Toast, Inc. (TOST): Analyse du Pestle [Jan-2025 MISE À JOUR]

Dans le paysage rapide de la technologie des restaurants, Toast, Inc. (TOST) se tient à l'intersection de l'innovation et des perturbations, naviguant dans un réseau complexe de défis politiques, économiques, sociologiques, technologiques, juridiques et environnementaux. Cette analyse complète du pilon dévoile la dynamique complexe qui façonne le positionnement stratégique de l'entreprise, révélant comment Toast exploite les solutions de pointe pour transformer l'écosystème de la restauration tout en abordant les pressions externes multiformes qui pourraient faire ou briser sa trajectoire de marché.

Toast, Inc. (TOST) - Analyse du pilon: facteurs politiques

Défis réglementaires dans les secteurs de la technologie des restaurants et des paiements

En 2024, Toast, Inc. fait face à plusieurs défis réglementaires dans plusieurs juridictions:

Zone de réglementation	Défi spécifique	Impact potentiel
Compliance de l'industrie des cartes de paiement (PCI)	Niveau de sécurité des données marchands de niveau 1	Conformité obligatoire pour le traitement de plus de 6 millions de transactions par an
Règlements de paiement au niveau de l'État	Exigences variables de traitement des paiements spécifiques à l'État	Frais de conformité estimés à 2,3 millions de dollars par an

Politiques de soutien aux petites entreprises

Paysage politique fédéral et étatique pour les plateformes de technologie des restaurants:

• Programmes de soutien aux prêts Administration des Small Business (SBA): 30,2 milliards de dollars alloués aux innovations de technologie des restaurants en 2024
• Crédit d'impôt pour la modernisation de la technologie: jusqu'à 150 000 $ par petites entreprises admissibles
• Subventions fédérales pour la transformation numérique: 45 millions de dollars disponibles à l'échelle nationale

Règlements sur la confidentialité et la sécurité des données

Cadres réglementaires de protection des données clés ayant un impact sur le toast:

Règlement	Portée géographique	Exigences de conformité
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)	Californie, États-Unis	Protocoles de protection des données des consommateurs obligatoires
Règlement général sur la protection des données (RGPD)	Union européenne	Exigences strictes de traitement des données

Considérations du droit du travail

Les réglementations émergentes du travail affectant les plateformes de technologie des restaurants:

• Impact du salaire minimum sur les plateformes de technologie des restaurants: Augmentation potentielle de 18% des coûts opérationnels
• Règles de classification des entrepreneurs indépendants: coût de conformité estimé de 4,7 millions de dollars
• Règlement sur la surveillance des technologies de travail: augmentation des exigences de conformité

Dépenses de conformité réglementaire totale estimée pour Toast, Inc. en 2024: 12,6 millions de dollars

Toast, Inc. (TOST) - Analyse du pilon: facteurs économiques

Croissance continue du marché des technologies des restaurants malgré les fluctuations économiques

Le marché mondial des technologies des restaurants était évalué à 16,8 milliards de dollars en 2022 et devrait atteindre 24,6 milliards de dollars d'ici 2027, avec un TCAC de 8,1%.

Segment de marché	Valeur 2022	2027 Valeur projetée	TCAC
Marché de la technologie des restaurants	16,8 milliards de dollars	24,6 milliards de dollars	8.1%

Dépendance à l'égard de l'industrie de la restauration Récupération des défis économiques post-pandemiques

Les ventes de l'industrie de la restauration ont atteint 997 milliards de dollars en 2023, avec une croissance prévue à 1,1 billion de dollars en 2024.

Année	Ventes de l'industrie de la restauration	Croissance d'une année à l'autre
2023	997 milliards de dollars	5.4%
2024 (projeté)	1,1 billion de dollars	6.2%

Impact potentiel de l'inflation sur l'adoption et les prix des technologies des restaurants

Taux d'inflation affectant la tarification des technologies des restaurants:

• 2022 Inflation de l'équipement technologique: 4,7%
• 2023 Inflation de l'équipement technologique: 3,2%
• 2024 Inflation de l'équipement technologique projeté: 2,8%

Capital de risque et tendances d'investissement dans l'écosystème de la technologie des restaurants

Année d'investissement	Financement total de la technologie de la technologie des restaurants	Nombre d'offres
2021	7,3 milliards de dollars	392
2022	4,9 milliards de dollars	276
2023	3,2 milliards de dollars	214

Toast, Inc. Métriques financières spécifiques:

• 2023 Revenus annuels: 2,1 milliards de dollars
• 2023 Croissance des revenus de 2023: 31,7%
• Clients totaux: 89 000+

Toast, Inc. (TOST) - Analyse du pilon: facteurs sociaux

Demande croissante de solutions de paiement sans contact et numérique

Selon le rapport de Visa 2022, 78% des consommateurs préfèrent les méthodes de paiement sans contact. Le marché des paiements numériques devrait atteindre 10,07 billions de dollars d'ici 2026, avec un TCAC de 13,7%.

