Toast, Inc.

Valuations are stretched, but is it a bubble? In this podcast, Motley Fool contributors Travis Hoium, Lou Whiteman, and Rachel Warren discuss that as well as:
The latest AI and energy news.
ASML's earnings.
A surprising report from Johnson & Johnson.
Alphabet's $25 billion data center and energy deals.
Bold predictions this earnings season
To catch full episodes of all The Motley Fool's free podcasts, check out our podcast center. When you're ready to invest, check out this top 10 list of stocks to buy.
Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »
A full transcript is below.
Should you invest $1,000 in ASML right now?
Before you buy stock in ASML, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and ASML wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $665,092!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,050,477!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,055% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 180% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.
*Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025
This podcast was recorded on July 16, 2025.
Travis Hoium: Is a market bubble farming right under our noses? Motley Fool Money starts now. I'm Travis Hoium, joined by longtime Fools, Lou the legend Whiteman, and from an undisclosed location somewhere in Europe, Rachel Warren. Today, we're going to get to ASML and Johnson & Johnson's earnings results, which came in overnight. Google's $25 billion energy deal. But first, are we in a market bubble? Lou, I remember Cloudflare trading for 100 times its sales at the peak of the market in 2021. The stock then fell 80% in six months. Today, Palantir is trading for 110 times sales. The stock is over $150 per share. Robinhood, 25 times sales at $100 per share. It looks like a bubble. It feels a little like a bubble. Are we in a bubble?
Lou Whiteman: Look, Travis, there's always a bubble somewhere. Valuations they look stretched. My go-to stat here is the S&P 500 is currently trading at 25 times earnings. That's well above the 20-year average, about 16 times earnings. That's frothy. I do think you need to keep that in mind. For example, I think Hidden Gems just sold down some of its position in Arista Networks based on high valuation. You keep that in mind. But here's the thing. Markets can remain at high valuations for a long time. I'm not running for the exits. I'm being selective. I'm looking for opportunities out there in areas like financial services and income stocks. I'm keeping that in mind, I'm adjusting as we go, but I also want to stay in the market.
Rachel Warren: I don't think I would say that we are in a stock market bubble, but I do think it's an important point to discuss. We're looking at valuations of a lot of tech companies right now, in particular. I think it's easy to be concerned that there might be a bubble forming. We've heard a lot of analysts make comparisons to the .com boom, of course. There's a lot of excitement that we're seeing in the tech base in particular, right now. This is being driven by the AI revolution, whether it's data center companies, chip companies, or software-based platforms like Palantir, as you mentioned, that are boosting their business with AI-driven services. This is where so much of the market seems to be focused. It's also a time where a lot of the modern pace of innovation is tracing back to right now. You look at a company like Robinhood. You've got the broader resurgence of interest in crypto that's benefited the platform. It's expansion into Europe, stock tokenization, and crypto futures. Those are just a few catalysts.
I will say, I think it creates a situation where many valuations are heightened, probably in some cases, for more than a given company's intrinsic worth. But I don't think that that valuation dynamic is true across the board. I think you can look at other industries where valuations are much more reasonable, find quality accessible businesses. For that reason, I don't think we're in a broad stock market bubble. But are valuations too high in some cases? I think that's the case. I think it's more important than ever for investors to be discerning when evaluating the intrinsic worth of companies, making sure it's the right fit for their personal portfolio, thinking about, where's your money? What is the true monetizable business here? Does it have those durable value-driven tailwinds for the company's growth? I think those are the questions that we have to ask ourselves as investors.
Travis Hoium: Sounds like the final answer is, we're probably in a bubble somewhere. We just don't know exactly where it is. I want to get to one of the companies that's involved in potentially inflating bubbles. That is Google and their latest AI news. We'll do that after a quick break.
Potential bubbles, let's turn to artificial intelligence, and Google announced $25 billion in data center and energy deals in the PJM, which manages electricity across 13 states from New Jersey to North Carolina, all the way over to Chicago. This comes on the heels of Energy's biggest inflation numbers in quite a while. 5.8% increase in electricity prices over the past 12 months. That was reported just yesterday. AI is an energy hog. We know that Rachel utilities have been a boring way to make money for decades, 1, 2, 3% growth. But does the recent change in artificial intelligence and the energy needs there, does that change anything? Does that change the way that you look at the utility space in any way?
Rachel Warren: For me, personally, I wouldn't say that this changes the trajectory of my investing interests in the energy space. I will say, it's not a space I gravitated toward. There are plenty of fellow fools who do. But if anything, as an alphabet investor, this makes me more excited about the investments this company is making that I think can help cement its continued leadership and strides in the AI space. In addition to that $25 billion data center and AI infrastructure investment, Google's also spending about $3 billion to modernize two hydropower plants in Pennsylvania, and that's designed to facilitate the power demand from AI and data centers in the area. One thing to bear in mind, PJM is the biggest electric grid in the nation. Its coverage area includes the world's largest data center market, that's located in Northern Virginia.
We're at a time where PJM and other providers are really struggling to keep up with rising electricity demand amid the AI boom. AI training, particularly for large language models and generative AI, it's incredibly energy intensive. A single generative AI query can require almost 10 times more electricity than a traditional Internet search. Data centers are already consuming a notable percentage of the nation's electricity. Unlike some other energy demands that can fluctuate, AI requires continuous operation. That means you need a constant power supply. That strains existing grid capacity. There was a meeting that just happened yesterday at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh. We have the president, his cabinet, and executives from a range of companies, including Alphabet, were there. There was a report that the companies there, including, of course, Alphabet's Google, announced a combined total of $90 billion in investments in data centers, energy, and power infrastructure. From my perspective, that's the cost of doing business for these major providers. But if you are interested in the energy space, I think it creates some nice tailwinds there.
Travis Hoium: Lou, of course, Rachel mentioned the hydroelectric plants, and of course, Brookfield Asset Management was involved. They are the company that's behind a lot of electricity generation, not only in the US, but around the world, a lot of renewable energy. Is the investing takeaway here as simple as AI is a tide that is lifting all of these utility boats, and maybe we're going to lose the consumer overboard, or what are you taking away from?
Lou Whiteman: No, my investing takeaway is not by the utilities. I'm not there yet, but the invest takeaway for me is you said it, Travis. It's Brookfield. It's always Brookfield or something like that. Look, I think the demand for energy, that trend is real. It's a long-term tailwind, but I don't want to invest in individual utilities. I don't like to pick winners among geographies or projects. My way to take advantage of this trend is to buy into a company making investments all over the sector, giving me broad exposure instead of just an individual company. Look at the Brookfield Renewable Partners case. That's the actual entity that Google's partnering with here. Brookfield Renewable is going to bring on 8,000 megawatts of capacity in 2025 alone. I'm going to take my chances getting that broad exposure instead of focusing on any one individual company and hoping that they ride the wave, as well.
Travis Hoium: I think that's probably a smart way to look at it, and you get a nice dividend yield with a lot of those asset owners as well. Next up, we're going to talk about two of the big earnings reports of the day. We'll do that after this break.
