Dive Brief:
- Restaurant point-of-sale provider Toast is targeting fast food, a segment outside of its traditional wheelhouse.
- The company plans to court the quick-service sector by getting into the drive-thru business, CEO Aman Narang said on a Feb 12 webcast with analysts and investors.
- “We're planning on launching our drive-thru product this year, which is going to open up that market in a much bigger way,” he said.
Dive Insight:
Boston-based Toast is already adding restaurants at a fast clip. Last week, in a press release accompanying its earnings report, the company said it signed 30,000 new eateries last year, boosting its total customer count by 22% to roughly 164,000.
Narang didn't say why Toast is looking to add fast-food joints to its considerable roster of clients, but competition for new restaurants among point-of-sale providers is fierce, as companies like Toast and Fiserv's point-of-sale service Clover battle over a dwindling number of uncommitted eateries.
Toast is best known for its rectangular card readers, which are ubiquitous at dining chains such as Applebee's, Potbelly Sandwich Shop and Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill.
The move into the drive-thru business marks something of a departure for Toast, Narang said.
"If you look at all of our wins so far and the progress we've made, it’s been in casual dining," he said in response to a question from an analyst.
Narang was light on details, but noted that drive-thru service can be complex, because some fast-food restaurants now use multi-lane drive-thrus to serve as many customers as possible.
A Toast spokesperson declined to provide more information, including exactly when the new relationships will show up.
“We look forward to sharing more info in the coming months,” the spokesperson said in an email.
Toast's net income nearly tripled in the fourth quarter compared to the year-ago quarter. The company reported $101 million in net income for the quarter, more than three times the $33 million reported for the same time period in 2024.
The point-of-sale provider reported $1.63 billion in revenue for the quarter, a 22% increase over the $1.34 billion it reported for the year-ago quarter.
