Toast, Inc.
Toast, Inc. is a U.S.-based cloud software and payments company built specifically for restaurants and food-and-beverage retailers. Its platform combines point-of-sale software, payment processing, restaurant hardware, and connected applications for front-of-house and back-of-house operations across dine-in, takeout, delivery, catering, and retail.
Fiscal year 2025 · change from previous year
Development 2020–2025
Business
Share of revenueCloud software subscriptions, platform access, and software modules for restaurant operations.
Payment processing and related transaction-based services tied to customer payment volume.
Restaurant hardware, installation, onboarding, and related implementation services.
Products
Reported · share of revenue- Technology Service81.9 %
- License15.2 %
- Product and Professional Services2.9 %
Source: 10-K FY2025, revenue the company reports per product line (SEC XBRL). Shares are of the lines shown and add up to 100 %.
Customers
Toast sells primarily to restaurants and food-and-beverage retailers that need an integrated operating system rather than separate point solutions. Its customer base includes independent operators, multi-location restaurant groups, and hybrid restaurant-retail businesses that want to manage orders, payments, staff, inventory, and guest engagement in one platform.
Buy Toast POS, payments, and guest engagement tools to simplify daily operations and reduce manual work.
Use above-store management, menu control, and benchmarking to standardize operations across sites.
Adopt SmartScan, inventory planning, and retail POS features for shelf management and checkout.
Use one consolidated platform to run both restaurant and retail workflows.
May use non-Toast processing configurations and broader platform integrations for scale.
Strategy
Toast’s strategy is to expand its installed base in the U.S. restaurant market while increasing product adoption across payments, software, and adjacent workflows. It also aims to deepen its ecosystem through partner integrations, new products such as Toast IQ, and selective inorganic growth that broadens the platform’s value to operators.
More locations increase payments volume and platform revenue opportunities.
Broader use of software, payments, and add-on modules deepens retention and monetization.
Partner connectivity makes the platform more useful and harder to replace.
Retail workflows expand the addressable market beyond traditional restaurants.
Geography
Toast is primarily focused on the United States, where it serves restaurant locations across a broad range of service models and concepts. The company also has international tax and supplier exposure through its operations and hardware supply chain, but the business described in the filings is centered on the U.S. restaurant market.
Risks
Toast depends on continued growth in restaurant locations, customer adoption, and transaction volume, so slower restaurant spending or weaker operator economics can affect demand and usage. The business also faces execution risk in scaling support, technology, and hardware supply chains, including exposure to component shortages, freight costs, and trade restrictions. Competition, security, and payment compliance remain important industry risks because Toast sits at the center of customer operations and payment flows.
- Failure to manage growth effectivelyImpact: HighLikelihood: Medium
Rapid expansion requires scalable systems, support, and controls to maintain service quality.
Exposure - Restaurant industry cyclicality and operator stressImpact: HighLikelihood: Medium
Toast’s revenue depends on restaurant activity, location growth, and payment volume.
Exposure: Core U.S. restaurant customer base
- Hardware supply chain disruptionImpact: HighLikelihood: Medium
Component shortages, freight volatility, and supplier issues can interrupt deliveries and raise costs.
Exposure - Cybersecurity and PCI complianceImpact: HighLikelihood: Medium
Toast processes payments and stores operational data, so breaches or compliance failures would be material.
Exposure - Trade restrictions and China-related sourcing exposureImpact: MediumLikelihood: Medium
Tariffs, sanctions, or vendor issues can affect component availability and cost.
Exposure: Hardware procurement and global sourcing
Accounting
Judgemental itemsSubscription and transaction-based revenue have different recognition patterns and volatility drivers.
Impact: Affects quarterly comparability and growth interpretation
Restaurant sales are typically stronger in warmer months, lifting GPV and payment revenue.
Impact: Creates quarter-to-quarter swings in reported revenue
Component shortages, freight costs, and obsolescence can lead to write-offs and margin pressure.
Impact: Affects cost of revenue and gross profit
The company recognizes liabilities for guarantees tied to lending-related activities.
Impact: Can affect provisions and contingent liabilities
Acquisitions can create assets that require impairment testing if performance weakens.
Impact: Potential non-cash charges to earnings
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Last updated: 24/09/2026