ASML, which makes critical equipment for making chips, all the artificial intelligence chips, the chips that's probably in your smartphone today. This equipment costs as much as $400 million for a single piece of equipment. They reported earnings overnight, beat on the top and bottom line with 7.7 billion euros in revenue and 590 euros per share in earnings. But the stock is down 10% today because they were a little cautious about 2026, saying they couldn't confirm. It was going to be a growth year. Lou, what are you taking away from this earnings report?
Lou Whiteman: Worth saying that, like you said, these are really expensive machines. Even in the best of times, this is a company that's tough to judge quarter to quarter. You miss one delivery, and it can throw off the quarter. You're going to have lumpy. You throw in tariffs, trade wars, and chip restrictions to China, and I understand the caution. But I'm going to note here, CFO Roger Dyson attributed to this beat, this last quarter's beat to tariffs having "less negative impact than they anticipated." I think there's a real chance this trend can continue where the uncertainty is there, but it turns out not as bad as they thought because there's just so much demand out there, and if so, I think growth in 2026 can eventually be put back on the table, whether it comes or not for long term individual investors, the underlying growth story here, the need for more and more advanced chips and therefore, the need for more the machines that can make them. That's unchanged. I think Wall Street is overreacting today. I think this is still a great company with a great future up ahead.
Rachel Warren: What's interesting about this, Abi, as you noted, Travis, ASML, they beat on both the top and bottom line expectations. This was for their fiscal second quarter. Now, they gave guidance for the current quarter that missed expectations, and they warned that there might be the possibility of no growth in 2026. But it's not quite as bad as it appears at first glance. They forecast Q3 quarter revenue of between 7.4 billion euros and 7.9 billion euros at the upper end of that tier. I was just shy of the market expectations of about 8.3 billion euros for Q3. Taking a broader, more holistic look here, there are a lot of companies in the semiconductor industry that are facing similar headwinds as ASML is right now. There's a lot of uncertainty that's been created by the US tariff policy that remains the case. It's worth noting, management still expects their full year 2025 net sales to grow 15%, and they said that their AI customers' fundamentals are still looking really strong. Anything, management emphasized the continued uncertainty that's driven by macro headwinds, and that's a dynamic that competitors are contending with, too. They're preparing for growth in 2026.
But the reality that they and other adjacent players are facing right now in many ways. It goes back to external factors that they can't control. In my opinion, you've still got a quality business here. I think investors might need to moderate expectations. If macro headwinds shift in the short term, but I think the company is well-positioned to write those out.
Travis Hoium: Johnson & Johnson was the other big earnings report this morning. Stocks up 6% as we're recording. Rachel, this was another double beat. They said, they don't need to do deals out of desperation despite a Paden cliff. What were your takeaways from the report?
Rachel Warren: It was a fantastic quarter for the business. As you noted, a beat on both the top and bottom lines. They reported $23.7 billion in revenue. That beat estimates of 22.8 billion, adjusted earnings per share of $2.77. That was compared to analyst estimates of $2.70. That came with raised guidance for the year, as well, up 5.4%, at the midpoint. We had the chairman and CEO of the company say that their portfolio and pipeline is positioning them for elevated growth in the second half of the year with game-changing approvals and submissions and key disease verticals, including oncology, psoriasis, surgery, and cardiovascular, and they're looking to extend that as the year progresses. Broken down by segment, their innovative medicine segment, which is essentially their pharmaceutical business, grew 4.5% year over year. Their medical device business saw sales climb more than 7%. Those are fantastic figures for a company at this level of maturity. This is a business that I will note has been acquisitive in recent years. That goes back to everything from their acquisition of Abiomed several years ago, where they acquired the world's smallest heart pump from that acquisition.
They recently closed the purchase of intracellular therapies. That solidified their neuroscience portfolio. One important thing to note, this was something that CFO Joe Wolk addressed in a recent interview. They are facing patent pressures, particularly on some of their key older blockbuster drugs like Stelara. That's been a $10 billion-plus drug annually in recent years. But management thinks that, really, the expected gap in revenue from the generic competition is not going to have a noticeable impact on the company. That they're really well positioned to ride that out. Broadly speaking, going back to these recent acquisitions and their continued internal development pipeline. I will also say that management noted a revision in the impact of tariffs to 200 million. That was versus the 400 million that they were previously projecting. Now, there's still a lot of uncertainty about drug tariffs that is lingering, and something that their CFO said is, we're still really waiting to see what the administration shares in that regard. We're in an environment, of course, where there's a ton of uncertainty regarding tariffs and other cost pressures for businesses like this one. I will say this is one of the most well-bolstered companies in the pharma industry from a cash perspective. They're well-positioned to handle any headwinds that might come. They have an extensive domestic manufacturing presence that they are also looking to expand. This is also a company that has been paying and raising their dividend every single year for over six decades. It's a great company, in my opinion.
Travis Hoium: To end the show, I do want to get bold with some predictions here. Now, we are long-term investors, so a one-day drop in stock is maybe not that big a deal. It might even be opportunity. ASML is one of these companies wide moat. It's down after earnings, maybe an opportunity for those long-term investors. Now I'm thinking about opportunities like Netflix in the Quickstar days, Meta's drop when it was getting fit in 2022. What are the stocks that you're looking for a potential buy-the-dip stocks as we go through earning seasons, and maybe we have some short-term turbulence. Lou, let's start with you.
Lou Whiteman: The first name that comes to my mind is Mercado Libre. In part, because, look, given the markets, given the South American exposure, the wide range of businesses, there does tend to be volatility. There does tend to be dips. I think there could be opportunities. Look, for all of the growth that this company has delivered, crazy to think about, it's what, maybe one 20th the size of Amazon. It's a current position for me, and it's constantly on my radar.
Rachel Warren: One business I've been looking at recently is Toast. This has been a intriguing company to follow, particularly for me over the last 12-18 months. They really continue to expand the cohort of clients that they're onboard into their platform. They just booked Applebee's, which was their largest deal in company history. They added over 6,000 net new locations just in Q1 of 2025 alone, and they reached an annual recurring run rate that grew 31% year over year to about 1.7 billion as of the end of March. It's a sticky business. It resonates with a lot of small, medium-sized restaurant chains. But also some of these larger companies that are starting to see the value in Toast's platform. They're looking outside the restaurant space, too, convenience stores, companies like Top Golf, or more recent Partners for them. I think there's a lot to like about this business. I'm also quite impressed by their more recent profitability. It's one that I'd be curious to take a closer look at. They happen to go down that mark.
Travis Hoium: Thank you to Lou and Rachel for joining me today. As always, people on the program may have interest in the stocks that they talk about in the Motley Fool, may have formal recommendations for or against, so don't buy or sell stocks based solely on what you hear. All personal finance content follows Motley Fool editorial guidelines and is not approved by advertisers, are sponsored content, and provided for informational purposes only to see our full advertising disclosure, please check our show notes. For Lou Whiteman and Rachel Warren, and the entire Motley Fool team, I'm Travis Hoium. We'll see you tomorrow.
John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Lou Whiteman has positions in ASML, Cloudflare, and MercadoLibre. Rachel Warren has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, and Johnson & Johnson. Travis Hoium has positions in Alphabet, Cloudflare, MercadoLibre, and Robinhood Markets. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends ASML, Alphabet, Amazon, Arista Networks, Cloudflare, MercadoLibre, Netflix, Palantir Technologies, and Toast. The Motley Fool recommends Brookfield Asset Management, Brookfield Renewable Partners, and Johnson & Johnson. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Is the Stock Market in Bubble Territory?

