock Forecast page.

Spark’s Take on NDLS Stock

According to Spark, TipRanks’ AI Analyst, NDLS is a Neutral.

Noodles & Co’s stock is currently facing significant financial challenges with declining revenues and profitability. Despite strategic initiatives and leadership changes aimed at driving growth, the current financial instability and negative valuation metrics weigh heavily on the stock’s outlook. Technical indicators suggest potential for a rebound, but overall, the stock remains a high-risk investment given its current financial position.

To see Spark’s full report on NDLS stock, click here.

Noodles & Co Appoints Joe Christina as President and COO

Noodles & Company announced the appointment of Joe Christina as President and Chief Operating Officer on February 18, 2025. With over 30 years of experience in the restaurant industry, Christina is expected to enhance operations and human resources, leveraging his expertise to drive growth and innovation. His previous roles include significant leadership positions at Burger King and Church’s Chicken, where he successfully led brands to growth. Christina will oversee the introduction of a new menu and focus on operational excellence, menu innovation, and expanding catering services to unlock new growth opportunities. He succeeds Brad West, who retired as COO but will remain as Chief of Staff until June 2025 to ensure a smooth transition.