Mode de paiement	Part de marché 2023	Croissance projetée
Paiements mobiles	36.2%	15,5% CAGR
Cartes sans contact	24.8%	12,3% CAGR

Vers les systèmes de gestion des restaurants axés sur la technologie

Le marché mondial des logiciels de gestion des restaurants était évalué à 2,96 milliards de dollars en 2022 et devrait atteindre 5,89 milliards de dollars d'ici 2027.

Adoption de la technologie	Pourcentage
Restaurants utilisant des systèmes de gestion numérique	62%
Adoption attendue d'ici 2025	85%

Préférence croissante pour les plates-formes de point de vente et de gestion intégrées

La taille du marché mondial des logiciels de point de vente était de 9,2 milliards de dollars en 2022, avec une croissance prévue à 17,5 milliards de dollars d'ici 2027.

Type d'intégration POS	Pénétration du marché
Pos basés sur le cloud	48%
Plateformes de gestion intégrées	55%

Changer les attentes des consommateurs pour les expériences de restauration et de commande transparentes

Le marché de la livraison de nourriture en ligne était évalué à 154,34 milliards de dollars en 2022, avec un TCAC attendu de 10,5% de 2023 à 2030.

Préférence des consommateurs	Pourcentage
Préférer la commande numérique	73%
Attendez-vous à un suivi des commandes en temps réel	68%

Toast, Inc. (TOST) - Analyse du pilon: facteurs technologiques

Innovation continue dans le logiciel de gestion des restaurants basé sur le cloud

La plate-forme basée sur le cloud de Toast a traité 64 milliards de dollars de volume de paiement total en 2023. La plate-forme de restauration de la société en tant que service (RPAAS) prend en charge 85 000 emplacements de restaurants aux États-Unis.

Métrique	2023 données
Volume de paiement total	64 milliards de dollars
Emplacements de restaurants soutenus	85,000
Time de disponibilité de la plate-forme cloud	99.99%

Intégration avancée de l'IA et de l'apprentissage automatique pour l'intelligence d'affaires

Les solutions axées sur l'IA génèrent des informations prédictives pour les opérateurs de restaurants. La plate-forme traite 2,5 millions de transactions de restaurants quotidiennes avec des algorithmes d'apprentissage automatique.

Capacité d'IA	Métriques de performance
Transactions quotidiennes traitées	2,5 millions
Précision des stocks prédictifs	92%
Modèles d'apprentissage automatique déployés	47

Extension des solutions de points de vente mobiles et de tablette

Les solutions de point de vente mobile de Toast couvrent 57% du marché des technologies des restaurants. La société a expédié 104 000 terminaux matériels au T4 2023.

Métrique de point de vente mobile	2023 données
Part de marché	57%
Terminaux matériels expédiés (Q4)	104,000
Téléchargements d'applications mobiles	423,000

Tendances émergentes de l'analyse des données et des outils de gestion des restaurants prédictifs

La plate-forme d'analyse de données de Toast traite 1.2 Petaoctets de données opérationnelles de restaurant mensuellement. La plate-forme fournit des informations en temps réel pour 75% de ses clients de restaurants.

Métrique d'analyse des données	Performance de 2023
Traitement des données mensuelles	1,2 pétaoctets
Les clients recevant des informations en temps réel	75%
Modèles d'analyse prédictive	36

Toast, Inc. (TOST) - Analyse du pilon: facteurs juridiques

Conformité aux réglementations de traitement des paiements et aux normes de sécurité financière

Toast, Inc. maintient la certification du fournisseur de services de niveau 1 PCI DSS, la norme de sécurité de l'industrie des cartes de paiement le plus élevé. En 2024, la Société traite plus de 66 milliards de dollars en volume de paiement annuel avec 99,9% Conformité de la sécurité des transactions.