Can Toast Thrive in the Restaurant Renaissance?

Among the underlying components of the Russell 3000 index, we saw noteworthy options trading volume today in GE Vernova Inc (Symbol: GEV), where a total of 16,033 contracts have traded so far, representing approximately 1.6 million underlying shares. That amounts to about 52.3% of GEV's average daily trading volume over the past month of 3.1 million shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $550 strike put option expiring July 18, 2025, with 1,167 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 116,700 underlying shares of GEV. Below is a chart showing GEV's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $550 strike highlighted in orange:
Datadog Inc (Symbol: DDOG) options are showing a volume of 56,774 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 5.7 million underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 50.7% of DDOG's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 11.2 million shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $145 strike call option expiring July 18, 2025, with 8,074 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 807,400 underlying shares of DDOG. Below is a chart showing DDOG's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $145 strike highlighted in orange:
And Toast Inc (Symbol: TOST) options are showing a volume of 37,236 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 3.7 million underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 50.3% of TOST's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 7.4 million shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $45 strike call option expiring July 25, 2025, with 2,176 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 217,600 underlying shares of TOST. Below is a chart showing TOST's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $45 strike highlighted in orange:
For the various different available expirations for GEV options, DDOG options, or TOST options, visit StockOptionsChannel.com.
Also see:
UNFI Options Chain
ATHM Average Annual Return
Institutional Holders of SP
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Noteworthy Thursday Option Activity: GEV, DDOG, TOST

