The Hidden Powerhouse of U.S. Restaurant Payments: $960 Billion Market Cap Vanishes in a Day

Shares of Toast Inc. (TOST) closed at $24.86 on the New York Stock Exchange on the 2nd, down 5.65% from the previous day. About 7.22 million shares changed hands, erasing roughly $686 million in market capitalization—approximately ₩960 billion.

BMO Capital recently reiterated its “outperform” rating on Toast and maintained a $35 target price; however, the company’s Q1 2026 earnings per share of $0.20 fell slightly short of market expectations. Last month, Toast accelerated its push into the international restaurant payments market by rolling out its Toast Go 3 handheld terminal in the UK, Ireland, Canada and Australia.

Headquartered in Boston, Toast is a cloud-based restaurant management software and payments platform provider offering an integrated solution that covers ordering, point of sale, delivery, marketing and workforce management. Since going public on the NYSE in 2021, the company has rapidly gained market share in the U.S. foodservice industry, growing to a market capitalization of about $12.8 billion (roughly ₩18 trillion). It is currently undergoing a valuation reset amid a broader tech-stock correction and concerns over a slowdown in restaurant sector conditions.