Data as of:
LIVE
SQ
Block, Inc. · Information Technology - Fintech
N/A
N/A this month
VERSUS
COMPARE
TOST
Toast, Inc. · Information Technology - Restaurant Technology
$29.74
-15.42% this month
Comparison scoreboard
MIXED SETUPAI Scorei
SQ N/A
TOST 23.6
1Y Returni
SQ N/A
TOST -28.30%
Fwd P/Ei
SQ N/A
TOST 19.65
Target Up.i
SQ N/A
TOST +14.35%
Op. Margini
SQ N/A
TOST 7.44%
Metrics last refreshed: 9/20/2026
Quick take
SQ vs TOST Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
SQ (Block) is a more diversified fintech ecosystem spanning small business payments (Square) and consumer financial services (Cash App), while TOST (Toast) is a highly specialized restaurant technology and payments platform with deep vertical integration. Both serve merchant payments but with very different scope and customer focus.
SQ vs TOST compares a diversified fintech platform spanning merchants and consumers against a vertically specialized restaurant technology company, both growing in the broader commerce payments landscape.
Live analysis · updated 9/20/2026
SQ and TOST are closely matched — they split the tracked metrics evenly.
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Normalized 1Y performance
SQ
TOST
Not enough data to chart yet.
Recent returns
SQ
TOST
Analyst price targets & sentiment
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
SQ
Price target data unavailable
N/A
TOST
Price target range
analyst mean$38.92
current price$29.74
+14.3% upside to analyst mean
Who should consider this stock?
SQ may suit investors who:
- Want exposure to a diversified fintech ecosystem spanning merchant POS and consumer financial services
- Value Cash App's growing financial services monetization as a large consumer platform
- Are comfortable with Bitcoin exposure through Block's various crypto-related businesses
TOST may suit investors who:
- Want focused exposure to the leading restaurant technology platform
- Value Toast's deep vertical integration and high switching costs in the restaurant vertical
- Believe the restaurant industry's technology modernization provides a long-term adoption tailwind
Performance & AI score
| Metric | SQ | TOST |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | N/A | 23.6 |
| AI ranki | N/A | #3637 |
| Latest closei | N/A | $29.74 |
| 1M returni | N/A | -15.42% |
| 6M returni | N/A | +8.54% |
| 1Y returni | N/A | -28.30% |
$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | SQ | TOST |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | N/A | $7.17K (-28.3%) started 2025-09-18 |
| 5Y ago | N/A | $4.76K (-52.4%) started 2021-09-22 |
| 10Y ago | N/A | $4.76K (-52.4%) started 2021-09-22 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
Valuation & upside potential
| Metric | SQ | TOST |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | N/A | $19.68B |
| Trailing P/Ei | N/A | 43.09 |
| Forward P/Ei | N/A | 19.65 |
| Price/Salesi | 2.46 | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | N/A | 2.64 |
| Analyst targeti | N/A | $38.92 |
| Target upsidei | N/A | +14.35% |
Growth, profitability & risk
| Metric | SQ | TOST |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | N/A | 23.10% |
| Earnings growthi | N/A | 100.00% |
| EPS growthi | N/A | +100.00% |
| FCF margini | N/A | +6.97% |
| Operating margini | N/A | 7.44% |
| Profit margini | N/A | 7.14% |
| ROIC proxyi | N/A | 25.16% |
| Return on equityi | N/A | 25.16% |
| Dividend yieldi | N/A | N/A |
| Payout ratioi | N/A | 0.00% |
| Dividend growth streaki | N/A | N/A |
| Betai | 1.54 | 1.73 |
| Debt/equityi | N/A | N/A |
| Current ratioi | N/A | 2.40 |
| Quick ratioi | N/A | 1.68 |
Drawdown & downside risk
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
1Y risk snapshot
SQ max drawdowniN/A
TOST max drawdowni46.17%
SQ max wkly dropiN/A
TOST max wkly dropi21.48%
5Y risk snapshot
SQ max drawdowniN/A
TOST max drawdowni80.56%
SQ max wkly dropiN/A
TOST max wkly dropi36.74%
10Y risk snapshot
SQ max drawdowniN/A
TOST max drawdowni80.56%
SQ max wkly dropiN/A