The S&P 500 Index ($SPX) (SPY) today is up +0.30%, the Dow Jones Industrials Index ($DOWI) (DIA) is up +0.35%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX) (QQQ) is up +0.40%. September E-mini S&P futures (ESU25) are up +0.08%, and September E-mini Nasdaq futures (NQU25) are up +0.18%.
Stocks are climbing today on signs the US economy is holding up, despite tariff uncertainty. Positive economic news today included a decline in weekly jobless claims to a 3-month low, a stronger-than-expected retail sales report, and a rise in the Philadelphia Fed index to a 5-month high.
Join 200K+ Subscribers: Find out why the midday Barchart Brief newsletter is a must-read for thousands daily.
Strength in airline stocks is also lifting the broader market as United Airlines Holdings jumped more than +6% after CEO Kirby said the second half of the year has become more predictable, and the company has potential "upside" to beat its earnings targets as customers returned to booking flights.
On the negative side, health insurers are retreating today, led by an -11% plunge in Elevance Health after the company cut its earnings outlook for the year.
US weekly initial unemployment claims unexpectedly fell -7,000 to a 3-month low of 221,000, showing a stronger labor market than expectations of an increase to 233,000.
US June retail sales rose +0.6% m/m, stronger than expectations of +0.1% m/m, and June retail sales ex-autos rose +0.5% m/m, stronger than expectations of +0.3% m/m.
The US June import price index ex-petroleum was unchanged m/m, weaker than expectations of +0.2% m/m.
The US July Philadelphia Fed business outlook survey rose +19.9 to a 5-month high of 15.9, stronger than expectations of -1.0.
On the trade front, President Trump said late Wednesday that he intends to send a tariff letter to more than 150 countries notifying them their tariff rates could be 10% or 15%, effective August 1, and that the group was "not big countries who don't do that much business with the US."
Also, signs that the US could ease some of its export restrictions on semiconductor chips to China are bullish for chip makers. Commerce Secretary Lutnick said Nvidia could soon resume sales of its less advanced H20 chips to China, and Advanced Micro Devices received similar assurances from the Commerce Department, a sign that the US may be in the process of negotiating a grand trade deal with China. Treasury Secretary Bessent is expected to meet his Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, within "the next couple of weeks" and signaled the US will likely extend an August 12 deadline for the easing of sky-high tariffs.
However, stocks were undercut by negative trade news that emerged last week and during this past weekend. Over the weekend, President Trump announced that the US will impose 30% tariffs on US imports from the European Union and Mexico, effective August 1. Mr. Trump said last Thursday that a 35% tariff on some Canadian products would take effect on August 1, up from the current 25%. Last week, Mr. Trump imposed a 50% tariff on copper imports, which will include semi-finished goods, and stated that drug companies could face tariffs as high as 200% on imports if they don't relocate production to the US within the next year.
Federal funds futures prices are discounting the chances for a -25 bp rate cut at 3% at the July 29-30 FOMC meeting and 58% at the following meeting on Sep 16-17.
The markets will focus on any fresh news regarding tariffs or trade deals during the remainder of this week. Later today, the July NAHB housing market index is expected to rise +1 to 33. On Friday, June housing starts are expected to climb +3.3% m/m to 1.298 million, and June building permits are expected to slip -0.6% m/m to 1.386 million. Also, the University of Michigan's US July consumer sentiment index is expected to climb +0.8 to 61.5.
Earnings season began in earnest this week with a focus on big bank earnings results. The consensus is for S&P 500 companies to show Q2 earnings growth of +2.8% y/y, the smallest increase in two years, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Also, only six of the eleven S&P 500 sectors are projected to post an increase in earnings, the fewest since Q1 of 2023, according to Yardeni Research.
Overseas stock markets today are higher. The Euro Stoxx 50 is up +1.11%. China's Shanghai Composite closed up +0.37%. Japan's Nikkei Stock 225 closed up +0.60%.
Interest Rates
September 10-year T-notes (ZNU25) today are up +4 ticks. The 10-year T-note yield is down -2.2 bp to 4.433%. T-notes recovered from early losses today and moved higher on carryover support from late Wednesday when President Trump said he has "no plans” on firing Fed Chair Powell. T-notes also found support on signs of easing price pressures after today's news showed the Jun import price index ex-petroleum rose less than expected.
T-notes initially moved lower today on stronger-than-expected US economic news, including June retail sales, weekly initial unemployment claims, and the July Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey, which signaled strength in the US economy that was hawkish for Fed policy. Also, strength in stocks today has reduced safe-haven demand for T-notes.
European government bond yields today are moving higher. The 10-year German bund yield is up +0.4 bp to 2.691%. The 10-year UK gilt yield climbed to a 6-week high of 4.678% and is up +2.2 bp to 4.660%.
Swaps are discounting the chances at 1% for a -25 bp rate cut by the ECB at the July 24 policy meeting.
US Stock Movers
United Airlines Holdings (UAL) is up more than +6% to lead airline stocks higher after CEO Kirby said the second half of the year has become more predictable and the company has potential "upside" to beat its earnings targets as customers returned to booking flights. Also, American Airlines Group (AAL) is up more than +5% and Alaska Air Group (ALK) is up more than +3%. In addition, Delta Air Lines (DAL) is up more than +2% and Southwest Airlines (LUV) is up more than +1%.
Snap-on (SNA) is up more than +6% to lead gainers in the S&P 500 after reporting Q2 net sales of $1.18 billion, stronger than the consensus of $1.16 billion.
PepsiCo (PEP) is up more than +6% to lead gainers in the Nasdaq 100 after reporting Q2 net revenue of $22.73 billion, above the consensus of $22.32 billion.
CSX Corp (CSX) is up more than +3% after Semafor reported that Union Pacific is exploring an acquisition of the company.
Steven Madden Ltd (SHOO) is up more than +7% after Citigroup upgraded the stock to buy from neutral with a price target of $32.
Toast (TOST) is up more than +3% after Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to buy from not rated with a price target of $54.
Mondelez International (MDLZ) is up more than +1% after Jefferies upgraded the stock to buy from hold with a price target of $78.
Health insurance providers are sliding today, led by an -11% plunge in Elevance Health (ELV) to lead losers in the S&P 500 after cutting its earnings outlook for the year to "approximately" $30 per share, well below a previous forecast of $34.15 to $34.85 per share. Also, Molina Healthcare (MOH) is down more than -5%. In addition, Humana (HUM), Centene (CNC), and Cigna Group (CI) are down more than -2%. Finally, UnitedHealth Group (UNH) is down more than -1% to lead losers in the Dow Joens Industrials.
Sonic Automotive (SAH) is down more than -6% after JPMorgan Chase downgraded the stock to underweight from overweight with a price target of $72.
Starwood Property Trust (STWD) is down more than -4% after selling over 25.5 million shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering overnight between $19.91 to $20.33 a share, below Wednesday's closing price of $20.85.
MP Materials (MP) is down more than -2% after it said it commenced a $500 million underwritten public offering of its common stock to fund its expansion.
Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM) is down more than -1% after President Trump said Coca-Cola has agreed to use "real cane sugar" in Coke soda in the US, which could reduce demand for ADM's corn syrup and hurt its corn-processing business.
Shake Shack (SHAK) is down more than -1% after Jeffries downgraded the stock to underperform from hold with a price target of $120.
Earnings Reports (7/17/2025)
PepsiCo Inc (PEP), Travelers Cos Inc/The (TRV), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Elevance Health Inc (ELV), Cintas Corp (CTAS), Marsh & McLennan Cos Inc (MMC), US Bancorp (USB), Snap-on Inc (SNA), General Electric Co (GE), Citizens Financial Group Inc (CFG), Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB), Netflix Inc (NFLX).
On the date of publication, Rich Asplund did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Signs of Economic Strength Boost Stocks

