Noodles & Company Hits Record Milestones in Q2 2026, Raises Guidance Amid Strong Sales Growth
Noodles & Company, a leading fast-casual chain, has reported an impressive set of results for its second quarter 2026 earnings call. The company's strong momentum has continued across the system, with significant improvements in restaurant-level margins, adjusted EBITDA, and comparable restaurant sales.
The key highlights from Q2 2026 include a 400-basis-point increase in restaurant-level margins to over 17%, a level not seen at Noodles in the past five years. Adjusted EBITDA increased approximately 80% in the second quarter, with more than double adjusted EBITDA compared to the same period last year through the first half of the year.
The company's comparable restaurant sales have been positive and increasingly positive for the last 18 months, exceeding the fast-casual Black Box index for the last 12 months. Quarter-to-date company-owned comparable sales are up approximately 10% in the third quarter, demonstrating continued strong sales performance.
Noodles & Company's CEO, Joe Cristina, attributed the success to consistently executing the fundamentals that drive this business, including running better restaurants, creating great food, engaging guests through a more disciplined and connected marketing approach, and closing underperforming locations. The company's high mix of off-premise sales combined with strong brand recognition has resulted in a transfer of approximately a third of sales from closed restaurants on average to nearby higher-performing restaurants.
These results have given the company confidence to raise its fiscal 2026 guidance for revenue, margins, and adjusted EBITDA. When combined with expectations to further pay down debt with free cash flow, Noodles & Company now expects its year-end debt balance to be at or below three times 2026 adjusted EBITDA.
According to Mike Hynes, Chief Financial Officer, the company's strong performance showcases that progress is happening faster than even they anticipated. The results reinforce their confidence in the long-term sustainability of the improvements made in the business and demonstrate a commitment to delivering a consistently great guest experience, relevant innovation to the menu, disciplined marketing approaches, and closing underperforming locations.
