Noodles & Company closed dozens of restaurants last year. Here’s why is the stock price soaring in 2026

The fast-casual chain has been optimizing its store footprint. This week, it said restaurant closures have boosted sales at nearby locations.

[Photo: Kristina Blokhin/Adobe Stock]

As part of a strategic move to optimize its store footprint, Noodles & Company closed 33 company-owned restaurants in 2025. In January, the chain said it would close dozens more stores this year.

However, despite the shrinking restaurant count, sales have grown. 

The fast-casual eatery held its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings call on Wednesday, March 25. It reported that comparable store sales increased 6.6% in the final quarter of 2025. Sales growth and traffic are also up as of early 2026.

Following the strong earnings report, shares of Noodles & Company (Nasdaq: NDLS) soared over 50% on Thursday.

The stock is up almost 60% year to date as of premarket trading on Friday. That’s a significant contrast to the broader Nasdaq Composite, which is down 7.78% for 2026 so far.

How store closures have helped same-store sales

Despite having closed more than 30 stores in 2025, Noodles & Company reported system-wide comparable store sales growth of nearly 7% in the fourth quarter of 2025. 

On Wednesday’s earnings call, CEO Joe Christina told investors that the restaurant closures “resulted in a material transfer of sales to nearby locations . . . which also favorably impacted margins.”

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