The investing world has taken note that investing legend Warren Buffett has been a net seller of stocks for the past 10 quarters. But it's worth noting that even amid that shift, he still found stocks he wanted to buy, like Domino's Pizza and Pool Corp.
Other well-known investors are finding plenty of opportunities in the market today. Ark Invest head Cathie Wood, for example, continues to pick up shares of her signature disruptive tech stocks for her firm's exchange-traded funds (ETFs). In fact, she's been on a buying spree lately, and she purchased about 25 stocks over the past few days. Here are 10 of them.
Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More »
1. Shopify
Shopify (NASDAQ: SHOP) is one of the largest e-commerce companies in the world, but it doesn't sell retail products to consumers -- it provides e-commerce software and hardware to the businesses that do the selling. Its gross merchandise value isn't so far off from Amazon's sales figures. Since that includes merchandise from millions of merchant clients, it isn't a threat to Amazon, but it is a major competitor. Shopify's revenue increased 27% year over year in the first quarter.
E-commerce still only accounts for around 20% of retail sales, but its share is expected to continue increasing in the next few years. Not only will Shopify benefit from that organic growth, but it's investing in offering expanded services on its platform and reaching more clients, and it's well positioned to keep reporting strong growth.
2. Airbnb
Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB) has already disrupted the traditional travel and tourism sectors, but it's expanding its platform to offer more products and choices for its customers. It has proven resilient under various challenging macroeconomic circumstances, growing and remaining extremely profitable. It's a leader in its industry, and consumers continue to shift toward its agile model, which gives them more choices in location, price, and more.
Revenue increased 6% year over year in the first quarter, and free cash flow was $1.8 billion.
3. Toast
Toast (NYSE: TOST) operates a digital restaurant management platform, and its user base is rapidly growing as more customers see the benefits of switching. It has several advantages over its competition, including a singular focus on restaurants, in contrast with other providers that service many industries, as well as further product specialization to match the needs of different restaurant types like pizza shops and bakeries.
Its annualized recurring run-rate increased by 31% year over year in the first quarter, and it booked income from operations of $43 million, in contrast to its $56 million loss on that metric in the prior-year period.
4. Robinhood Markets
Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ: HOOD) is an investment platform aimed at individual retail investors. It has done an impressive job of evolving from a risky brokerage company to a financial services company with a large suite of offerings, and monetizing its customer base by selling them new products.
Revenue increased 50% year over year in the first quarter, and net income more than doubled. I still see it as riskier than similar fintech disrupters because its core customer base tends to embrace riskier investments like cryptocurrencies.
5. Coinbase
Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) is a Wood favorite. It's a cryptocurrency trading platform, and she's a big believer in cryptocurrency and how it could power future financial technology. There is continual adoption of different cryptocurrencies, and specifically stablecoins, and Coinbase has a long future ahead of it as a leader in this space. Net revenue increased 25% year over year in the first quarter.
6. Advanced Micro Devices
Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) is a semiconductor company that has seen better days, but it's starting to come around again, which is why the stock is looking attractive right now. Although it's behind Nvidia in the artificial intelligence (AI) accelerator chip race, it has been making progress, and it has plenty of other products in its portfolio, as well as deals with major clients like Dell and Alphabet. Revenue increased 36% year over year in the first quarter, and it's launching new products and inking new deals to keep its growth up.
7. Pure Storage
Pure Storage (NYSE: PSTG) offers data storage solutions for clients, with software and hardware options. There's a ton of opportunity in this area as its products can help companies store data more efficiently and cheaply -- and that capacity is growing in importance with the rising use of AI.
Pure Storage's revenue increased 12% year over year in the first quarter, but it reported both an operating loss and a net loss. It's not a young company, so that's concerning.
8. The Trade Desk
The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD) operates a major digital ad sales platform connecting buyers and sellers. It simplifies the process on both ends, and it's constantly investing in new technology to stay on top. As the digital ad industry grows, it's well positioned to keep reporting strong growth.
In the first quarter, revenue increased 25% year over year, and adjusted EPS increased from $0.26 to $0.33.
9. Datadog
Datadog (NASDAQ: DDOG) is a typical Wood tech disrupter that provides clients with data monitoring services, alerting them to any problems quickly so they can find solutions fast. It has a new product aimed at monitoring large-language models, the foundations of AI, which is making the stock look exciting today.
Revenue increased 25% year over year in the first quarter, and the number of clients with annualized revenue run-rates of over $100,000 increased 13%.
10. PayPal Holdings
PayPal Holdings (NASDAQ: PYPL) is a turnaround stock that looks attractive today because it's chea, and the company is making an effective comeback. It's expanding and unifying its platform to transform itself into more of a commerce company than a payments company, and it's adding higher-margin revenue sources to its income statement. It's the leader in digital payments, and with a new CEO and a new forward-thinking strategy, it could bounce back in a big way in the coming year.
Should you invest $1,000 in Shopify right now?
Before you buy stock in Shopify, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Shopify wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $704,676!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $950,198!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,048% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 175% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.
*Stock Advisor returns as of June 23, 2025
Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Jennifer Saibil has positions in Airbnb. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Airbnb, Alphabet, Datadog, Domino's Pizza, Nvidia, PayPal, Pure Storage, Shopify, The Trade Desk, and Toast. The Motley Fool recommends Coinbase Global and recommends the following options: long January 2027 $42.50 calls on PayPal and short June 2025 $77.50 calls on PayPal. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Cathie Wood Is on a Buying Spree. Here Are 10 Stocks She Just Bought.

