Dominic Ball

Dominic Ball asked about the internal metrics for Global Blue integration success and when Shift4 expects to approach Global Blue retail merchants for cross-sell opportunities. He also inquired whether Shift4 plans to follow peers in scaling a larger direct sales force for US SMBs or continue relying on its traditional M&A and gateway-driven growth strategy, especially with the rebranding of SkyTab.

Answer

Taylor Lauber, CEO, confirmed that cross-selling to Global Blue merchants is already underway, with live merchants in multiple countries and a target of 15 countries for the all-in-one payment product. He stated that internal success is measured by adding several thousand SMB merchants per month, leveraging Global Blue's long tail of 70,000 SMB customers, a segment where Global Blue previously lacked a dedicated sales force. Regarding US SMBs, he noted that Shift4 is scaling its direct sales force deliberately and with capital discipline, differentiating itself from peers. He explained the rebranding of SkyTab to Shift4 Dine aims to leverage the broader Shift4 brand and its existing presence in tens of thousands of restaurants, rather than chasing peer spending on sales and marketing.

Dominic Ball asked for insights into Shift4's internal view of Global Blue integration success, including key metrics and the timeline for approaching Global Blue retail merchants for cross-sell opportunities. He also inquired about Shift4's future growth strategy, specifically regarding the balance between international expansion and US SMBs, and whether the company would follow peers in building a larger direct sales force or rely on its traditional M&A-driven growth, in light of the SkyTab rebranding.

Answer

Taylor Lauber, CEO, confirmed that cross-selling is already underway with live merchants and beta testing in multiple countries, targeting 15 countries for launch. Internal success is measured by adding several thousand smaller SMB merchants monthly, leveraging Global Blue's long tail of 70,000 customers and building local sales forces, expecting an equal proportion of net new wins and cross-selling existing Global Blue customers. Regarding growth strategy, he stated Shift4 is scaling its direct sales force deliberately and with capital discipline, differentiating from peers. The rebranding of SkyTab to Shift4Dine aims to leverage the broader Shift4 brand for greater visibility and efficiency in the US SMB market.

Dominic Ball asked about the integration strategy for the large and geographically distant Global Blue acquisition and requested a breakdown of the non-Global Blue portion of the company's $1 trillion cross-sell opportunity.

Answer

CEO Taylor Lauber stated the top priority is not disrupting Global Blue's momentum, leading to a more deliberate integration of its core business. He detailed that the remaining $500 billion of the cross-sell opportunity comes from prior acquisitions like Givex and Aiken, emphasizing the strategy of keeping this funnel full with a mix of large and small merchants.

Dominic Ball of Redburn Atlantic asked about take rate differences in international markets, challenges in educating local sales partners, and the competitive positioning of the new SkyTab device.

Answer

Taylor Lauber, President and incoming CEO, noted that international take rates vary, but the focus is on the total value of the bundled software and payments offering. He acknowledged an education component but pointed to the 1,000+ monthly international sign-ups as proof of success. He positioned the new SkyTab as the next evolution of their restaurant tech, expecting it to be particularly popular in handheld-favoring international markets.

Dominic Ball inquired about the philosophy and timeline for migrating existing merchants (back book) onto the Genius platform, asking how proactive Global Payments intends to be, given some observed instances of proactive migration.

Answer

COO Bob Cortopassi clarified that the strategy remains focused on front-book opportunities and serving back-book migrations when clients are ready, without a formal deprecation program. He noted pent-up demand in the back book, and that Genius's underlying technology allows for streamlined conversions. CEO Cameron Bready added that the goal is to make migration to Genius as seamless and easy as possible for clients who choose to upgrade, minimizing disruption compared to moving to a third-party solution.

Dominic Ball inquired about Global Payments' strategy for migrating merchants to Genius from its existing 'back book' of clients, asking about the philosophy behind front book versus back book migration, the level of proactivity, and the associated timeline.