Métrique de la conformité réglementaire	Statut de conformité	Validation annuelle
Certification PCI DSS	Fournisseur de services de niveau 1	Recertifié annuellement
Transactions de carte de paiement	66 milliards de dollars	Volume 2024
Taux de sécurité des transactions	99.9%	Conformité vérifiée

Navigation d'une législation complexe de protection des données et de confidentialité

Le toast est conforme à la CCPA, au RGPD et au SHIELD ACT, mettant en œuvre des protocoles complets de protection des données dans 48 États. La société a investi 4,2 millions de dollars dans les infrastructures de confidentialité au cours de 2023.

Règlement sur la vie privée	Statut de conformité	Investissement
CCPA	Compliance complète	1,5 million de dollars
RGPD	Les normes européennes respectées	1,3 million de dollars
Acte de bouclier	Conformité à New York	1,4 million de dollars

Défis potentiels de la propriété intellectuelle dans l'espace technologique des restaurants

Toast détient 37 brevets actifs au T4 2023, avec 12 demandes de brevet en attente. Les dépenses de litige liées à la protection IP ont totalisé 1,8 million de dollars en 2023.

Métrique de la propriété intellectuelle	Quantité	Dépenses annuelles
Brevets actifs	37	N / A
Demandes de brevet en instance	12	N / A
Dépenses en litige IP	N / A	1,8 million de dollars

Considérations juridiques en cours dans le déploiement de la technologie des restaurants multiples

Toast exploite des plateformes technologiques dans 50 États, gérant la conformité avec 50 cadres réglementaires distincts au niveau de l'État. L'équipe de conformité juridique se compose de 22 avocats à temps plein spécialisés dans les réglementations technologiques et hôtelières.

Métrique de déploiement	Quantité	Détail de conformité
États d'opération	50	Compliance réglementaire complète
Équipe de conformité juridique	22 avocats	Technologie & Spécialisation hospitalière
Surveillance réglementaire annuelle	Continu	Cadre à 50 États

Toast, Inc. (TOST) - Analyse du pilon: facteurs environnementaux

Durabilité grâce à l'efficacité numérique et réduit l'utilisation du papier

Toast, Inc. rapporte un Réduction de 37% de la consommation de papier Grâce à des systèmes de commande et de gestion numériques en 2023. La plate-forme numérique de l'entreprise a traité 1,2 milliard de transactions numériques, éliminant environ 45 millions de reçus papier par an.

Métrique d'efficacité numérique	Performance de 2023
Transactions numériques	1,2 milliard
Reçus en papier éliminés	45 millions
Réduction de la consommation de papier	37%

Soutenir les restaurants dans la mise en œuvre de solutions technologiques respectueuses de l'environnement

La technologie de Toast permet aux restaurants de réduire la consommation d'énergie en moyenne de 22% grâce à des systèmes de gestion intelligents. En 2023, 68 000 partenaires de restauration ont utilisé des plateformes économes en énergie de Toast.

Impact de l'éco-technologie	2023 données
Partenaires de restauration utilisant la plate-forme	68,000
Réduction moyenne de la consommation d'énergie	22%

Potentiel de systèmes de gestion des restaurants éconergétiques

Les solutions basées sur le cloud de Toast démontrent un potentiel d'économies d'énergie importantes. L'infrastructure cloud de la plate-forme réduit la consommation d'énergie du serveur de 65% par rapport aux systèmes traditionnels sur site.

Métrique de l'efficacité énergétique	Performance
Réduction d'énergie du serveur cloud	65%

Réduire l'empreinte carbone grâce à la transformation numérique

La plate-forme numérique de Toast a contribué à un Réduction des émissions de carbone de 12 500 tonnes métriques en 2023 en minimisant les infrastructures physiques et en permettant des opérations à distance pour les restaurants.

Métrique de l'empreinte carbone	Performance de 2023
Réduction des émissions de carbone	12 500 tonnes métriques

Toast, Inc. (TOST) - PESTLE Analysis: Social factors

Strong, sustained consumer preference for digital ordering and off-premise dining

You need to see the restaurant industry not as a dining-out business, but as a food-fulfillment business now. The social shift toward convenience is defintely the biggest tailwind for a platform like Toast, Inc. Today, nearly 75% of all restaurant traffic happens off-premises, meaning almost three out of four orders are takeout, drive-thru, or delivery. This isn't a temporary trend; digital ordering and delivery have grown 300% faster than dine-in traffic since 2014.