Looking at options trading activity among components of the Russell 3000 index, there is noteworthy activity today in Innovative Industrial Properties Inc (Symbol: IIPR), where a total volume of 1,025 contracts has been traded thus far today, a contract volume which is representative of approximately 102,500 underlying shares (given that every 1 contract represents 100 underlying shares). That number works out to 44.2% of IIPR's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 231,670 shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $60 strike call option expiring July 18, 2025, with 844 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 84,400 underlying shares of IIPR. Below is a chart showing IIPR's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $60 strike highlighted in orange:
Toast Inc (Symbol: TOST) saw options trading volume of 26,888 contracts, representing approximately 2.7 million underlying shares or approximately 44.2% of TOST's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 6.1 million shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $41 strike put option expiring July 18, 2025, with 2,266 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 226,600 underlying shares of TOST. Below is a chart showing TOST's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $41 strike highlighted in orange:
And Matthews International Corp (Symbol: MATW) saw options trading volume of 1,001 contracts, representing approximately 100,100 underlying shares or approximately 44.1% of MATW's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 227,105 shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $25 strike call option expiring September 19, 2025, with 1,000 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 100,000 underlying shares of MATW. Below is a chart showing MATW's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $25 strike highlighted in orange:
For the various different available expirations for IIPR options, TOST options, or MATW options, visit StockOptionsChannel.com.
Next Earnings Date
AJM Videos
Top Ten Hedge Funds Holding TAHO
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Notable Wednesday Option Activity: IIPR, TOST, MATW

Below is Validea's guru fundamental report for TOAST INC (TOST). Of the 22 guru strategies we follow, TOST rates highest using our Quantitative Momentum Investor model based on the published strategy of Wesley Gray. This momentum model looks for stocks with strong and consistent intermediate-term relative performance.
TOAST INC (TOST) is a large-cap growth stock in the Software & Programming industry. The rating using this strategy is 83% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.
The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.
Detailed Analysis of TOAST INC
More Information on Wesley Gray
About Wesley Gray: Wesley Gray is the founder of Alpha Architect and the author (along with co-author Jack Vogel) of "Quantitative Momentum A Practitioner's Guide to Building a Momentum-Based Stock Selection System". He is also the author (along with co-author Tobias Carlisle) of "Quantitative Value: A Practitioner's Guide to Automating Intelligent Investment and Eliminating Behavioral Errors". He is an industry recognized expert in the application of quantitative investing strategies. Wes is also a former Marine and has his Phd from the Univerisity of Chicago, where he studied under Nobel Prize winner Eugene Fama.
Additional Research Links
About Validea: Validea is aninvestment researchservice that follows the published strategies of investment legends. Validea offers both stock analysis and model portfolios based on gurus who have outperformed the market over the long-term, including Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Peter Lynch and Martin Zweig. For more information about Validea, click here
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