TOST max wkly dropi36.74%
Performance metrics by period
| Period | Metric | SQ | TOST |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | N/A | -28.30% |
| CAGRi | N/A | -28.32% | |
| Volatilityi | N/A | 46.67% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | N/A | -0.58 | |
| Sortino ratioi | N/A | -0.77 | |
| Max drawdowni | N/A | 46.17% | |
| Current drawdowni | N/A | 28.30% | |
| Avg drawdowni | N/A | 24.32% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | N/A | 26.70% | |
| Max daily dropi | N/A | 14.74% | |
| Max wkly dropi | N/A | 21.48% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | N/A | -52.42% |
| CAGRi | N/A | -13.84% | |
| Volatilityi | N/A | 60.26% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | N/A | -0.02 | |
| Sortino ratioi | N/A | -0.03 | |
| Max drawdowni | N/A | 80.56% | |
| Current drawdowni | N/A | 54.40% | |
| Avg drawdowni | N/A | 57.57% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | N/A | 59.61% | |
| Max daily dropi | N/A | 22.84% | |
| Max wkly dropi | N/A | 36.74% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | N/A | -52.42% |
| CAGRi | N/A | -13.84% | |
| Volatilityi | N/A | 60.26% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | N/A | -0.02 | |
| Sortino ratioi | N/A | -0.03 | |
| Max drawdowni | N/A | 80.56% | |
| Current drawdowni | N/A | 54.40% | |
| Avg drawdowni | N/A | 57.57% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | N/A | 59.61% | |
| Max daily dropi | N/A | 22.84% | |
| Max wkly dropi | N/A | 36.74% |
Business comparison
| Category | SQ | TOST |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Block, Inc. | Toast, Inc. |
| Sector | Information Technology - Fintech | Technology |
| Industry | N/A | Software - Infrastructure |
| Core business | Block (formerly Square) operates a two-sided ecosystem comprising Square (payment processing, POS, and business tools for small businesses), Cash App (consumer peer-to-peer payments and financial services), and Bitcoin-related products. | Toast provides an integrated point-of-sale, payment processing, and restaurant management platform specifically designed for the restaurant industry, serving tens of thousands of restaurant locations across the U.S. |
| Investor focus | Investors track Cash App's monthly active users and monetization (lending, investing), Square's gross profit growth from small business payments, and Block's Bitcoin strategy through Spiral and Cash App. | Investors track Toast's restaurant location count growth, gross payment volume (GPV), annual recurring revenue from software subscriptions, and path to profitability as the platform scales. |
SQ strengths
- Two-sided ecosystem connecting consumer (Cash App) and merchant (Square) creates a unique loop
- Cash App has scaled into a major consumer financial services platform with strong user engagement
- Bitcoin exposure through Cash App and Spiral provides optionality to the crypto market
TOST strengths
- Purpose-built platform for restaurants provides deep vertical integration unavailable from horizontal POS providers
- High switching costs once a restaurant integrates Toast's ordering, kitchen display, payroll, and payment systems
- Large and growing customer base across quick-service, casual, and full-service restaurant segments
Risks to watch — SQ
- Consumer credit losses through Cash App Borrow require careful monitoring as lending scales
- Bitcoin price volatility creates earnings variability from Bitcoin-related revenue streams
- Competition from Stripe, PayPal, and other fintech platforms in the small business payments market
Risks to watch — TOST
- Restaurant industry sensitivity — economic downturns that reduce restaurant traffic directly reduce Toast's payment volumes
- Faces competition from Lightspeed and other restaurant POS providers, as well as general POS companies expanding into restaurants
- Path to GAAP profitability has required continued optimization of unit economics
Frequently asked questions
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