Liquidity remains a critical concern as the company maintains a minimal cash balance of $1.4 million, struggling to generate consistent free cash flow despite a 3.2% FCF margin in 2026Q1.
Noodles & Company (NDLS) cash flow statement — 15-year operating, investing & financing cash flows
| Metric | TTM | Dec'25 | Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Dec'20 | Dec'19 | Dec'18 | Dec'17 | Dec'16 | Dec'15 | Dec'14 | Dec'13 | Dec'12 | Dec'11 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 13.42M | 7.28M | 7.56M | 27.5M | 9.56M | 36.16M | 9.12M | 30.06M | 5.35M | 4.1M | 24.74M | 44.51M | 49.03M | 43.63M | 32.07M | 27.92M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 1.47% | 1.53% | 5.46% | 1.88% | 7.61% | 2.32% | 6.5% | 1.17% | 0.9% | 5.07% | 9.77% | 12.14% | 12.43% | 10.68% | 10.9% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 615.31% | -3.66% | -72.5% | 187.69% | -73.57% | 296.37% | -69.65% | 462.29% | 30.33% | -83.42% | -44.42% | -9.22% | 12.36% | 36.06% | 14.85% | - |
| Net Income | -23.33M | -42.57M | -36.21M | -9.86M | -3.31M | 3.67M | -23.26M | 1.65M | -8.44M | -37.48M | -71.68M | -13.77M | 11.43M | 6.67M | 5.16M | 3.83M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 24.7M | 27.05M | 29.07M | 26.79M | 23.27M | 22.33M | 21.71M | 22.09M | 22.87M | 24.61M | 28.13M | 27.8M | 24.79M | 20.62M | 16.72M | 14.5M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 2.26M | 3M | 3.72M | 4.24M | 4.33M | 4.11M | 2.5M | 2.44M | 2.98M | 1.51M | 2.32M | 1.47M | 1.33M | 4.23M | 1.23M | 1.33M |
| Deferred Taxes | 23K | 40K | 21K | 26K | -40K | 29K | 40K | 68K | -283K | -228K | 1.1M | -8.88M | 6.33M | 4.21M | 2.61M | 1.52M |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 16.7M | 23.04M | 14.89M | 4.14M | 2.98M | 3.58M | 4.95M | 8.54M | 7.86M | 31.39M | 45.18M | 29.02M | 1.24M | 1.43M | 4.14M | 3.42M |
| Working Capital Changes | -6.93M | -3.27M | -3.93M | 2.16M | -17.67M | 2.45M | 3.18M | -4.72M | -19.64M | -15.71M | 19.68M | 8.85M | 3.91M | 6.49M | 2.21M | 3.32M |
| Change in Receivables | -1.02M | -171K | 1.09M | 1.2M | -2.58M | -491K | -392K | -630K | 91K | 2.98M | -443K | -437K | -75K | 538K | -1.1M | 166K |
| Change in Inventory | 73K | -613K | -702K | -303K | -743K | -382K | 61K | -625K | -541K | -387K | -790K | -1.06M | -1.84M | -1.18M | -1.45M | -680K |
| Change in Payables | -1.6M | 3.92M | -1.94M | 2.21M | -563K | 4.69M | -1.29M | 406K | -1.58M | -1.3M | -2.44M | 2.79M | 2.66M | -230K | -155K | 80K |
| Cash from Investing | -9.66M | -12.39M | -26.71M | -51.8M | -32.31M | -18.37M | -10.95M | -18.44M | -13.84M | -20.83M | -42.76M | -50.72M | -72.06M | -54.43M | -47.38M | -30.05M |
| Capital Expenditures | -9.66M | -12.39M | -28.77M | -52.04M | -33.89M | -18.78M | -11.78M | -18.79M | -14.34M | -20.83M | -43.34M | -50.72M | -72.06M | -54.43M | -47.38M | -30.05M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 1.95% | 2.5% | 5.83% | 10.34% | 6.65% | 3.95% | 2.99% | 4.06% | 3.13% | 4.56% | 8.89% | 11.14% | 17.85% | 15.51% | 15.77% | 11.73% |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.39M | 0 | 0 | 0 | -628K | -15.71M | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 0 | 0 | 2.05M | 243K | 1.58M | 406K | 837K | 1.74M | 500K | 0 | 578K | 628K | 15.71M | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Financing | -4.73M | 5.23M | 17.29M | 25.8M | 22.02M | -23.38M | -798K | -5.82M | 9.79M | 18.27M | 17.9M | 6.36M | 23.97M | 11.18M | 15.37M | -10.65M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -4.45M | 5.38M | 18.38M | 32.12M | 23.45M | -23.48M | 107K | -4.65M | -12.24M | -26.58M | 17.15M | 40.75M | 21.19M | -88.17M | 16.15M | -3.93M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | -148K | 0 | 0 | -4.98M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45.7M | 0 | -35M | -71K | 97.29M | -48K | -133K |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4.98M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -35M | -71K | -2.78M | -48K | -133K |
| Other Financing | -132K | -157K | -1.09M | -1.34M | -1.43M | 101K | -905K | -1.17M | 22.03M | -855K | 753K | 609K | 2.85M | 2.06M | -727K | -6.59M |
| Net Change in Cash | -2.23M | 116K | -1.86M | 1.49M | -732K | -5.58M | -2.62M | 5.8M | 1.29M | 1.52M | -75K | 6K | 938K | 387K | 58K | -12.78M |
| Free Cash Flow | 3.76M | -5.11M | -21.21M | -24.55M | -24.33M | 17.39M | -2.66M | 11.27M | -8.99M | -16.73M | -18.6M | -6.21M | -23.03M | -10.79M | -15.31M | -2.13M |
| FCF Margin % | 0.76% | -1.03% | -4.3% | -4.88% | -4.78% | 3.66% | -0.68% | 2.44% | -1.96% | -3.66% | -3.82% | -1.36% | -5.7% | -3.08% | -5.1% | -0.83% |