TOST Quantitative Stock Analysis

Toast Inc. TOST is on a mission to expand its footprint across geographies, verticals and segments, empowering restaurants of all sizes with digital tools that streamline operations. While Toast started with small and medium-sized (SMB) restaurants, it is now targeting food & beverage retail, international and enterprise chains as well. The platform supports multi-location management, enabling consistency across menus, promotions and performance tracking. It currently supports around 140,000 locations worldwide.
TOST’s strategy not only helps restaurateurs thrive in an increasingly digital, data-driven economy but also drives long-term average revenue per user (ARPU) growth and higher win rates for the company. These four key pillars are: scaling locations and market share in its core U.S. restaurant business, demonstrating that new markets can drive meaningful growth, increasing adoption of its broad platform with a focus on data and AI differentiation, and maintaining high standards while investing in key priorities and gradually expanding margins.
Toast’s dedicated focus on the restaurant industry has allowed it to develop a differentiated, all-in-one platform that serves a wide range of businesses, from small coffee shops to Michelin-rated restaurants. AI represents a major opportunity to further accelerate the uptake momentum. Restaurant operators have limited time, and AI offers a unique way to make its platform easier to use and more powerful across many tasks.
At the Investor Day 2024 event, Toast introduced Sous Chef, an AI assistant designed to support restaurant operators. Currently, in pilot testing, it’s showing promising early results and continues to improve with customer feedback. Sous Chef aims to be a daily companion for operators, offering business insights, resolving issues and handling tasks like menu management, ordering, staff scheduling and marketing.
Toast, Inc. Price and Consensus
Toast, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Toast, Inc. Quote
Building on this, it has developed ToastIQ—an AI-powered intelligence engine that combines restaurant expertise, data and AI to enhance its platform. Early adopters, such as Mission Boathouse in Massachusetts and Felipe’s Taqueria, have experienced a positive impact. The company’s digital chit tool, which brings key guest data directly into POS systems, is also helping create more personalized guest experiences.
In addition, it has rolled out key updates for front-of-house staff, including improvements to POS, kiosks and kitchen displays. To boost guest engagement, it launched Websites, Branded Apps and AI-powered SMS Marketing. TOST also enhanced reporting, payroll and accounting tools and introduced a Benchmarking tool to help restaurants manage costs and gain insights.
Toast had a strong start to the year and raised its full-year outlook. It now expects 26% growth in fintech and subscription gross profit, up from the prior 23-25% range. Adjusted EBITDA is now estimated at $550 million, with a 31% margin, an increase of five points from 2024 (the prior view was $510-$530 million at a 30% margin). It remains on track for strong growth and rising profitability while continuing to invest in key long-term priorities.
Who’s Challenging Toast in the Software Industry
Tech giant Oracle ORCL offers a wide range of products, including POS systems like Oracle Retail Xstore and Oracle MICROS Simphony POS. MICROS Simphony targets large restaurant chains, hotels, casinos and resorts. As a unified cloud-based POS platform, it enables restaurant owners to efficiently manage both online and on-premise operations in real-time from any device. It provides exceptional hospitality from arrival to departure and beyond, using advanced POS and property management solutions.
Block XYZ, formerly known as Square, offers financial and marketing services through its comprehensive commerce ecosystem that helps sellers start, run and grow their businesses. Block’s Square for Restaurants POS platform competes directly with TOST’s offerings. Strong Square ecosystem accounted for $1.48 billion in transaction revenues in the last reported quarter, up 5.9% year over year. The latest Square Point of Sale app offers seven modes that are purpose-built for different industries.
TOST’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Shares of TOST have gained 76.7% in the past year compared with the Zacks Internet-Software industry's growth of 37.2%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, TOST trades at a forward price-to-sales of 3.2X, lower than the industry’s average of 5.68X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for TOST’s earnings for 2025 has been on the rise over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
TOST currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
5 Stocks Set to Double
Each was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in the coming year. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +112%, +171%, +209% and +232%.
Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.
Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Oracle Corporation (ORCL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Toast, Inc. (TOST) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Block, Inc. (XYZ) : Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Zacks Investment Research
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
Zacks is the leading investment research firm focusing on stock research, analysis and recommendations. In 1978, our founder discovered the power of earnings estimate revisions to enable profitable investment decisions. Today, that discovery is still the heart of the Zacks Rank. A wealth of resources for individual investors is available at www.zacks.com.

Can TOST's Tech-Driven Recipes Spice Up its Profitability & Revenue?

Below is Validea's guru fundamental report for TOAST INC (TOST). Of the 22 guru strategies we follow, TOST rates highest using our Quantitative Momentum Investor model based on the published strategy of Wesley Gray. This momentum model looks for stocks with strong and consistent intermediate-term relative performance.
TOAST INC (TOST) is a large-cap growth stock in the Software & Programming industry. The rating using this strategy is 88% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.
The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.
DEFINE THE UNIVERSE:
PASS
TWELVE MINUS ONE MOMENTUM:
PASS
RETURN CONSISTENCY
NEUTRAL
SEASONALITY
NEUTRAL
Detailed Analysis of TOAST INC
TOST Guru Analysis
TOST Fundamental Analysis
More Information on Wesley Gray
Wesley Gray Portfolio
About Wesley Gray: Wesley Gray is the founder of Alpha Architect and the author (along with co-author Jack Vogel) of "Quantitative Momentum A Practitioner's Guide to Building a Momentum-Based Stock Selection System". He is also the author (along with co-author Tobias Carlisle) of "Quantitative Value: A Practitioner's Guide to Automating Intelligent Investment and Eliminating Behavioral Errors". He is an industry recognized expert in the application of quantitative investing strategies. Wes is also a former Marine and has his Phd from the Univerisity of Chicago, where he studied under Nobel Prize winner Eugene Fama.
Additional Research Links
Top NASDAQ 100 Stocks
Top Technology Stocks
Top Large-Cap Growth Stocks
High Momentum Stocks
Top Chip Stocks
High Insider Ownership Stocks
About Validea: Validea is aninvestment researchservice that follows the published strategies of investment legends. Validea offers both stock analysis and model portfolios based on gurus who have outperformed the market over the long-term, including Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Peter Lynch and Martin Zweig. For more information about Validea, click here
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