Answer

Bob Cortopassi, COO, clarified that the strategy remains focused on front book opportunities, serving back book migrations as clients are ready, without a forced deprecation program. He noted pent-up demand in the back book and streamlined conversion processes. Cameron Bready, CEO, added that the goal is to make migration to Genius as seamless and easy as possible for clients choosing to upgrade.

Dominic Ball asked Aman Narang to elaborate on Toast's evolution beyond a pure software provider into a broader platform business, particularly through its ecosystem partnerships, and how this strategy deepens its competitive moat against potential software commoditization due to AI.

Answer

CEO Aman Narang asserted that Toast is already more than a software provider, offering a comprehensive platform including software, hardware, fintech, network powering, and a large partner ecosystem. He explained that this all-in-one nature simplifies technology for restaurateurs, deepening the moat. He further detailed the vision for Toast IQ to support increasingly complex, agentic workflows (e.g., marketing, payroll, bookkeeping) by leveraging Toast's proprietary data, aiming to perform these functions better and cheaper, thus extending Toast's value proposition beyond traditional software.

Dominic Ball asked about Toast's evolution beyond a pure software provider into a platform business, how its ecosystem partnerships deepen its competitive moat, and AI's role in preventing commoditization.

Answer

CEO Aman Narang asserted that Toast is already more than a software provider, offering a comprehensive platform encompassing software, hardware, fintech, network, and a large partner ecosystem. He explained that this all-in-one nature simplifies technology for restaurateurs. AI further deepens the moat by enhancing the platform, with Toast IQ and voice AI improving customer workflows. The long-term vision involves AI agents automating complex functions like marketing, payroll, and bookkeeping, leveraging Toast's data to deliver better and cheaper services.

Dominic Ball commented on Toast IQ's digital chits as a standout product and asked for case studies or early data points on its performance, particularly regarding its ability to help restaurants understand their customers better despite high waitress churn.

Answer

CEO Aman Narang confirmed that Toast IQ is showing significant value, with digital chits enhancing the guest experience by connecting it to menu items and enabling personalized interactions. He highlighted the high adoption of Toast IQ's backend, where customers use a natural language interface to manage operations, get insights on profitability, and track sales, indicating broad utility beyond just digital chits.

Dominic Ball from Rothschild & Co Redburn asked about the early performance and case studies of digital chits within Toast IQ, specifically how this product helps full-service restaurant owners understand their customers better and personalize the guest experience.

Answer

CEO Aman Narang confirmed strong value perception for Toast IQ, including digital chits, which enhance the guest experience by connecting menu data to personalized service on handhelds. He highlighted high adoption of the natural language interface for backend operations, insights into profitability, and sales performance, emphasizing the product's ability to drive value for customers.

Dominic Ball asked how Toast views partners like DoorDash becoming more direct competitors and whether this trend prompts increased investment in Toast's own local guest acquisition and delivery capabilities.

Answer

CEO Aman Narang reiterated that Toast's core strategy is to build the best vertical platform for restaurants, a strategy that continues to work well. He stated that the company will continue to invest in differentiating its platform through R&D and AI, and that its local strategy is independent of competitors, focusing on what Toast can uniquely do to bring guests in-store.

Dominic Ball of Redburn Atlantic questioned the drivers behind the sharp quarter-on-quarter acceleration in software ARPU and its future trajectory as the business mix shifts. He also requested specific location win numbers for international and retail.

Answer

CFO Elena Gomez explained the SaaS revenue step-up was due to a focused effort to improve ARR-to-revenue conversion via billing infrastructure and quote-to-cash process enhancements, noting a one-time benefit in Q3. CEO Aman Narang added that while new segments have different ARPU profiles (higher in retail, lower in international), the company maintains a strict focus on unit economics and contribution margins for all new ventures.

Dominic Ball asked Dax Dasilva to elaborate on Lightspeed's structurally differentiated software capabilities, specifically those built on proprietary Lightspeed payment data, in the context of broader concerns about AI disruption in the software industry.

