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Side-by-side financial comparison of NOODLES & Co (NDLS) and UPWORK, INC (UPWK). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
UPWORK, INC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($198.4M vs $122.1M, roughly 1.6× NOODLES & Co). UPWORK, INC runs the higher net margin — 7.9% vs -7.5%, a 15.4% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, UPWORK, INC posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (3.6% vs -4.1%). UPWORK, INC produced more free cash flow last quarter ($63.2M vs $-2.8M). Over the past eight quarters, UPWORK, INC's revenue compounded faster (1.9% CAGR vs -1.2%).
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.
Upwork Inc. is an American freelancing platform headquartered in Santa Clara and San Francisco, California. The company was formed in 2013 as Elance-oDesk after the merger of Elance Inc. and oDesk Corp. The merged company was subsequently rebranded as Upwork in 2015.
NDLS vs UPWK — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q3 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $122.1M | $198.4M |
| Net Profit | $-9.2M | $15.6M |
| Gross Margin | — | 78.0% |
| Operating Margin | -5.2% | 14.3% |
| Net Margin | -7.5% | 7.9% |
| Revenue YoY | -4.1% | 3.6% |
| Net Profit YoY | 32.8% | -89.4% |
| EPS (diluted) | $-0.20 | $0.12 |
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.
| Q4 25 | — | $198.4M | ||
| Q3 25 | $122.1M | $201.7M | ||
| Q2 25 | $123.8M | $194.9M | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $192.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $122.8M | $191.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | $127.4M | $193.8M | ||
| Q2 24 | $121.4M | $193.1M | ||
| Q1 24 | $124.3M | $190.9M |
| Q4 25 | — | $15.6M | ||
| Q3 25 | $-9.2M | $29.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $-9.1M | $32.7M | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $37.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $-6.8M | $147.2M | ||
| Q3 24 | $-13.6M | $27.8M | ||
| Q2 24 | $-6.1M | $22.2M | ||
| Q1 24 | $-6.1M | $18.4M |
| Q4 25 | — | 78.0% | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 77.3% | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 77.7% | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 78.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 77.7% | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 77.6% | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 77.3% | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 76.9% |
| Q4 25 | — | 14.3% | ||
| Q3 25 | -5.2% | 14.8% | ||
| Q2 25 | -5.2% | 16.7% | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 20.1% | ||
| Q4 24 | -3.9% | 7.1% | ||
| Q3 24 | -9.0% | 10.7% | ||
| Q2 24 | -3.4% | 9.2% | ||
| Q1 24 | -3.7% | 6.8% |
| Q4 25 | — | 7.9% | ||
| Q3 25 | -7.5% | 14.5% | ||
| Q2 25 | -7.3% | 16.8% | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 19.6% | ||
| Q4 24 | -5.5% | 76.9% | ||
| Q3 24 | -10.7% | 14.3% | ||
| Q2 24 | -5.1% | 11.5% | ||
| Q1 24 | -4.9% | 9.7% |
| Q4 25 | — | $0.12 | ||
| Q3 25 | $-0.20 | $0.21 | ||
| Q2 25 | $-0.20 | $0.24 | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $0.27 | ||
| Q4 24 | $-0.15 | $1.02 | ||
| Q3 24 | $-0.30 | $0.20 | ||
| Q2 24 | $-0.14 | $0.17 | ||
| Q1 24 | $-1.64 | $0.13 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $4.7M | $672.8M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | — | $359.8M |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $-38.9M | $630.3M |
| Total Assets | $280.6M | $1.3B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | — | 0.57× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | — | $672.8M | ||
| Q3 25 | $4.7M | $643.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.4M | $634.6M | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $622.1M | ||
| Q4 24 | $3.3M | $622.1M | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.8M | $601.2M | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.3M | $497.7M | ||
| Q1 24 | $3.0M | $490.6M |
| Q4 25 | — | $359.8M | ||
| Q3 25 | — | $359.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | — | — | ||
| Q1 25 | — | — | ||
| Q4 24 | — | $357.9M | ||
| Q3 24 | — | — | ||
| Q2 24 | — | — | ||
| Q1 24 | — | — |
| Q4 25 | — | $630.3M | ||
| Q3 25 | $-38.9M | $628.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $-13.9M | $608.7M | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $594.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $3.7M | $575.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $9.6M | $411.2M | ||
| Q2 24 | $21.9M | $361.1M | ||
| Q1 24 | $27.2M | $348.9M |
| Q4 25 | — | $1.3B | ||
| Q3 25 | $280.6M | $1.3B | ||
| Q2 25 | $319.4M | $1.3B | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $1.2B | ||
| Q4 24 | $340.5M | $1.2B | ||
| Q3 24 | $346.3M | $1.1B | ||
| Q2 24 | $360.4M | $1.0B | ||
| Q1 24 | $368.1M | $1.0B |
| Q4 25 | — | 0.57× | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 0.57× | ||
| Q2 25 | — | — | ||
| Q1 25 | — | — | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 0.62× | ||
| Q3 24 | — | — | ||
| Q2 24 | — | — | ||
| Q1 24 | — | — |
Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency
How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | $4.3M | $63.7M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $-2.8M | $63.2M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | -2.3% | 31.9% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 5.8% | 0.2% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | — | 4.07× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $-7.5M | $242.5M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | — | $63.7M | ||
| Q3 25 | $4.3M | $75.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $4.0M | $72.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $37.0M | ||
| Q4 24 | $5.8M | $38.6M | ||
| Q3 24 | $4.7M | $61.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $7.0M | $39.2M | ||
| Q1 24 | $164.0K | $14.8M |
| Q4 25 | — | $63.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $-2.8M | $74.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.1M | $70.1M | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $34.5M | ||
| Q4 24 | $-1.3M | $37.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $-4.5M | $59.8M | ||
| Q2 24 | $-1.6M | $38.6M | ||
| Q1 24 | $-15.2M | $14.6M |
| Q4 25 | — | 31.9% | ||
| Q3 25 | -2.3% | 37.0% | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.9% | 36.0% | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 17.9% | ||
| Q4 24 | -1.1% | 19.3% | ||
| Q3 24 | -3.5% | 30.8% | ||
| Q2 24 | -1.4% | 20.0% | ||
| Q1 24 | -12.2% | 7.7% |
| Q4 25 | — | 0.2% | ||
| Q3 25 | 5.8% | 0.2% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.4% | 1.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 1.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | 5.8% | 0.8% | ||
| Q3 24 | 7.2% | 0.6% | ||
| Q2 24 | 7.1% | 0.3% | ||
| Q1 24 | 12.3% | 0.1% |
| Q4 25 | — | 4.07× | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 2.56× | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 2.22× | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 0.98× | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 0.26× | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 2.20× | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 1.76× | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 0.80× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
NDLS
| Food And Beverage | $119.6M | 98% |
| Franchise | $2.5M | 2% |
UPWK
Segment breakdown not available.
