Toast (NYSE:TOST) Announces Earnings Results

Toast (NYSE:TOST) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.08), Zacks reports. Toast had a net margin of 4.68% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.05 earnings per share. Toast’s revenue was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Toast’s conference call:

• Toast reported strong 2025 results with recurring gross profit up 33%, ARR above $2 billion, a record ~30,000 net location adds, and robust profitability (Adjusted EBITDA of $633M and FCF of $608M).
• Toast IQ (conversational AI) saw rapid adoption—used by over half of locations within months and >1M queries—and is already automating support and routine workflows, which management says should raise ARPU and improve margins over time.
• Expansion into new “towns” is gaining traction: enterprise wins (Applebee’s, Firehouse Subs, Papa Murphy’s), launch in Australia, and scaled retail rollouts; management says these new verticals are growing faster than the core at comparable stages and can be material long‑term growth drivers.
• 2026 guidance targets 20%–22% growth in recurring gross profit and Adjusted EBITDA of $775M–$795M, but management warned of near-term headwinds—~150 basis points of incremental cost from higher memory chip prices, higher tariffs, and negative hardware/professional services contribution—that could pressure margins in the short term.

Toast Stock Performance

NYSE TOST traded up $1.54 on Friday, hitting $27.68. 17,132,195 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,967,756. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $33.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.37 and a beta of 1.93. Toast has a 52-week low of $25.91 and a 52-week high of $49.66.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group set a $40.00 price target on Toast in a report on Friday. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Toast from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, December 1st. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Toast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup raised Toast to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore upgraded Toast from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.82.

More Toast News

Here are the key news stories impacting Toast this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board authorized a share buyback, a signal management sees value in the stock and should support EPS/share and market confidence. RTT News
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly revenue grew ~22% year-over-year and modestly beat consensus ($1.63B vs. $1.62B), underscoring demand resilience in Toast’s restaurant software/payments ecosystem. MarketBeat
• Positive Sentiment: Several bullish analyst/industry takes remain in place — Canaccord Genuity kept a Buy rating and Seeking Alpha published a bullish note arguing Toast’s ARR growth, rising take rate and margin expansion provide a durable moat. These views help support investor sentiment. Canaccord Seeking Alpha
• Neutral Sentiment: Company released the full Q4 and FY2025 results and the earnings call transcript; useful detail for modeling but largely reiterates the mixed top-line vs. profit story. Business Wire
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage pieces and metric deep-dives (Zacks, Seeking Alpha transcript) provide context for investors but don’t change the headline mixed fundamentals. Zacks
• Negative Sentiment: Reported EPS came in below consensus (reported $0.16 vs. $0.24 expected per MarketBeat summary / other outlets), which is the principal near-term drag and likely explains some investor caution. MarketBeat EPS report
• Negative Sentiment: Needham cut its price target sharply from $60 to $35 (while keeping a Buy rating), reducing the street’s upside expectation and adding downward pressure on sentiment despite the retained buy stance. The Fly

Toast announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Stephen Fredette sold 1,060 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.34, for a total value of $32,160.40. Following the sale, the president directly owned 913,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,702,452.78. This represents a 0.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CRO Jonathan Vassil sold 1,454 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.34, for a total value of $44,114.36. Following the transaction, the executive owned 139,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,244,353.62. This trade represents a 1.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 100,856 shares of company stock valued at $3,540,449. 12.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Toast

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. ValueAct Holdings L.P. purchased a new stake in Toast in the third quarter worth $124,032,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its position in Toast by 343.6% in the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,792,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,377,000 after buying an additional 1,388,210 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Toast by 40.4% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,453,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,649,000 after acquiring an additional 993,116 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Toast by 24.9% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,343,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $158,580,000 after purchasing an additional 865,326 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec grew its stake in Toast by 91.9% in the third quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 1,236,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,146,000 after purchasing an additional 592,027 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.91% of the company’s stock.

Toast Company Profile

Toast, Inc (NYSE: TOST) is a technology company that builds a cloud-based platform for restaurants and other foodservice businesses. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Toast offers integrated point-of-sale (POS) systems and a suite of software and hardware designed to streamline front-of-house and back-of-house operations. The company went public in 2021 and has positioned itself as a vertically integrated provider for the restaurant industry.

Toast’s product portfolio includes touchscreen POS terminals and handheld order-and-pay devices, kitchen display systems, and peripherals tailored for high-volume foodservice environments.