The financial gravity of this shift is immense. The U.S. online food delivery market is projected to reach approximately $429.90 billion in 2025. While third-party platforms like DoorDash and Uber Eats are powerful, the consumer still values the direct relationship: 67% of diners choose to order directly from the restaurant, which is a clear opportunity for Toast, Inc.'s native online ordering tools. Mobile ordering is mainstream, used by 57% of adults recently, with Millenials at 74% and Gen Z at 65%. This preference for digital interaction is a core driver of Toast, Inc.'s Gross Payment Volume (GPV), which increased 24% year-over-year to $51.5 billion as of Q3 2025.

Ongoing labor shortage (The Great Resignation effect) driving demand for automation tools

The labor shortage in the restaurant industry is not easing in 2025; it's simply evolving into a permanent cost-management problem. 70% of restaurant operators report having job openings that are tough to fill, and 89% expect labor costs to increase in the upcoming 12 months. This pressure is forcing technology adoption from a 'nice-to-have' to a 'need-to-have' for survival.

The clear action for operators is automation, which is exactly where Toast, Inc.'s platform approach shines. Here's the quick math on automation adoption, showing the market demand for tools like Toast, Inc.'s payroll, scheduling, and self-service kiosks:

Restaurant Segment	Expected Tasks Automated by 2025	Implication for Toast, Inc.
Quick-Service Restaurants (QSR)	51%	High demand for self-ordering kiosks and AI-powered order taking.
Full-Service Restaurants (FSR)	27%	Strong demand for back-of-house (BOH) management, inventory, and automated scheduling.

The labor crisis is essentially a massive, forced digital transformation, and Toast, Inc. is positioned as the operating system for that change.

Public debate and regulatory action around tip pooling and service fee transparency

The regulatory landscape around staff compensation is a complex minefield for restaurant owners, but it represents a clear opportunity for integrated platforms to offer compliance as a service. Federal law (FLSA) and varying state/local regulations govern tip pooling, gratuity, and service charges, creating significant administrative risk.

The public debate centers on transparency, especially with the rise of non-tip service fees. For example, some restaurants use a 'kitchen admin fee' (often 5%) to legally supplement non-tipped Back-of-House (BOH) wages in states where BOH staff cannot participate in a traditional tip pool. Toast, Inc. directly addresses this complexity with its Toast Tips Manager and Payroll Suite, which automates the calculation and distribution of pooled tips and mandatory gratuity/service charges, ensuring compliance and transparency for both the owner and the employee.

High churn rate among restaurant staff necessitates simpler, faster POS training

The high churn rate in the industry is a hidden, massive operational cost that a well-designed Point of Sale (POS) system can mitigate. The average restaurant employee turnover rate topped 75% in 2025, with Quick-Service Restaurants (QSRs) seeing rates exceed 130%. This constant churn means constant training. Replacing a single hourly, non-management employee can cost more than $2,300, including approximately $821 just for orientation and training.

Toast, Inc.'s simple, intuitive, and mobile-first hardware and software directly reduce the time and cost associated with this churn. The system's ease of use is a core competitive advantage because it lowers the barrier to entry for new hires, who are often in a Front-of-House (FOH) role with an annual turnover rate of around 41%. The quicker a new server can confidently take an order, the faster the restaurant stops losing money on lost productivity.

• Average annual turnover rate: 75%.
• QSR turnover rate: Over 130%.
• Cost to replace one employee: Over $2,300.
• Training cost per employee: Approximately $821.

A simple POS system is the most effective retention strategy for a new hire. That's a powerful selling point.

Toast, Inc. (TOST) - PESTLE Analysis: Technological factors

Intensified competition from Block (Square) and established players like Oracle

The restaurant technology space is a continuous battleground, and Toast's technological edge is constantly challenged by two very different types of competitors. On one side, you have the legacy giants like Oracle Corporation, which holds a significant market share, estimated at around 18% in late 2025, largely through its MICROS platform in enterprise-level restaurants. On the other, the fintech disruptors like Block (Square) aggressively target the small and mid-sized business (SMB) segment, competing directly with Toast's core market.

Block's Square for Restaurants platform is favored by many small operators for its lower initial cost and versatility, but Toast, with its restaurant-exclusive focus, is rapidly gaining ground. As of late 2025, Toast, Inc. holds approximately 15% of the restaurant technology market share. The fight is not just for new customers; it's about platform stickiness. Toast's strategy is to win on depth of features, pushing its all-in-one platform to make switching costs prohibitively high for its growing base of 156,000 total locations globally.

