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Companies Noodles & Co

Noodles (NDLS): executive pay, fiscal 2025

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CEO total pay$889,720CEO Joseph Christina · source
Say-on-pay support99.45%Latest vote · source
CEO vs. named peers1st pct.Of 14 peer CEOs
CEO pay ratio148:1To the median employee · source

CEO pay, last three years

  • $889,720FY2025

CEO total pay was $889,720 in fiscal 2025; the brief holds no earlier figure for this CEO.

FY2025: salary $407,116 · bonus $0 · stock awards $388,700 · option awards $0

Executives and directors

Frequently asked questions

Who was the highest-paid executive at Noodles & Co in fiscal 2025?
As disclosed, Joseph Christina (President and Chief Executive Officer) was the highest-paid executive at Noodles & Co in fiscal 2025, with total compensation of $889,720.
How does Noodles & Co's chief executive pay compare to its disclosed peer group?
As disclosed, Joseph Christina's total compensation ranked at the 1st percentile of Noodles & Co's disclosed peer group.
What is Noodles & Co's CEO-to-median employee pay ratio?
As disclosed, Noodles & Co's CEO-to-median employee pay ratio was 148:1.
How did shareholders vote on Noodles & Co's executive compensation?
As disclosed, 99.45% of shareholders supported Noodles & Co's executive compensation in the latest say-on-pay vote.
How much does Noodles & Co spend in total on board compensation for fiscal 2025?
As disclosed, Noodles & Co reported total board compensation of $826,860 for fiscal 2025.

Answers are drawn only from the figures disclosed in this brief and cited to their location in the source filing. Where a figure required for an answer is not disclosed, that is stated rather than estimated.

Full detail

Every table from the filing. Open any section.

Summary compensation table
Named executive officerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension / NQDCAll otherTotal
Joseph Christina$407,116$0$388,700$0$82,569$0$11,335$889,720
President and Chief Executive Officer
Drew Madsen547,6920296,93300024,360868,985
Former Chief Executive Officer
Mike Hynes382,611099,328051,002016,623549,564
Chief Financial Officer
Corey Kline297,541037,248026,445015,846377,080
Executive Vice President, Technology
Kathy Lockhart293,339037,248026,429019,194376,210
Chief Accounting Officer
Brad West195,4190—024,8220107,830328,071
Former Executive Vice President, Operations

A dash means the company reported no figure in that column; 0 means it reported zero. Figures are as printed in the filing, without adjustment.

Three-year trend — total compensation per named executive

Named executive officerFY2025 totalFY2024 totalFY2023 totalΔ FY2024→2025
Joseph Christina$889,720———
Drew Madsen868,9852,439,636474,000↓ −1,570,651
Mike Hynes549,564666,766390,254↓ −117,202
Corey Kline377,080402,515411,612↓ −25,435
Kathy Lockhart376,210394,591408,363↓ −18,381
Brad West328,071677,073780,729↓ −349,002

Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.

Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis

The Company's compensation philosophy is to pay non-employee directors competitively and fairly for the work performed, with a significant portion of total compensation in full-value equity awards for alignment with stockholder interests.

CEO STI target (% of salary)—
CEO LTI target (% of salary)—
Independent consultantFW Cook
Clawback policy—
Anti-hedging—
Anti-pledging—
Equity grants and outstanding awards

Grants of plan-based awards — fiscal year 2025

ExecutiveAwardGrant dateThresholdTargetGrantedMaximumGrant-date fair value
Mike HynesPSU2025-05-156,00012,000—18,000$44,160
Corey KlineRSU2025-05-15——3,000—20,688
Kathy LockhartPSU2025-05-152,2504,500—6,75016,560
Drew MadsenPSU2025-05-1520,84441,688—62,531153,410
Corey KlinePSU2025-05-152,2504,500—6,75016,560
Kathy LockhartRSU2025-05-15——3,000—20,688
Drew MadsenRSU2025-05-15——20,813—143,523
Joseph ChristinaRSU2025-03-10——20,000—388,700
Joseph ChristinaRSU2025-08-31——31,250—177,500
Mike HynesRSU2025-05-15——8,000—55,168

Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type

Named executive officerTime-vested (RSU)Performance-vested (PSU)Options / SARs% performance-vested
Mike Hynes$55,168$44,160$044.5%
Corey Kline20,68816,560044.5%
Kathy Lockhart20,68816,560044.5%
Drew Madsen143,523153,410051.7%
Joseph Christina566,200000.0%

% performance-vested = PSU grant-date fair value ÷ (RSU + PSU + Options), a computed value with the derivation shown in the register.

Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end 2025

ExecutiveAwardShares unvestedExercise priceMarket value unvested
Corey KlineRSU253—$1,403
Kathy LockhartRSU253—1,403
Corey KlineRSU614—3,400
Kathy LockhartRSU614—3,400
Corey KlineRSU1,408—7,797
Kathy LockhartRSU1,408—7,797
Corey KlineRSU1,796—9,913
Kathy LockhartRSU1,796—9,913
Corey KlineRSU2,815—15,594
Kathy LockhartRSU2,815—15,594
Corey KlineRSU3,000—16,618
Kathy LockhartRSU3,000—16,618
Mike HynesRSU4,464—24,728
Corey KlineRSU4,500—24,926
Kathy LockhartRSU4,500—24,926
Mike HynesRSU4,505—24,951
Mike HynesRSU8,000—44,314
Mike HynesRSU9,009—49,903
Drew MadsenRSU16,600—91,952
Joseph ChristinaRSU20,000—110,784
Joseph ChristinaRSU31,250—173,100
Director compensation
DirectorCash feesStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveAll otherTotal
Jeff JonesIndependent · Board Chair · Audit · Compensation$135,000$46,548———$181,548
Robert HartnettIndependent · Audit · Compensation · Not standing for re-election85,00031,032———116,032
Mary EganIndependent · Compensation · Nominating and Corporate Governance · Not standing for re-election80,00031,032———111,032
Shawn TaylorIndependent · Audit · Nominating and Corporate Governance75,00031,032———106,032
Thomas LynchIndependent · Nominating and Corporate Governance · Audit · Compensation70,00031,032———101,032
Elisa SchreiberIndependent · Compensation · Nominating and Corporate Governance · Audit70,00031,032———101,032
Britain PeakesIndependent · Audit · Compensation · Nominating and Corporate Governance62,50031,032———93,532
Drew MadsenIndependent16,6200———16,620
Joseph ChristinaEmployee director—————0

Board fee structure and ownership guideline

Annual cash retainer$50,000
Annual equity retainer$90,000
Per board meeting fee—
Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov)10,000 / 10,000 / 10,000
Stock ownership guideline$5

Total cost of the board

ComponentFY2025
Cash retainers and fees$594,120
Equity awards (grant-date value)$232,740
All other compensation$0
Total cost of the board$826,860

Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.

Peer group, and who names Noodles as a peer

Companies that benchmark against NDLS

6 companies name NDLS as a compensation peer

Each company listed discloses NDLS in its own benchmarking peer group, as disclosed in each company's most recent proxy statement within the last two proxy seasons. Two companies are therefore absent by design: one that named NDLS in an earlier year and no longer does, and one whose own most recent disclosure is older than the last two seasons.

Disclosed peer group — fiscal year 2025

The compensation peer group as the company disclosed it in its own proxy — the reference set behind the percentile above.

Peer reciprocity

Of the companies Noodles & Co names as compensation peers, which name it back in their own disclosed peer groups. A peer set the market reciprocates reads differently from one selected in a single direction.

Reciprocity shown where the peer’s own current proxy has been read — each mark is cited in the register to that peer’s filing. A dash means the peer’s current proxy was read and names no reciprocal group including Noodles & Co.

