Noodles & Company (Class A) (NDLS) — RQD Stock Rating Cockpit

Per the Roarable RQD rating, NDLS scores 36 out of 100, graded D-, with the verdict label "Roarable Sell — Vulnerable Balance Sheet & Flow." The five pillars are:

• Fundamental Cash Engine (5/20): The weakest reading in the framework. Per the Roarable RQD rating and market data, ROIC is -35% and FCF yield is -5.5%, meaning the business is not currently generating returns on invested capital or free cash flow relative to its valuation.
• Whale 13F Flow (14/20): Per the RQD rating, institutional accumulation and options positioning are the strongest pillar, though still below midpoint. No holder data is provided in the sources to confirm the specifics.
• Insider Conviction (3/20): The lowest pillar relative to its maximum. Per the RQD rating, SEC Form 4 and Congressional PTR flow shows little conviction signal.
• Macro Regime Fit (9/20): Per the RQD rating, beta is 1.0 and sector sensitivity is moderate-to-weak in the regime context provided.
• Forensic Balance Sheet (5/20): Per the RQD rating, Altman Z is 0.26, Piotroski F is 2/9, and Debt/Equity is 0.5. These are distress-range readings on the Altman scale and weak on the Piotroski scale.

For a prospective investor evaluating the stock today, the pattern is consistent: negative returns on capital, negative free cash flow, weak forensic health, and limited insider conviction. The upside case rests mainly on institutional positioning and the sharp recent price move (see market data), which the source data does not show is backed by improving fundamentals. The valuation is difficult to assess because P/E, EV/EBITDA, and EPS are not available in source data, so the investor cannot anchor a multiple-based view. Any thesis here depends on whether operating losses narrow, which the reported trend does not yet show.

Noodles & Company (Class A) is a NASDAQ-listed issuer in the Consumer Discretionary sector and Restaurants industry, per the company profile. The profile identifies the market capitalization as $0.1B. Source data does not describe its products, customers, or revenue model beyond the sector and industry classification.

Per the SEC financials, revenue has been roughly flat across the three periods while operating and net losses widened from FY 2023 to FY 2025. Per the market data, gross margin is 0%, operating margin is -6.4%, net margin is -8.6%, and ROIC is -35%. Per the Roarable RQD rating, the Altman Z-Score is 0.26 and the Piotroski F-Score is 2/9, with Debt/Equity of 0.5. Reported debt rose from $100.7M to $108.8M over the period while cash remained near $1M.

Per the recent news section, the headlines are:

• A Q3 2026 results announcement scheduled for November 13, 2026.
• A TradingView estimates item covering NDLS market action.
• A Simply Wall St stock analysis item.
• A Yahoo Finance item reporting a menu change as 40 locations close.
• A MarketBeat item reporting shares breaking above the 50-day moving average.
• A MarketBeat item on the Q3 2026 earnings date and estimates.

Per the same section, all items carry a YELLOW light and a MARKET WIRE impact label. The location-closure headline is the most operationally significant item in the wire. The 50-day moving average item is a price-action note only. Per the butterfly supply-chain graph, the supply chain is listed as NONE, with no butterfly links and no proprietary signals.

Per the Butterfly Supply-Chain Graph, the supply chain is NONE, with no upstream or downstream links and no proprietary signals recorded. Sector and industry are Consumer Discretionary and Restaurants. The source data does not identify specific upstream suppliers, downstream customers, or sector correlations. Investors should watch the reported location closures and the Q3 2026 results on November 13, 2026, as the most direct sources of second-order effects, but the source data does not quantify their impact.

• What drove the reported 7.52% price change and the move above the 50-day moving average, and is it tied to any fundamental development?
• What is the scale and financial impact of the reported closure of 40 locations on revenue and operating losses?
• What do P/E, EV/EBITDA, and EPS look like on a trailing or forward basis, given that these are not available in source data?
• Why did reported operating and net losses widen from FY 2023 to FY 2025 while revenue held roughly flat?
• How is the rising debt balance being serviced given negative free cash flow and minimal cash?