PAX vs OLO Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
PAX Technology and Olo are both restaurant/retail technology companies serving different layers of the payments and ordering stack — PAX Technology manufactures the physical payment terminals used in point-of-sale systems globally (strongest in emerging markets), while Olo provides the cloud software enabling restaurant chains to manage digital ordering, delivery, and guest engagement across their branded channels. Olo is the more relevant U.S. restaurant technology investment for domestic investors.
PAX vs OLO is global payment terminal hardware manufacturer competing in emerging markets with software ecosystem (PAX Technology's low-cost Android POS terminals gaining market share in Latin America and Southeast Asia, with U.S. market limitations due to national security scrutiny) versus restaurant digital ordering and guest engagement cloud platform (Olo's infrastructure powering digital ordering for 700+ large restaurant chains — expanding from ordering into payments and marketing with Olo Pay and Olo Engage) — hardware payments infrastructure in emerging markets versus restaurant digital commerce software.
PAX and OLO are closely matched — they split the tracked metrics evenly.
- →Want exposure to the rapid adoption of electronic payments in emerging markets (Brazil, Southeast Asia, Africa) where PAX has strong market share in payment terminal infrastructure
- →Believe PAX's Android-based smart POS ecosystem will generate increasing software and recurring revenue as merchants install third-party applications on PAX terminals
- →Are comfortable with the geopolitical risks of investing in a Hong Kong-listed Chinese technology company in exchange for exposure to global payment terminal growth in price-sensitive emerging markets
- →Value Olo's entrenched position as the digital ordering infrastructure for large U.S. restaurant chains — 700+ brands representing 80,000+ locations create high switching costs as Olo becomes integrated with each chain's POS, app, and delivery operations
- →See Olo Pay as a meaningful TAM expansion opportunity converting Olo from a software vendor to a payments platform — if payment processing take rates grow within Olo's existing location base, incremental revenue is high-margin at scale
- →Believe digital ordering growth in restaurants has multi-year runway as consumer preference for mobile and online ordering continues to grow beyond current 30-50% digital share
| Metric | PAX | OLO |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 23.4 | N/A |
| AI rank | #3540 | N/A |
| Latest close | $11.00 | N/A |
| 1M return | -3.51% | N/A |
| 6M return | -34.34% | N/A |
| 1Y return | -18.75% | N/A |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | PAX | OLO |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $8.52K (-14.8%) started 2025-07-08 | N/A |
| 5Y ago | $12.8K (+28.0%) started 2021-07-08 | N/A |
| 10Y ago | $9.77K (-2.3%) started 2021-01-22 | N/A |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | PAX | OLO |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $1.75B | N/A |
| Trailing P/E | 20.75 | N/A |
| Forward P/E | 7.08 | N/A |
| Price/Sales | 4.40 | 6.11 |
| EV/Revenue | 4.85 | N/A |
| Analyst target | $15.57 | N/A |
| Target upside | +41.56% | N/A |
| Metric | PAX | OLO |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 22.00% | N/A |
| Earnings growth | -85.20% | N/A |
| EPS growth | -85.20% | N/A |
| FCF margin | N/A | N/A |
| Operating margin | N/A | N/A |
| Profit margin | 18.10% | N/A |
| ROIC proxy | 13.34% | N/A |
| Return on equity | 13.34% | N/A |
| Dividend yield | 5.54% | N/A |
| Beta | 0.74 | -0.06 |
| Debt/equity | 41.03 | N/A |
| Current ratio | 0.64 | N/A |
| Quick ratio | 0.40 | N/A |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | PAX | OLO |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | -18.75% | N/A |
| CAGR | -18.76% | N/A | |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.71 | N/A | |
| Max drawdown | 37.32% | N/A | |
| Max daily drop | 6.81% | N/A | |
| Max wkly drop | 15.20% | N/A | |
| 5Y | Growth | -7.56% | N/A |
| CAGR | -1.56% | N/A | |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.04 | N/A | |
| Max drawdown | 38.88% | N/A | |
| Max daily drop | 8.87% | N/A | |
| Max wkly drop | 15.78% | N/A | |
| 10Y | Growth | -30.05% | N/A |
| CAGR | -6.34% | N/A | |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.17 | N/A | |
| Max drawdown | 46.17% | N/A | |
| Max daily drop | 9.62% | N/A | |
| Max wkly drop | 15.78% | N/A |
| Category | PAX | OLO |
|---|---|---|
| Company | PAX Global Technology Limited | Olo Inc. |
| Sector | Technology - Payment Terminal Hardware | Technology - Restaurant Digital Ordering & Guest Engagement |
| Industry | N/A | N/A |