Chief executive pay against the peer group

Most recent fiscal-year chief executive compensation at each disclosed peer, taken from that company’s own proxy statement.

RankCompanyFYChief executiveSalaryStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveTotal
1First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc.2025Chris Tomasso$932,793$9,576,365$0$963,610$11,523,150
2El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.2025Elizabeth Williams750,9501,434,000717,000581,1623,539,320
3BJ's Restaurants, Inc.2025Lyle Tick710,7691,567,179319,590637,1433,441,781
4Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.2026Sharon John807,8691,580,0770968,5363,396,235
5Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc.2025David Pace510,5771,567,000—1,169,4943,252,947
6Destination XL Group, Inc.2024Harvey Kanter850,000722,49801,162,1102,894,568
7The ONE Group Hospitality, Inc.2025Emanuel Hilaro700,000350,000052,5002,139,962
8Chuy's Holdings, Inc.2023Steve Hislop745,498559,0880745,4982,068,041
9Citi Trends, Inc.2025Kenneth Seipel788,736001,120,0001,912,312
10The Container Store Group, Inc.2023Satish Malhotra878,750667,113001,550,986
11Portillo's, Inc.2025Michael Miles Jr.16,3191,320,000001,467,689
12Noodles & Co2025Joseph Christina407,116388,700082,569889,720
—Big 5 Sporting Goods——————not in coverage universe

Each peer’s compensation is from its most recently filed proxy; fiscal years differ by company. Each peer’s figures come from its own filings; the subject company is highlighted. Peers whose chief executive compensation is outside our coverage universe are stated as such, never left blank.

Incentive design against the same peers

CompanyAnnual incentive payoutLong-term vehicle mixPSU measures include TSRCompensation consultant
Noodles & Conot disclosedPSU 60 · RSU 40NoFW Cook
Big 5 Sporting Goodsnot disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
BJ's Restaurants, Inc.100%PSU 60 · RSU 20 · Option 20Yes — Relative Total Shareholder Return (TSR)Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.
Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.not disclosedPRSU 70 · RSU 30not disclosedMeridian
Chuy's Holdings, Inc.100%RSU 100not disclosedMercer
Citi Trends, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosedMercer
Destination XL Group, Inc.not disclosedRSU 50 · Cash 50not disclosedThe Segal Group
El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.77.5%Option 33.33 · RSA 33.33 · PSU 33.33NoSemler Brossy
First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc.not disclosedRSU 100not disclosedAon Consulting Inc.
Portillo's, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosedMeridian Compensation Partners
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc.103.96%not disclosedYes — Relative TSRMeridian Compensation Partners, LLC
The Container Store Group, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosedAon
The ONE Group Hospitality, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosedFrederic W. Cook & Co.

Read from each company’s Compensation Discussion and Analysis: annual incentive payout as a percentage of target, the disclosed long-term vehicle mix, whether performance-share measures include a total shareholder return component, and the retained compensation consultant. “Not disclosed” appears only where the company’s filing does not state the item.

Say-on-pay history and pay ratio
Meeting yearMeeting dateForAgainstAbstainSupportOutcome
20262026-05-133,126,67517,2942,01599.45%Passed
20252025-05-1425,354,728502,704152,12098.06%Passed
20242024-05-1531,385,276832,833151,08797.42%Passed
20232023-05-1633,379,7274,166,22848,88388.9%Passed
20222022-05-1035,409,3253,692,910118,39690.56%Passed
20212021-04-2731,802,599664,274287,50397.95%Passed

Rows are labeled by annual-meeting year, with the meeting date beside each; the vote held in a given year acts on the prior fiscal year’s compensation.

Say-on-pay — history, company’s computation

Meeting yearMeeting dateApproval — company’s computation
20262026-05-1399.45%a
20252025-05-1498.06%b
20242024-05-1597.42%c

a. Voting standard not stated in the filing.

b. Voting standard not stated in the filing.

c. Voting standard not stated in the filing.

