Toast (TOST 3.42%) went public a little over two years ago. It has been a rough ride as its shares are down 75% since then. And today, the stock is down more than 40% from its 52-week high of $27.
The company's point-of-sale devices help simplify operations for restaurants. Not only does it help to process transactions but it also integrates with marketing activities and makes scheduling easy. And with the business in its early growth stages, there's still lots of room for Toast to grow in the future.
Is the company worth investing in despite the stock's disappointing performance?
Toast's growth rate has been falling sharply
On Nov. 7, Toast reported its third-quarter earnings. Sales jumped 37% year over year to just over $1 billion for the period. While that's a strong rate of growth for the technology company -- and for most any business -- it's also far lower than the growth it has achieved in previous periods.
TOST Revenue (Quarterly YoY Growth) data by YCharts
For the last quarter of the year, the company is projecting revenue to be the same as it was in the third quarter, which would still be 30% higher than the $769 million in revenue the business generated a year ago. The more concerning development is that on a quarter-over-quarter basis, the company isn't generating more growth.
Although Toast's devices are in 99,000 locations, the company isn't running out of growth opportunities as the restaurant industry is massive. Still, the loss of sales momentum does explain why investors haven't been overly bullish on the stock of late.
There are improvements in the business
Toast's strong growth has helped shrink the company's losses, but it isn't at breakeven yet. Last quarter, the company incurred an operating loss of $59 million, which was an improvement from the $85 million loss it posted in the prior-year period. The risk, however, is that if the growth rate continues to slow down, there may not be significant improvements in the bottom line forthcoming.
But another positive is that the business generated positive free cash flow. This is a good sign for investors as it suggests the business is sustainable and may be able to fund its own growth without having to heavily rely on issuing shares. The key thing to watch is whether this pattern continues since cash flow can fluctuate significantly from one period to the next.
TOST Free Cash Flow (Quarterly) data by YCharts
Toast is a cheap stock to buy
Toast's business isn't profitable, so a price-to-earnings multiple can't help investors to evaluate the business. But in terms of its price-to-sales ratio, it could be a potential bargain. With the stock trading at just 2 times its trailing revenue, investors don't have to pay a big premium to own a piece of the business. It's also trading within a few dollars of its 52-week low of $13.77.
And although analysts have been lowering their price targets for the growth stock recently, the consensus analyst price target remains above $20. Price targets are by no means a guarantee of where the stock will go, but they can suggest how much growth potential analysts see in the near term for the business.
Should you invest in Toast?
Toast's stock looks appealing for multiple reasons. Its beaten-down valuation has made it more attractive. And with more restaurants turning to automation and more integrated technological point-of-sale devices, Toast could do well as the industry looks to become more tech savvy. While there's still some risk with the business, it does look to be on a positive trajectory.
For investors who are willing to patient with the stock and buy and hold, Toast could make for an underrated investment to load up on today.
