In This Article:
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Total Revenue: Decreased 2% to $121.8 million in Q4 2024.
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System-wide Comparable Sales: Increased 0.8% in Q4 2024.
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Company-Owned Restaurant Sales: Increased 0.5% in Q4 2024.
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Franchise Restaurant Sales: Increased 1.9% in Q4 2024.
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Net Loss: $9.7 million or $0.21 per diluted share in Q4 2024.
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Adjusted EBITDA: $4 million in Q4 2024, down from $7.5 million in Q4 2023.
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Restaurant Level Contribution Margin: 11.2%, down from 14.7% in Q4 2023.
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Labor Costs: 32.3% of sales, up 30 basis points from the prior year.
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G&A Expenses: $11.3 million in Q4 2024, down from $13.9 million in Q4 2023.
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Capital Expenditures: $29 million in 2024, down from $52 million in 2023.
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Debt Balance: $103 million at the end of 2024.
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Store Closures: 6 company-owned and 3 franchise restaurants closed in Q4 2024.
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2025 Revenue Guidance: Expected between $503 million to $512 million.
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2025 Restaurant Contribution Margin Guidance: Between 12.5% and 14.0%.
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2025 Capital Expenditures Guidance: Estimated between $11 million to $13 million.
Release Date: March 06, 2025
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Positive Points
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Noodles & Co (NASDAQ:NDLS) experienced a significant improvement in sales during Q4 2024, driven by improved traffic and new menu items.
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System-wide comparable sales increased by 0.8%, with traffic nearly flat at minus 0.1%, indicating stabilization.
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The company saw a strong start to Q1 2025 with over 3% comp sales growth, including positive traffic.
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Noodles & Co (NASDAQ:NDLS) achieved its largest single-month increase in overall guest satisfaction in January.
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The company is undergoing a major menu transformation, introducing 9 new dishes, which has shown increased guest satisfaction in test markets.
Negative Points
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Total revenue for Q4 2024 decreased by 2% compared to the previous year, reaching $121.8 million.
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The restaurant level contribution margin decreased to 11.2% from 14.7% in Q4 2023.
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Net loss for Q4 2024 was $9.7 million, compared to a net loss of $6.1 million in the previous year.
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Labor costs increased by 30 basis points to 32.3% of sales, driven by traffic de-leverage and discounting.
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The company plans to close 12 to 15 company-owned and four franchise restaurants in 2025, indicating ongoing challenges in certain locations.
Q & A Highlights
Q: What areas are seeing the most improvement in guest satisfaction scores, and how is this influencing upcoming decisions? A: Andrew Madsen, CEO, highlighted significant improvements in areas directly related to traffic growth, such as overall satisfaction, taste of food, and accuracy. These improvements are crucial as they drive traffic growth and are informing strategic decisions moving forward.