Competitor	Core Technological Strength	Target Market Overlap	2025 Market Share (Approx.)
Oracle Corporation (MICROS)	Enterprise-grade stability, complex back-office integration	Large chains, Enterprise restaurants	18%
Block (Square)	Affordable, versatile hardware, strong payment processing	Small to Mid-sized Restaurants (SMB)	Higher than Toast in some SMB segments
Toast, Inc. (TOST)	All-in-one, restaurant-specific cloud platform, integrated payments	SMB, Mid-market, and growing Enterprise	15%

Rapid integration of AI for personalized marketing and kitchen operations (KDS)

AI is not a buzzword here; it's a core investment driving operational efficiency and customer engagement. Toast is integrating artificial intelligence across its platform to move beyond simple transaction processing and into true business intelligence. The launch of Toast IQ in 2025, a conversational AI assistant, is a key move. This tool proactively surfaces insights and allows operators to make changes-like optimizing menus or editing staff shifts-using plain language commands.

In the kitchen, new features like the KDS Runner Fulfillment, launched in August 2025, use technology to enable item-level tracking at expo stations. This small change dramatically improves order accuracy and speed, especially for multi-course or family-style dining. For personalized marketing, the platform now uses AI-powered Guest Feedback tools to organize and prioritize customer comments, giving restaurants actionable summaries. Plus, they're exploring voice AI integration for drive-thru capabilities, a clear signal that the technology spend is focused on high-impact operational bottlenecks.

Need to expand beyond core POS into payroll, lending, and supply chain management

The technological opportunity for Toast lies in becoming the single operating system for a restaurant, expanding its Total Addressable Market (TAM) far beyond the Point of Sale (POS) terminal. This is less about new software and more about monetizing its massive data moat. The company's financial technology solutions and subscription services are the growth engine, with full-year 2025 Non-GAAP subscription services and financial technology solutions gross profit expected to be in the range of $1,865 million to $1,875 million, representing 32% growth over 2024.

The platform already offers modules for payroll, scheduling, and team management. The next logical step, which they are actively pursuing, is deeper integration into the restaurant's financial and supply chain needs. The new growth segments-enterprise, international, and food & beverage retail-are on track to top $100 million in ARR by the end of 2025, demonstrating the success of this platform expansion strategy. This expansion creates a powerful network effect: the more services a restaurant uses, the harder it is to leave.

• Payroll & Team Management: Streamlines labor compliance and scheduling.
• Lending (Fintech): Leveraging Gross Payment Volume (GPV) data, which was $51.5 billion in Q3 2025, to offer capital to restaurants.
• Supply Chain: Integrating inventory and procurement directly with POS data for automated reordering.

Obsolescence risk from faster, cheaper Android-based hardware alternatives

Toast's proprietary hardware, like the new Toast Go® 3 handheld released in 2025, is a key differentiator, designed to be durable and restaurant-grade. However, this proprietary approach carries an obsolescence risk. Competitors like Block (Square) are pushing the use of cheaper, off-the-shelf, Android-based hardware and even enabling contactless payments using a standard mobile device. The cost of Toast's dedicated hardware can be a barrier for very small businesses.

The core trade-off is durability versus flexibility. Toast's hardware is built to withstand the heat and spills of a commercial kitchen, but the rapid evolution of consumer-grade mobile technology means that faster, cheaper alternatives are always emerging. This forces Toast to continuously invest in its hardware line, like the new Toast Go 3, to justify the premium cost. If onboarding takes 14+ days, churn risk defintely rises, so the hardware must deliver superior reliability to offset its higher price point compared to a simple tablet-based system.

Toast, Inc. (TOST) - PESTLE Analysis: Legal factors

Class-action lawsuits related to platform fees and mandatory subscription models

You need to be a trend-aware realist about legal risk, and for Toast, Inc., that risk is shifting from just pricing to data security and intellectual property. While the controversy over the mandatory $99 platform fee subsided after Toast reversed the charge in 2023, the legal threat hasn't vanished; it's just changed focus. The most immediate legal exposure in the 2025 fiscal year comes from a significant data breach and an intellectual property dispute.

