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Side-by-side financial comparison of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (BFST) and NOODLES & Co (NDLS). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

NOODLES & Co is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($122.1M vs $83.1M, roughly 1.5× Business First Bancshares, Inc.). On growth, Business First Bancshares, Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (7.1% vs -4.1%). Business First Bancshares, Inc. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($92.0M vs $-2.8M). Over the past eight quarters, Business First Bancshares, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (16.8% CAGR vs -1.2%).

First Citizens Bancshares, Inc. is a bank holding company based in Raleigh, North Carolina and one of the largest banks in the United States. Its primary subsidiary is First Citizens Bank, which operates over 500 branches in 23 states. A second subsidiary is Silicon Valley Bank, which operates 39 offices in 15 states.

Noodles & Company is an American fast-casual restaurant that offers international and American noodle dishes in addition to soups and salads. Noodles & Company was founded in 1995 by Aaron Kennedy and is headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado. The company went public in 2013 and recorded a $457 million revenue in 2017. In mid-2022, there were 458 Noodles & Company locations across 31 states.

BFST vs NDLS — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
NDLS
NDLS
1.5× larger
NDLS
$122.1M
$83.1M
BFST
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
BFST
BFST
+11.2% gap
BFST
7.1%
-4.1%
NDLS
More free cash flow
BFST
BFST
$94.8M more FCF
BFST
$92.0M
$-2.8M
NDLS
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
BFST
BFST
Annualised
BFST
16.8%
-1.2%
NDLS

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q3 FY2025

Metric
BFST
BFST
NDLS
NDLS
Revenue
$83.1M
$122.1M
Net Profit
$-9.2M
Gross Margin
Operating Margin
33.2%
-5.2%
Net Margin
-7.5%
Revenue YoY
7.1%
-4.1%
Net Profit YoY
32.8%
EPS (diluted)
$0.71
$-0.20

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
BFST
BFST
NDLS
NDLS
Q4 25
$83.1M
Q3 25
$80.9M
$122.1M
Q2 25
$81.5M
$123.8M
Q1 25
$79.2M
Q4 24
$77.6M
$122.8M
Q3 24
$66.9M
$127.4M
Q2 24
$66.2M
$121.4M
Q1 24
$60.9M
$124.3M
Net Profit
BFST
BFST
NDLS
NDLS
Q4 25
Q3 25
$22.9M
$-9.2M
Q2 25
$22.1M
$-9.1M
Q1 25
$20.5M
Q4 24
$-6.8M
Q3 24
$17.8M
$-13.6M
Q2 24
$17.2M
$-6.1M
Q1 24
$13.6M
$-6.1M
Operating Margin
BFST
BFST
NDLS
NDLS
Q4 25
33.2%
Q3 25
35.7%
-5.2%
Q2 25
34.4%
-5.2%
Q1 25
32.6%
Q4 24
27.5%
-3.9%
Q3 24
34.0%
-9.0%
Q2 24
32.9%
-3.4%
Q1 24
28.2%
-3.7%
Net Margin
BFST
BFST
NDLS
NDLS
Q4 25
Q3 25
28.2%
-7.5%
Q2 25
27.1%
-7.3%
Q1 25
25.9%
Q4 24
-5.5%
Q3 24
26.7%
-10.7%
Q2 24
26.0%
-5.1%
Q1 24
22.3%
-4.9%
EPS (diluted)
BFST
BFST
NDLS
NDLS
Q4 25
$0.71
Q3 25
$0.73
$-0.20
Q2 25
$0.70
$-0.20
Q1 25
$0.65
Q4 24
$0.51
$-0.15
Q3 24
$0.65
$-0.30
Q2 24
$0.62
$-0.14
Q1 24
$0.48
$-1.64

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
BFST
BFST
NDLS
NDLS
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$411.2M
$4.7M
Total DebtLower is stronger
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$896.9M
$-38.9M
Total Assets
$8.2B
$280.6M
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
BFST
BFST
NDLS
NDLS
Q4 25
$411.2M
Q3 25
$399.1M
$4.7M
Q2 25
$495.8M
$1.4M
Q1 25
$312.9M
Q4 24
$319.1M
$3.3M
Q3 24
$213.2M
$1.8M
Q2 24
$208.1M
$1.3M
Q1 24
$185.9M
$3.0M
Stockholders' Equity
BFST
BFST
NDLS
NDLS
Q4 25
$896.9M
Q3 25
$878.4M
$-38.9M
Q2 25
$848.4M
$-13.9M
Q1 25
$826.3M
Q4 24
$799.5M
$3.7M
Q3 24
$699.5M
$9.6M
Q2 24
$664.5M
$21.9M
Q1 24
$649.0M
$27.2M
Total Assets
BFST
BFST
NDLS
NDLS
Q4 25
$8.2B
Q3 25
$8.0B
$280.6M
Q2 25
$7.9B
$319.4M
Q1 25
$7.8B
Q4 24
$7.9B
$340.5M
Q3 24
$6.9B
$346.3M
Q2 24
$6.7B
$360.4M
Q1 24
$6.7B
$368.1M

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
BFST
BFST
NDLS
NDLS
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$92.1M
$4.3M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$92.0M
$-2.8M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
110.7%
-2.3%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
0.1%
5.8%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$165.6M
$-7.5M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
BFST
BFST
NDLS
NDLS
Q4 25
$92.1M
Q3 25
$32.4M
$4.3M
Q2 25
$14.0M
$4.0M
Q1 25
$28.7M
Q4 24
$61.4M
$5.8M
Q3 24
$21.4M
$4.7M
Q2 24
$15.1M
$7.0M
Q1 24
$7.6M
$164.0K
Free Cash Flow
BFST
BFST
NDLS
NDLS
Q4 25
$92.0M
Q3 25
$32.1M
$-2.8M
Q2 25
$13.8M
$1.1M
Q1 25
$27.7M
Q4 24
$59.8M
$-1.3M
Q3 24
$21.0M
$-4.5M
Q2 24
$14.0M
$-1.6M
Q1 24
$7.2M
$-15.2M
FCF Margin
BFST
BFST
NDLS
NDLS
Q4 25
110.7%
Q3 25
39.6%
-2.3%
Q2 25
16.9%
0.9%
Q1 25
34.9%
Q4 24
77.1%
-1.1%
Q3 24
31.4%
-3.5%
Q2 24
21.2%
-1.4%
Q1 24
11.8%
-12.2%
Capex Intensity
BFST
BFST
NDLS
NDLS
Q4 25
0.1%
Q3 25
0.4%
5.8%
Q2 25
0.3%
2.4%
Q1 25
1.3%
Q4 24
2.0%
5.8%
Q3 24
0.6%
7.2%
Q2 24
1.6%
7.1%
Q1 24
0.6%
12.3%
Cash Conversion
BFST
BFST
NDLS
NDLS
Q4 25
Q3 25
1.42×
Q2 25
0.63×
Q1 25
1.40×
Q4 24
Q3 24
1.20×
Q2 24
0.88×
Q1 24
0.56×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

BFST
BFST

Segment breakdown not available.

NDLS
NDLS

Food And Beverage$119.6M98%
Franchise$2.5M2%

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