| Core business | PAX Technology is a Hong Kong-based payment terminal manufacturer providing point-of-sale (POS) payment terminals and smart POS devices to merchants, banks, and payment service providers globally. PAX makes Android-based smart POS terminals (PAX A-series, PAX D-series) that function as both payment acceptance devices (credit/debit card, contactless NFC, QR code payment) and small POS computers running restaurant or retail software. PAX is one of the world's largest payment terminal manufacturers by volume, competing with Verifone (private), Ingenico (Worldline subsidiary), and Castles Technology. Note: PAX Technology trades on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange; U.S. investors typically access PAX through its OTC ADR or through indirect exposure via payment ecosystem stocks. | Olo is a cloud-based software platform that enables restaurant chains to manage digital ordering across multiple channels — their own branded app, website, self-service kiosks, and third-party delivery platforms (DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub). Olo provides: Order Management (routing orders from any digital channel to the restaurant POS and kitchen), Dispatch (last-mile delivery management, connecting restaurants with third-party delivery couriers), Guest Data (Olo Pay — payment processing, and Olo Engage — guest marketing and loyalty). Olo's restaurant customer base includes large enterprise chains (approximately 80,000+ restaurant locations using Olo), making Olo the leading digital ordering infrastructure for large restaurant brands. |
| Investor focus | PAX Technology investors track global terminal shipment volumes, ASP (average selling price) per terminal, software and cloud services revenue (recurring revenue from payment services and Android app marketplace on PAX devices), and regional market penetration (particularly China, Latin America, and emerging markets). | Investors track Olo's active locations (number of restaurant locations using Olo's platform), average revenue per location (ARPL), total revenue growth, gross margin (Olo Pay and other payment-adjacent products are lower margin than pure software), and progress cross-selling Olo Pay (payment processing) and Olo Engage (marketing) into the existing ordering customer base. |
- →PAX is one of the world's largest payment terminal manufacturers with strong market share in emerging markets — PAX has grown to become a top-3 global payment terminal vendor; strong position in Brazil, Southeast Asia, and Africa where electronic payment adoption is growing rapidly
- →Android-based smart POS platform enables software ecosystem beyond pure payment acceptance — PAX's Android terminals can run third-party restaurant or retail software; this software ecosystem creates recurring revenue beyond hardware sales
- →Low-cost manufacturing base provides competitive pricing in volume-sensitive emerging markets — PAX's manufacturing in China provides cost structure advantages in price-sensitive markets
- →Olo has deep penetration in enterprise restaurant chains — Olo powers digital ordering for approximately 700+ restaurant brands including major chains (Denny's, Wingstop, Portillo's, Jack in the Box); large chains use Olo as the backend infrastructure for their own-branded apps and websites rather than building custom digital ordering themselves
- →Olo Pay expands TAM from pure software to payment processing — adding Olo's own payment processing (Olo Pay) to the ordering platform converts Olo from a software vendor to a fintech; restaurants using Olo Pay keep the customer payment data within Olo's ecosystem, improving data capabilities for targeted marketing
- →Digital ordering growth is structurally supported by consumer preference — online and mobile ordering has grown from a small fraction to approximately 30-50% of orders at major QSR and fast casual brands; Olo benefits as this percentage continues growing with consumer expectations
- →PAX has faced U.S. national security scrutiny that limits its U.S. market access — PAX was banned from U.S. federal government contracts and faced scrutiny about data security; this limits PAX's ability to grow in the U.S. market where Verifone and Ingenico dominate
- →Hardware terminal market faces pressure from software-based payment solutions (tap-to-pay on smartphone) — Apple Tap to Pay and similar solutions enable merchants to accept contactless payments on a smartphone without dedicated payment hardware; this could reduce demand for traditional payment terminals long-term
- →Complex geopolitical environment for Chinese technology companies creates investment risk — U.S. export controls, cybersecurity scrutiny of Chinese electronics companies, and U.S.-China trade tensions create regulatory uncertainty
- →Toast is building digital ordering capabilities that compete with Olo's standalone platform — Toast's own online ordering and delivery integration features reduce the incentive for Toast POS customers to also subscribe to Olo; as Toast's market penetration grows, Olo's standalone digital ordering value proposition faces displacement for smaller chains using Toast as their all-in-one platform
- →Olo must demonstrate that Olo Pay adoption translates to materially better margins — Olo Pay generates payment processing revenue at lower gross margins than software; if Olo Pay adoption dilutes gross margins without enough incremental revenue, the economics are worse than pure-play software
- →Enterprise restaurant chains are large but finite — Olo has already signed most of the major enterprise restaurant chains (700+ brands, 80,000+ locations); incremental growth requires either expanding within existing customers (more locations, more products) or winning smaller restaurant chains where Toast and other integrated POS platforms compete more aggressively
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