Approval percentages are the company’s own reported computations under its own stated standard, not recomputed by Velarion. Where a company does not state a standard, none is assumed.

CEO pay ratio

Ratio (CEO : median employee)148 : 1
CEO total compensation—
Median employee compensation—
Insider trades since the proxy

No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.

Sources (52 citations)

Each figure is listed with the filing it comes from, where it appears in that filing, and the value as printed. Any figure can be independently confirmed against the source.

  • Section 01, Joseph Christina. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Executive Compensation” · page 29. As printed: 889,720. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Drew Madsen. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 868,985. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Mike Hynes. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 549,564. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Corey Kline. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 377,080. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Kathy Lockhart. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 376,210. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Brad West. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 328,071. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Mike Hynes PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Corey Kline RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Kathy Lockhart PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Drew Madsen PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Corey Kline PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Kathy Lockhart RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Drew Madsen RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Joseph Christina RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Joseph Christina RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Mike Hynes RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 07, pay ratio. DEF 14A, filed 2020-03-19. Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 148 : 1. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Jeff Jones. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 181,548. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Robert Hartnett. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 116,032. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Mary Egan. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 111,032. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Shawn Taylor. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 106,032. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Thomas Lynch. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 101,032. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Elisa Schreiber. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 101,032. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Britain Peakes. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 93,532. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Drew Madsen. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 16,620. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Joseph Christina. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
  • Section 06, 2026 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2026-05-14. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 99.45% (votes for as printed: 3,126,675). View filing ↗
  • Section 06, 2025 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2025-05-15. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 98.06% (votes for as printed: 25,354,728). View filing ↗
  • Section 06, 2024 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2024-05-16. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 97.42% (votes for as printed: 31,385,276). View filing ↗
  • Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed). Computed. Δ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.
  • Section 03b vehicle mix (computed). Computed. RSU / PSU / Options grant-date fair values summed per officer from the grants table; % performance-vested = PSU ÷ (RSU+PSU+Options).
  • Section 09b board cost (computed). Computed. Cash 594,120 + equity 232,740 + all other 0 = 826,860, summed across the director compensation table rows.
  • First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-08. CEO total compensation as printed in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 11,523,150. View filing ↗
  • El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-30. CEO total compensation as printed in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 3,539,320. View filing ↗
  • BJ's Restaurants, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-22. CEO total compensation as printed in BJ's Restaurants, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 3,441,781. View filing ↗
  • Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-30. CEO total compensation as printed in Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 3,396,235. View filing ↗
  • Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-26. CEO total compensation as printed in Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 3,252,947. View filing ↗
  • Destination XL Group, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2025-06-30. CEO total compensation as printed in Destination XL Group, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 2,894,568. View filing ↗
  • The ONE Group Hospitality, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-09. CEO total compensation as printed in The ONE Group Hospitality, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 2,139,962. View filing ↗
  • Chuy's Holdings, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2024-06-13. CEO total compensation as printed in Chuy's Holdings, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 2,068,041. View filing ↗
  • Citi Trends, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-05-01. CEO total compensation as printed in Citi Trends, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 1,912,312. View filing ↗
  • The Container Store Group, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2024-07-09. CEO total compensation as printed in The Container Store Group, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 1,550,986. View filing ↗
  • Portillo's, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-17. CEO total compensation as printed in Portillo's, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 1,467,689. View filing ↗
  • Noodles & Co (subject), Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. CEO total compensation as printed in Noodles & Co's own proxy. As printed: 889,720. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Noodles & Co. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Noodles & Co. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Noodles & Co. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Citi Trends, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Citi Trends, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Noodles & Co. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, BJ's Restaurants, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. BJ's Restaurants, Inc. names Noodles & Co in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Portillo's, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Portillo's, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Noodles & Co. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Chuy's Holdings, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Chuy's Holdings, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Noodles & Co. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Destination XL Group, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Destination XL Group, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Noodles & Co. View filing ↗
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