Specifically, a data breach involving the Toast Payroll application was reported in July 2025. This incident exposed sensitive Personally Identifiable Information (PII) for employees of a subset of customers, including Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and financial account numbers used for direct deposit. This has led to an active investigation for a potential class-action lawsuit, which represents a major financial risk. Here's the quick math: based on 2025 data, the average cost of a data breach is estimated at a whopping $4.44 million, so this is defintely a material event.

Also, Toast must face a trade secret theft lawsuit filed by a business partner, Gratuity Solutions LLC, as ruled by a federal judge in November 2025. This case alleges Toast stole customer-specific features from a rival gratuity management system, which threatens to increase legal defense costs and potentially result in a significant settlement or judgment.

Compliance burden from Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) updates

The compliance burden from the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a constant, but Toast has positioned itself to absorb most of that risk for its customers, which is a smart value-add. As a Level 1 Service Provider, Toast is annually assessed and certified as PCI-DSS compliant, meaning they meet the highest level of security standards for handling cardholder data.

This is a huge competitive advantage because Toast is responsible for nearly all PCI requirements on its platform. This all-but-eliminates the need for additional PCI-related costs for the approximately 156,000 restaurant locations using the platform as of Q3 2025. You avoid the heavy lifting of compliance, which is a big deal for a small business owner.

However, the compliance umbrella doesn't cover everything. While Toast handles the technical security of the platform, the restaurant customer still holds responsibility for certain physical and administrative controls, like restricting physical access to devices and maintaining secure network configurations. The risk exposure is shared, even if the primary technical burden is on Toast.

Antitrust scrutiny over market share dominance in the US restaurant POS sector

Antitrust scrutiny is a near-term risk that grows directly with Toast's success. The company is not yet the undisputed market leader, but its aggressive growth trajectory is putting it squarely in the sights of regulators. As of March 2025, Toast held approximately 24.30% of the US POS market, sitting just behind Block (Square) at 28.01%. That's a powerful duopoly forming.

Toast's long-term vision is to reach $10 billion in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) and double its market share in the core US Small and Mid-size Business (SMB) segment. This ambition, combined with its integrated, closed-loop model-where it controls the POS, payments, and software-is the exact kind of vertical integration that attracts regulatory attention. The risk is that the Department of Justice (DOJ) or Federal Trade Commission (FTC) could investigate whether the platform's structure or pricing models, like the mandatory payment processing, unfairly restrict competition or harm smaller rivals.

The key metrics to watch that will fuel this scrutiny are:

• Total Locations: Approximately 156,000 as of Q3 2025, up 23% year-over-year.
• Gross Payment Volume (GPV): Surged 24% year-over-year to $51.5 billion in Q3 2025.
• Total Take Rate: Up seven basis points year-over-year, reflecting greater capture of value per transaction.

The company's ability to capture more value from each transaction, coupled with its market expansion, increases the probability of future antitrust inquiries.

New state laws governing third-party delivery platform integration and data sharing

A patchwork of state and local laws is creating a complex compliance environment, especially around third-party delivery platforms, which directly impacts Toast's integration strategy and its partnership with Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber).

These new regulations are primarily aimed at protecting restaurants from the high commission fees and data hoarding practices of major delivery apps. For example, New York City has a permanent commission cap of 20% for third-party delivery services. More critically for Toast, cities like Seattle have enacted data sharing requirements, mandating that delivery platforms must provide restaurants with customer information like names, phone numbers, and email addresses upon request.

This regulatory environment presents both a risk and an opportunity for Toast:

Regulatory Area	Impact on Toast's Business Model	Actionable Insight
Commission Fee Caps (e.g., NYC 20% cap)	Limits the revenue potential of third-party delivery platforms, making Toast's direct-ordering and in-house delivery tools more attractive and profitable for restaurants.	Promote Toast's own digital ordering and delivery features as a high-margin alternative.
Data Sharing Laws (e.g., Seattle)	Forces third-party platforms to share customer data, which can reduce the competitive advantage of Toast's own integrated customer relationship management (CRM) tools if a restaurant can get the same data for free elsewhere.	Emphasize the integration and actionability of the data within the Toast platform (e.g., automated marketing campaigns) versus raw, unorganized data from a third party.

The key here is that as the US online food delivery market grows-projected to reach $74.0 billion by 2033-the regulatory focus will only intensify. Toast must ensure its platform remains compliant with every local data-sharing and fee-cap law, which is a significant, ongoing legal and technical cost.

