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

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 fo