Toast Inc Shares Slide Following PayPal's Weaker Earnings Report
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 5d ago
0mins
Should l Buy TOST?
Source: Benzinga
- PayPal Earnings Impact: PayPal's fourth-quarter revenue grew 4% year-over-year to $8.68 billion, missing Wall Street's $8.80 billion estimate, triggering a sell-off in payment and merchant technology stocks, causing Toast shares to drop 9.45%.
- Market Reaction: Toast is currently trading 9.8% below its 20-day simple moving average and 20.6% below its 100-day moving average, indicating a persistent bearish trend, with shares down 28.43% over the past 12 months.
- Industry Correlation: Although Toast and PayPal serve different customer bases, investors view them as closely linked due to their reliance on payment volume from small and mid-sized businesses; PayPal's warning raises concerns about potential declines in transaction revenue and software upsell opportunities for Toast's restaurant operators.
- Future Outlook: Toast is set to report its next earnings on February 12, with an estimated EPS of 19 cents and revenue of $1.62 billion; despite a current P/E ratio of 71.6, analysts believe the expected 280% earnings growth justifies a 46% upside potential.
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Analyst Views on TOST
Wall Street analysts forecast TOST stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for TOST is 47.00 USD with a low forecast of 36.00 USD and a high forecast of 60.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
21 Analyst Rating
13 Buy
8 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 27.050
Low
36.00
Averages
47.00
High
60.00
Current: 27.050
Low
36.00
Averages
47.00
High
60.00
About TOST
Toast, Inc. is a cloud-based, all-in-one digital technology platform purpose-built for the entire restaurant community. It provides a platform of software-as-a-service (SaaS) products and financial technology solutions, including integrated payment processing, restaurant-grade hardware, and a broad ecosystem of third-party partners. It serves as the restaurant operating system, connecting front of house and back of house operations across service models including dine-in, takeout, delivery, catering, and retail. Its products include point-of-sale (POS) & restaurant operations, marketing, online ordering & delivery, team management, vendor management, retail, and financial technology solutions. Its in-store POS and restaurant operations offerings are built to help reduce time to take an order, optimize operations, and handle payments. Its marketing products provide integrated solutions to deliver targeted email and SMS campaigns, build loyalty programs, offer gift cards, and others.
About the author

Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Sustained Growth Momentum: In Q3 2025, Toast, Inc. surpassed $2 billion in annual recurring revenue for the first time, effectively doubling its ARR in just two years, which highlights the scalability and resilience of its platform and reflects strong performance in the restaurant industry.
- AI Product Adoption: The rollout of AI-driven products like Toast IQ and Toast Advertising has seen strong early adoption, with over 25,000 restaurants using Toast IQ more than 235,000 times since early October, reinforcing customer engagement and satisfaction across its user base.
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- Significant Revenue Growth: Toast's Annualized Recurring Revenue (ARR) surpassed $1.9 billion in mid-2025 and exceeded $2 billion by Q3 2025, reflecting a robust demand and a year-over-year growth rate of approximately 30% in the small business sector.
- Profitability Improvement: In FY 2024, Toast achieved GAAP profitability for the first time with a net income of $19 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $373 million, marking a pivotal shift from cash burn to self-funding growth.
- Market Penetration Potential: While Toast services around 156,000 restaurant locations, its total addressable market is estimated at approximately 1.4 million, indicating substantial future growth opportunities to capture additional market share.
- Product Expansion Strategy: New offerings like Toast IQ and Toast Advertising assist restaurateurs in enhancing marketing and operational efficiencies, leading to increased customer spending across Toast's product lines, thereby boosting customer lifetime value and reducing churn.
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- Recurring Revenue Growth: Toast's Annualized Recurring Revenue (ARR) reached $1.9 billion in mid-2025, growing approximately 30% year-over-year, with projections to exceed $2 billion by Q3 2025, highlighting its strong appeal and stability in the small business market.
- First Year of Profitability: In FY 2024, Toast achieved GAAP profitability with a net income of $19 million and an Adjusted EBITDA of $373 million, marking a critical transition from cash burn to self-funding growth.
- Market Penetration Potential: Despite servicing around 156,000 restaurant locations, Toast's total addressable market is estimated at 1.4 million locations, indicating significant room for future expansion and growth potential.
- Product Expansion Strategy: By launching new offerings like Toast IQ and Toast Advertising, Toast enhances customer marketing and operational efficiency, thereby increasing customer lifetime value and reducing churn, further solidifying its market position.
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