The U.S. equity markets have been quite turbulent in 2025, affected by escalating geopolitical pressures, protectionist tariffs, and high interest rates. Not surprisingly, investors are shying away from high-growth, high-risk stocks and moving toward defensive plays.
Yet, this period of volatility also offers long-term investors an opportunity to buy exceptional stocks at reasonable prices. All that is needed is a modest sum of $100, not required to pay for immediate needs.
Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More »
Buying even one of these two fundamentally strong businesses below can position you on a multi-year growth trajectory. Here's why.
1. Intel
Intel's (NASDAQ: INTC) recent earnings performance for the first quarter was mixed. While revenue and earnings surpassed consensus estimates, investors were disappointed by the company's weak guidance for the second quarter of fiscal 2025.
Despite this, many factors are working in Intel's favor, especially with the company hiring Lip-Bu Tan, who's credited with the turnaround of Cadence Design Systems, as its new CEO. The company has plans to aggressively reduce operating expenses to $17 billion in fiscal 2025, $500 million lower than the previous estimate, and to $16 billion in fiscal 2026. Intel also focuses on better asset utilization to reduce capital expenditures (capex) from the last estimate of $20 billion to $18 billion.
Beyond cost savings, Intel is also gearing up to become a significant beneficiary of the ongoing AI revolution. While Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices are ahead in the AI race, Intel is now developing full-stack AI solutions to enable the next wave of AI-powered computing. The company aims to improve accuracy, power efficiency, and security in running next-generation enterprise workloads such as reasoning models, physical AI, and agentic AI.
Intel is also focusing on the edge AI market, which is estimated to grow from $53.5 billion in 2025 to $82 billion in 2030. Gartner expects half of the enterprise-managed data to be processed outside data centers or the cloud, in manufacturing plants, retail outlets, and healthcare facilities. These applications require low power and efficient architectures in areas where the company has excelled.
Intel's 18A manufacturing process technology has also become a significant competitive advantage, thanks to its higher performance and improved power efficiency. With this technology, the company has built an AI PC client processor called Panther Lake and a server processor called Clearwater Forest. By demonstrating successful "booting of operating systems without additional configurations or modifications," these processors have highlighted the strength of 18A process technology.
Subsequently, Intel Foundry has now emerged as an underappreciated asset in the company's portfolio. It's added two companies in the defense industry, while industry reports claim that Amazon and Microsoft are also exploring partnerships for 18A capabilities. Furthermore, Intel Foundry also engages with customers for Intel 14A process technology (a successor to 18A).
Intel shares are trading 1.7 times sales, lower than their five-year average of 2.3. Hence, considering the company's many tailwinds and bargain valuation, the stock appears a smart buy now.
2. Toast
In the past few years, Toast (NYSE: TOST) has transformed itself from a basic mobile payment application company into a complete operating system for the restaurant industry, including kitchen operations, restaurant and menu services, inventory tracking, payment processing, multilocation management, customer engagement, and data analytics.
Toast currently serves 140,000 restaurant locations in the U.S., only 10% of the 1.4 million locations across its customer segments. While the company's current stronghold is in the U.S. small-to-medium-sized business market, management also focuses on enterprise customers, food and beverage retail, and international market clients. This indicates massive room for growth in the existing markets.
Toast has leveraged advanced AI-powered technologies to boost average order volume and ensure effective advertising. The company has launched an AI engine, ToastIQ, which combines AI, restaurant expertise, and proprietary data. ToastIQ's features help clients with business insights, troubleshooting, marketing, employee scheduling, and pricing.
The company's recent financial and operational performance for the first quarter has been impressive. Revenue was up 24.4% year over year to $1.34 billion, while operating income was $43 million, a dramatic improvement from the $56 million loss in the same period last year. Subscription revenue increased by 38% to $209 million.
This shift toward more visible, sticky, and higher-margin subscription revenues is a positive. The company also reported free cash flows of $69 million -- an impressive feat, since the first quarter is typically the seasonally weakest.
Toast added over 6,000 net new locations to reach approximately 140,000 total locations in the first quarter. This also included major enterprise wins, which are strong positives, as they usually demonstrate significant annual recurring revenues and lower churn rates.
Toast trades at about 5 times sales, higher than its three-year average of 3.8. Although the valuation may appear expensive, it seems justified for a company with a huge addressable market, strong financial and operational metrics, and a broad customer base. Hence, the stock looks like a worthwhile buy now.
Should you invest $1,000 in Intel right now?
Before you buy stock in Intel, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Intel wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $653,389!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $830,492!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 982% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025
John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Manali Pradhan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Amazon, Cadence Design Systems, Intel, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Toast. The Motley Fool recommends Gartner and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft, short August 2025 $24 calls on Intel, and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Toast, Inc.

Fundamental analysis

Ratios

Valuation

Debts

Efficiency

Other ratios

Revenue

Financials

Growth

Assets

Debts