PYPL vs. TOST: PayPal vs. Toast Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do PayPal (PYPL) and Toast (TOST) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

PayPal (PYPL) and Toast (TOST) are both classified in the Transaction & Payment Processing Services sub-industry within the broader Financial Services industry, placing them in the closest GICS peer bucket.

Company profile comparison for PayPal (PYPL) and Toast (TOST)
Profile Item	PYPL	TOST
Name	PayPal Holdings, Inc.	Toast, Inc. Class A Common Stock
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Financials	Financials
GICS Industry Group	Financial Services	Financial Services
GICS Industry	Financial Services	Financial Services
GICS Sub-Industry	Transaction & Payment Processing Services	Transaction & Payment Processing Services
Market Capitalization	49.21 billion USD	20.14 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	NYSE
Listing Date	July 6, 2015	September 22, 2021
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

PYPL

TOST

GSPC

PayPal (PYPL) vs. Toast (TOST), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for PayPal (PYPL) and Toast (TOST). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for PayPal (PYPL) and Toast (TOST). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for PayPal (PYPL) and Toast (TOST)
Metric	PYPL	TOST
Total Return (1Y)	-7.44%	-5.92%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	4.14%	35.73%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-21.48%	-10.54%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

PYPL

TOST

GSPC

PayPal (PYPL) vs. Toast (TOST), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for PayPal (PYPL) and Toast (TOST). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for PayPal (PYPL) and Toast (TOST)
Metric	PYPL	TOST
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	42.40%	45.32%
Beta (5Y)	1.28	1.66
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-81.84%	-79.13%
Avg. Volume (3M)	11.78M	8.73M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

PYPL and TOST are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for PayPal (PYPL) and Toast (TOST)
Metric	PYPL	TOST
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.28	-0.23
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.37	-0.31

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both PayPal (PYPL) at 23.83% and Toast (TOST) at 25.58% sit in the top peer quartile for ROE, suggesting each generates more profit from shareholders’ equity than typical industry peers.

PYPL

Financial Services industry group

23.83%

Max: 44.78%
PYPL: 23.83%
Q3: 21.85%
Median: 12.91%
Q1: 4.48%
Min: -18.71%

TOST

Financial Services industry group

25.58%

Max: 44.78%
TOST: 25.58%
Q3: 21.85%
Median: 12.91%
Q1: 4.48%
Min: -18.71%

PayPal (PYPL) vs. Toast (TOST): A comparison of their ROE against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Both PayPal (PYPL) at 13.78% and Toast (TOST) at 7.69% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

PYPL

Financial Services industry group

13.78%

Max: 62.84%
Q3: 28.05%
Median: 15.36%
PYPL: 13.78%
Q1: 4.82%
Min: -28.52%

TOST

Financial Services industry group

7.69%

Max: 62.84%
Q3: 28.05%
Median: 15.36%
TOST: 7.69%
Q1: 4.82%
Min: -28.52%

PayPal (PYPL) vs. Toast (TOST): A comparison of their net margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

PayPal (PYPL) at 18.41% runs core operations around its industry’s norm, while Toast (TOST) at 8.63% operates in the bottom quartile.

PYPL

Financial Services industry group

18.41%

Max: 107.33%
Q3: 55.90%
Median: 30.09%
PYPL: 18.41%
Q1: 14.60%
Min: -44.34%

TOST

Financial Services industry group

8.63%

Max: 107.33%
Q3: 55.90%
Median: 30.09%
Q1: 14.60%
TOST: 8.63%
Min: -44.34%

PayPal (PYPL) vs. Toast (TOST): A comparison of their operating margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for PayPal (PYPL) and Toast (TOST)
Metric	PYPL	TOST
ROE (TTM)	23.83%	25.58%
ROA (TTM)	4.70%	10.30%
Net Margin (TTM)	13.78%	7.69%
Operating Margin (TTM)	18.41%	8.63%
Gross Margin (TTM)	--	--

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both PayPal (PYPL) at 4.32% and Toast (TOST) at 24.05% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