Answer

CEO Dax Dasilva highlighted Lightspeed's unique competitive moat, emphasizing the payments relationship and the proprietary wholesale ecosystem, including the NuORDER platform. He explained that these unique data sets drive agentic AI workflows, analytics, and insights tools, such as benchmarking and trends, which differentiate Lightspeed from other cloud POS providers.

Dominic Ball asked Dax Dasilva to elaborate on Lightspeed's structurally differentiated software capabilities, particularly those built on proprietary payment data, in the context of AI disruption.

Answer

CEO Dax Dasilva highlighted Lightspeed's unique competitive moat stemming from its payments relationship and the Lightspeed Wholesale ecosystem, which includes the New Order platform. He emphasized building agentic AI workflows around proprietary payments and wholesale data, creating an unparalleled supply-to-consumer workflow that differentiates Lightspeed from other cloud POS providers. Products like Marketplace and Lightspeed AI leverage this unique data.

Dominic Ball from Rothschild & Co Redburn noted the strong GTV growth and asked for a breakdown of the contributing factors, seeking to understand the balance between improved same-store sales, outbound and inbound sales efforts, and potential cross-selling.

Answer

Founder and CEO Dax Dasilva stated that GTV growth is fundamentally driven by location growth, pointing to the 12% GTV increase in the company's core growth engines. CFO Asha Bakshani added that EMEA Hospitality showed particularly strong same-store sales growth, and certain retail verticals like bikes and toys also performed well, contributing to the overall result.

Dominic Ball inquired about the Lightspeed Capital program, asking how it is funded, how much capital is deployed, and whether the company would consider off-balance sheet arrangements. He also asked about Lightspeed Payments adoption in Europe and if the adoption curve differs from the U.S.

Answer

CFO Asha Bakshani confirmed that Lightspeed Capital is funded on-balance sheet, with approximately $69 million outstanding, citing favorable economics and a low default rate. She noted the company may consider off-balance sheet options as the program scales. Founder and CEO Dax Dasilva stated that the payments attach rate in Europe is as strong as in North America when sold as an integrated solution.

Dominic Ball inquired about how Lightspeed helps merchants navigate the complex, multi-channel U.S. retail environment and whether the transformation plan includes divesting non-core assets.

Answer

Founder and CEO Dax Dasilva explained that Lightspeed targets medium-to-high complexity SMBs needing a 'light ERP' to manage inventory across multiple channels, which creates a strong competitive moat. CFO Asha Bakshani stated that while there are no immediate plans for divestitures, the company continuously assesses all opportunities to maximize value and capital efficiency.

Dominic Ball questioned the low 1% GTV growth, asking why market share gains aren't more apparent and when a reacceleration could be expected, particularly in Europe.

Answer

CFO Asha Bakshani contrasted the low overall GTV growth, affected by non-flagship churn, with the 24% GTV growth on flagship products. She stated that go-to-market initiatives are already underway in all regions, including Europe, and are expected to drive acceleration in ICP locations and GTV in the second half of the year.

Dominic Ball from Redburn Atlantic asked whether Shopify views the emergence of AI agents as an opportunity or a threat, and if they could reduce the value proposition of Shop Pay.

Answer

President Harley Finkelstein unequivocally framed AI agents as a 'great opportunity.' He argued that new channels increase complexity for merchants, which enhances Shopify's value as the central commerce platform. He confirmed Shopify is actively working with AI companies to ensure its merchants' products are surfaced, viewing it as a new, valuable sales channel rather than a threat.

Dominic Ball of Redburn Atlantic requested more color on the Shopify-YouTube integration, specifically regarding merchant uptake and the potential scale of the partnership.

Answer

President Harley Finkelstein explained that the partnership evolved from live selling to an affiliate program, allowing YouTube creators to monetize by featuring products from Shopify merchants. He positioned it as another channel for merchants to find new audiences. While still early, he expects some merchants will find significant success, reinforcing Shopify's strategy to enable commerce on every consumer surface area.