| FCF Growth % | 120.62% | 75.9% | 13.61% | -0.9% | -239.91% | 754.21% | -123.59% | 225.32% | 46.24% | 10.07% | -199.24% | 73.02% | -113.37% | 29.51% | -620.71% | - |
| FCF per Share | 0.63 | -0.87 | -3.73 | -4.28 | -4.24 | 3.02 | -0.48 | 2.00 | -1.70 | -3.54 | -5.35 | -1.72 | -5.94 | -3.12 | -4.28 | -0.59 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | -0.16x | -0.17x | -0.21x | -2.79x | -2.88x | 9.87x | -0.39x | 18.25x | -0.63x | -0.09x | -0.35x | -3.23x | 4.29x | 6.55x | 6.21x | 7.29x |
| Interest Paid | 2.45M | 0 | 7.5M | 3.98M | 1.5M | 1.4M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.4M | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 7K | 0 | 25K | 158K | 123K | 106K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 509K | 0 |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying NDLS stock.
Noodles & Company (NDLS) generated $7.3M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Noodles & Company (NDLS) reported negative free cash flow of $5.1M in 2025, indicating capital requirements exceeded cash from operations.
Noodles & Company (NDLS) spent $12.4M on capital expenditures in 2025. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
Liquidity and solvency constraints
Metrics are mathematically derived from official filings.
Earnings Quality Disconnected From Cash
As reported in recent financial statements, the relationship between net income and operating cash flow is highly erratic, with OCF/NI ratios frequently swinging into negative territory, indicating that reported losses do not consistently capture the underlying cash burn inherent in the company's current operational model.
The persistent divergence between net losses and operating cash flow suggests that non-cash charges, such as depreciation and amortization, are masking the true cash-generative capacity of the restaurant portfolio. Investors should monitor whether this volatility reflects genuine operational instability or merely the timing of working capital fluctuations.
Free Cash Flow Remains Highly Volatile
Based on the provided quarterly data, free cash flow margins have fluctuated wildly between -12.2% and 3.2%, demonstrating that the company lacks a stable trajectory for self-funding its operations without relying on external capital or aggressive management of its limited cash reserves.
The inability to maintain positive free cash flow over a sustained period suggests that the business model is currently unable to cover both its operating expenses and necessary capital investments. This inconsistency warrants further investigation into whether the company can achieve a sustainable inflection point without further dilutive financing.
Capital Intensity Outpacing Revenue Growth
According to historical filings, the company's capital expenditure as a percentage of revenue has shown significant variability, peaking at 12.3% in 2023Q4, which suggests that high maintenance requirements are competing with growth initiatives for the firm's extremely limited and fragile liquidity position.
The high capital intensity relative to stagnant revenue growth implies that the company is struggling to optimize its asset base. If these expenditures are primarily for maintenance rather than expansion, it suggests a potential long-term risk to the brand's competitive positioning and store-level quality.
Working Capital Swings Mask Liquidity
As evidenced by the quarterly cash flow data, working capital changes have been a primary driver of cash flow volatility, with swings as large as $10.9 million in a single quarter, highlighting the company's reliance on payables management to sustain its day-to-day operations.
The reliance on working capital fluctuations to manage cash flow suggests that the company's liquidity is highly sensitive to vendor terms and timing. This dependency may indicate that the firm has little room for error in its cash management, especially given the minimal cash balance on hand.
Hidden Costs Obscure Cash Reality
Based on the reported figures, the consistent use of stock-based compensation and significant depreciation charges suggests that the company's cash flow statement may be obscuring the true economic cost of maintaining its current store footprint and corporate overhead structure in a competitive market.
The presence of stock-based compensation, while non-cash, represents a real economic cost to shareholders that is not fully reflected in the operating cash flow. Analysts should consider whether these adjustments are effectively hiding the true extent of the company's cash burn and long-term value destruction.