PayPal (PYPL) vs. Toast (TOST): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Toast (TOST) at 1,766.67% clears its industry range for EPS growth, a much stronger earnings trajectory than PayPal (PYPL) at 35.59%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

PayPal (PYPL) vs. Toast (TOST): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for PayPal (PYPL) and Toast (TOST)
Metric	PYPL	TOST
Revenue Growth (YoY)	4.32%	24.05%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	6.43%	31.10%
EPS Growth (YoY)	35.59%	1,766.67%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	37.30%	--

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: PayPal (PYPL) in Financial Services and Toast (TOST) in Financial Services both report balance sheets without a current/non-current split, so their short-term liquidity is better judged through regulatory and funding measures.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

debt-to-equity ratio is set aside for both: PayPal (PYPL) in Financial Services and Toast (TOST) in Financial Services run businesses where balance-sheet leverage is part of the model, so capital-adequacy and funding measures are the better gauges of balance-sheet risk.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for PayPal (PYPL) and Toast (TOST)
Metric	PYPL	TOST
Current Ratio (MRQ)	--	--
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	--	--
Net Debt / EBITDA	--	--

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Toast (TOST) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile PayPal (PYPL) reports a yield of 0.95%, ranking against industry peers normally.

PYPL

Financial Services industry group

0.95%

Max: 9.77%
Q3: 3.92%
Median: 1.09%
PYPL: 0.95%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

TOST

Financial Services industry group

0.00%

Max: 9.77%
Q3: 3.92%
Median: 1.09%
TOST: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

PayPal (PYPL) vs. Toast (TOST): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Toast (TOST) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile PayPal (PYPL) reports a payout of 10.69%, ranking against industry peers normally.

PYPL

Financial Services industry group

10.69%

Max: 241.07%
Q3: 97.36%
Median: 25.77%
PYPL: 10.69%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

TOST

Financial Services industry group

0.00%

Max: 241.07%
Q3: 97.36%
Median: 25.77%
TOST: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

PayPal (PYPL) vs. Toast (TOST): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for PayPal (PYPL) and Toast (TOST)
Metric	PYPL	TOST
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.95%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	10.69%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

PayPal (PYPL) at 11.31 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Toast (TOST) at 38.10 sits in the richer quartile — TOST needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

PYPL

Financial Services industry group

11.31

Max: 45.85
Q3: 24.64
Median: 15.37
PYPL: 11.31
Q1: 9.68
Min: 0.16

TOST

Financial Services industry group

38.10

Max: 45.85
TOST: 38.10
Q3: 24.64
Median: 15.37
Q1: 9.68
Min: 0.16

PayPal (PYPL) vs. Toast (TOST): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both PayPal (PYPL) at 1.43 and Toast (TOST) at 2.82 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

PYPL

Financial Services industry group

1.43

Max: 9.23
Q3: 4.57
Median: 2.72
PYPL: 1.43
Q1: 1.28
Min: -0.55

TOST

Financial Services industry group

2.82

Max: 9.23
Q3: 4.57
TOST: 2.82
Median: 2.72
Q1: 1.28
Min: -0.55

PayPal (PYPL) vs. Toast (TOST): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

PayPal (PYPL) at 2.55 sits near its industry’s typical P/B ratio, while Toast (TOST) at 8.79 prices above its benchmark range — TOST looks rich relative to book.

PYPL

Financial Services industry group

2.55

Max: 7.79
Q3: 3.63
PYPL: 2.55
Median: 1.57
Q1: 0.81
Min: -0.39

TOST

Financial Services industry group

8.79

TOST: 8.79
Max: 7.79
Q3: 3.63
Median: 1.57
Q1: 0.81
Min: -0.39

PayPal (PYPL) vs. Toast (TOST): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for PayPal (PYPL) and Toast (TOST)
Metric	PYPL	TOST
P/E Ratio (TTM)	11.31	38.10
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.43	2.82
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	2.55	8.79
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	--	--