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Side-by-side financial comparison of NOODLES & Co (NDLS) and Zhihu Inc. (ZH). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
NOODLES & Co is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($122.1M vs $92.0M, roughly 1.3× Zhihu Inc.). Zhihu Inc. runs the higher net margin — 32.7% vs -7.5%, a 40.2% gap on every dollar of revenue. Over the past eight quarters, NOODLES & Co's revenue compounded faster (-1.2% CAGR vs -19.0%).
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.
Zhihu is a Chinese social question and answer site and news aggregator. Originally based in Chengdu and with creators from Sichuan, China, the website launched on January 26, 2011. The number of registered users on Zhihu exceeded 10 million by the end of 2013, and reached 17 million as of May 2015, with 250 million monthly page views.
NDLS vs ZH — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q3 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $122.1M | $92.0M |
| Net Profit | $-9.2M | $30.1M |
| Gross Margin | — | 53.6% |
| Operating Margin | -5.2% | — |
| Net Margin | -7.5% | 32.7% |
| Revenue YoY | -4.1% | — |
| Net Profit YoY | 32.8% | — |
| EPS (diluted) | $-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.
| Q1 26 | — | $92.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $122.1M | $92.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $123.8M | $100.1M | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $100.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $122.8M | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $127.4M | $120.4M | ||
| Q2 24 | $121.4M | $128.5M | ||
| Q1 24 | $124.3M | $133.1M |
| Q1 26 | — | $30.1M | ||
| Q3 25 | $-9.2M | — | ||
| Q2 25 | $-9.1M | — | ||
| Q1 25 | — | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $-6.8M | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $-13.6M | $-1.3M | ||
| Q2 24 | $-6.1M | $-11.1M | ||
| Q1 24 | $-6.1M | $-23.0M |
| Q1 26 | — | 53.6% | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 61.3% | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 62.5% | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 61.8% | ||
| Q4 24 | — | — | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 63.9% | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 59.6% | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 56.6% |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q3 25 | -5.2% | -15.1% | ||
| Q2 25 | -5.2% | -12.7% | ||
| Q1 25 | — | — | ||
| Q4 24 | -3.9% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | -9.0% | -10.0% | ||
| Q2 24 | -3.4% | -19.7% | ||
| Q1 24 | -3.7% | -23.4% |
| Q1 26 | — | 32.7% | ||
| Q3 25 | -7.5% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | -7.3% | — | ||
| Q1 25 | — | — | ||
| Q4 24 | -5.5% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | -10.7% | -1.1% | ||
| Q2 24 | -5.1% | -8.6% | ||
| Q1 24 | -4.9% | -17.3% |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $-0.20 | — | ||
| Q2 25 | $-0.20 | — | ||
| Q1 25 | — | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $-0.15 | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $-0.30 | — | ||
| Q2 24 | $-0.14 | — | ||
| Q1 24 | $-1.64 | — |
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 | $481.8M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | — | — |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $-38.9M | $554.1M |
| Total Assets | $280.6M | $742.3M |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | — | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | $481.8M | ||
| Q3 25 | $4.7M | $383.5M | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.4M | $446.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $446.5M | ||
| Q4 24 | $3.3M | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.8M | $458.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.3M | $434.7M | ||
| Q1 24 | $3.0M | $303.9M |
| Q1 26 | — | $554.1M | ||
| Q3 25 | $-38.9M | $578.9M | ||
| Q2 25 | $-13.9M | $587.4M | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $573.2M | ||
| Q4 24 | $3.7M | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $9.6M | $619.2M | ||
| Q2 24 | $21.9M | $605.5M | ||
| Q1 24 | $27.2M | $624.3M |
| Q1 26 | — | $742.3M | ||
| Q3 25 | $280.6M | $772.8M | ||
| Q2 25 | $319.4M | $802.2M | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $783.1M | ||
| Q4 24 | $340.5M | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $346.3M | $856.2M | ||
| Q2 24 | $360.4M | $840.5M | ||
| Q1 24 | $368.1M | $905.1M |
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 | — |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $-2.8M | — |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | -2.3% | — |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 5.8% | — |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | — | — |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $-7.5M | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $4.3M | — | ||
| Q2 25 | $4.0M | — | ||
| Q1 25 | — | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $5.8M | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $4.7M | — | ||
| Q2 24 | $7.0M | — | ||
| Q1 24 | $164.0K | — |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $-2.8M | — | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.1M | — | ||
| Q1 25 | — | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $-1.3M | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $-4.5M | — | ||
| Q2 24 | $-1.6M | — | ||
| Q1 24 | $-15.2M | — |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q3 25 | -2.3% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.9% | — | ||
| Q1 25 | — | — | ||
| Q4 24 | -1.1% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | -3.5% | — | ||
| Q2 24 | -1.4% | — | ||
| Q1 24 | -12.2% | — |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 5.8% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.4% | — | ||
| Q1 25 | — | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 5.8% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 7.2% | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 7.1% | — | ||
| Q1 24 | 12.3% | — |
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% |
ZH
Segment breakdown not available.