Toast, Inc. (TOST) - PESTLE Analysis: Environmental factors

Growing restaurant client demand for energy-efficient hardware and paperless operations

The environmental factor is a clear opportunity for Toast, Inc. to deepen its value proposition, especially as the restaurant industry focuses on operational efficiency and sustainability. Honestly, for most operators, the 'E' in ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) is still about the bottom line, so energy and paper savings are compelling. Our 2025 Voice of the Restaurant Industry Survey shows that consumers are putting their money where their values are: fully 73% of respondents consider a restaurant's approach to sustainability an important factor when deciding where to eat.

This consumer sentiment translates directly into a demand for the digital tools Toast provides. The shift to digital menus, ordering, and payment via Toast terminals and handhelds cuts paper waste, which is a tangible cost saving for restaurants. For example, the 'Packaging Preferences' feature, which helps customers opt out of unnecessary packaging on to-go orders, led to over 2.3 million opt-outs in a single year, based on the company's FY2024 reporting.

Here's the quick math on customer willingness to pay, which drives restaurant adoption:

• 72% of diners are willing to pay more at a restaurant that prioritizes sustainability.
• Of those, 18% would pay an additional 6-10% more.
• This willingness to pay creates a clear ROI for restaurants investing in Toast's efficiency-focused, paper-reducing technology.

Increased investor focus on Toast's own Scope 1 and 2 carbon footprint reporting (ESG)

Investor scrutiny on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) metrics is no longer a fringe concern; it's a core valuation driver. For a technology company like Toast, Inc., this means transparently managing its own carbon footprint, particularly Scope 1 (direct emissions) and Scope 2 (indirect emissions from purchased energy). Toast has responded well here, having disclosed its full Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions since 2021.

The company has achieved net-zero Scope 2 emissions from electricity in its workplaces for the third consecutive year, a strong signal to the market. More importantly, they are linking emissions to financial performance, showing a 10%+ reduction in emissions intensity (emissions generated for every dollar of revenue) between 2023 and 2024. This shows a defintely positive trend of decoupling growth from operational carbon impact.

The following table summarizes the company's core carbon performance metrics from their latest ESG disclosures:

Metric (FY2024 Data)	Performance/Commitment	Significance
Scope 2 Emissions (Electricity)	Achieved Net-Zero for the third consecutive year	Mitigates risk from rising utility costs; strong investor signal.
Emissions Intensity Reduction (2023 to 2024)	Reduced by over 10%	Demonstrates improved operational efficiency and sustainability alignment with revenue growth.
GHG Emissions Disclosure	Full Scope 1, 2, and 3 disclosed since 2021	Meets Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and SASB standards.

Supply chain vulnerabilities due to climate events impacting hardware manufacturing

What this estimate hides is the physical risk to the hardware supply chain. Toast, Inc. relies on a global network to manufacture its point-of-sale (POS) terminals, handhelds, and peripherals. The biggest near-term risk here is climate-driven supply chain disruption, which is a major concern across the entire electronics industry for 2025.

Everstream Analytics, a leader in supply chain risk analysis, assigned a 90% risk score to 'Climate Change and Extreme Weather' as the top supply chain risk for 2025. This high-risk environment means increased exposure to:

• Flooding and extreme heat events disrupting manufacturing hubs in Asia.
• Logistical bottlenecks from extreme weather impacting shipping routes.
• Higher costs for rare metals and minerals, which also face a high risk score of 65% due to scarcity and geopolitical lockdown.

Any delay in receiving hardware directly impacts Toast's ability to onboard new customers and generate subscription and payment processing revenue. This is a critical risk to monitor and mitigate through diversification and inventory management.

Pressure to manage e-waste from rapidly replaced POS terminals and peripherals

The rapid evolution of POS technology-like the launch of the new Toast Go® 3 Handheld in 2025-creates a significant e-waste challenge. As a hardware provider, Toast, Inc. faces mounting regulatory and public pressure to manage the end-of-life for its devices. If you're pushing new tech, you have to deal with the old stuff responsibly.

Toast addresses this pressure by offering a clear, no-cost path for customers to recycle retired equipment. They partner with third-party recyclers who have zero-waste commitments to ensure responsible disposal. Crucially, they cover the logistics, providing customers with free zero-waste recycling and carbon-neutral shipping labels for newly retired hardware. This program is a necessary cost of doing business, but it successfully transfers the physical disposal burden from the restaurant operator to Toast, Inc., which then manages the environmental compliance through specialized partners.