Matt Coad

Matt Coad asked if Toast IQ's expanded capabilities are significantly contributing to winning RFPs and which types of merchants are finding the most value in these AI-powered tools.

Answer

CEO Aman Narang stated that Toast IQ is primarily impacting the SMB business, where its usage and adoption are playing a big role in customer acquisition. He explained that SMB restaurateurs value Toast IQ as a copilot for faster data analysis, custom views, and backend changes (e.g., menu updates, online ordering adjustments), making crucial workflows more efficient. He noted that the tool's purpose-built nature for restaurants, leveraging specific data and use cases, makes it highly impactful in sales cycles.

Matt Coad asked if Toast IQ is becoming a significant factor in winning RFPs and which types of merchants derive the most value from these AI tools.

Answer

CEO Aman Narang confirmed that Toast IQ plays a big role in winning SMB business, with strong go-to-market team excitement and customer adoption. He noted that SMB restaurant owners value Toast IQ as a copilot for faster data analysis, custom views, and backend changes, streamlining crucial workflows. He emphasized that the tool is purpose-built for restaurants, and while early, Toast is investing to automate more complex workflows like marketing spend optimization and inventory management over time.

Matt Coad asked about the strategy for driving SaaS ARPU growth through new AI and hardware products. He also sought to understand the reason for the sequential decline in non-payment gross profit, primarily from Toast Capital.

Answer

CFO Elena Gomez stated that SaaS ARPU growth is driven by multiple levers, including increased product attachment and honing the upsell motion, not just pricing new products. Regarding Toast Capital, she attributed the sequential decline to Q2 seasonality and slightly softer demand early in the quarter, while affirming the program remains healthy.

Matt Coad asked about Affirm's expansion into new verticals like B2B through QuickBooks Payments and the rent vertical, inquiring about the growth opportunity and how underwriting for rent might differ from the current book.

Answer

Max Levchin, Founder and CEO of Affirm Holdings, clarified that the rent test is very small and focuses on time-shifting payments rather than long-term financing, advising against modeling it. He described the Intuit partnership as B2B2C, integrating Affirm into QuickBooks invoices for service providers to offer pay-over-time options to consumers, unlocking a new transaction segment. Michael Linford, COO of Affirm, added that wallet partnerships are also contributing to growth in the 'other' category.

Matt Coad asked about new verticals in the 'other' category, specifically B2B through QuickBooks Payments and the rent vertical, inquiring about growth opportunities and underwriting differences.

Answer

Max Levchin, Founder and CEO, clarified the rent test is very small and focused on short-term payment flexibility, not long-term rent financing. He described the Intuit partnership as a B2B2C opportunity to integrate Affirm into invoices for services. Michael Linford, COO, added that wallet partnerships also contribute to the 'other' category's growth.

Matt Coad of Truist Securities asked about the long-term potential penetration rate for merchants funding 0% APR offers and inquired about Affirm's role in the future of 'Agentic Commerce'.

Answer

Founder & CEO Max Levchin stated his conviction that merchant-funded 0% APR penetration should approach 100% as retailers recognize it as a more efficient marketing tool. Regarding Agentic Commerce, he sees it as a remix of e-commerce where Affirm is well-positioned to be a core financing component, similar to its existing integrations in various digital environments.

Matt Coad requested a breakdown of the 2,600 new location wins between North America Retail and European Hospitality, and whether the benefits from distribution reinvestments are already being realized or are anticipated in fiscal year 2027.

Answer

CEO Dax Dasilva expressed pride in the accelerating 9% location growth, attributing it to outbound investments, with wins fairly evenly distributed across retail and hospitality. He noted that larger success from partnerships is already visible on the EMEA Hospitality side through distribution deals, with acceleration expected on the retail side under the new Chief Revenue Officer, Gabriel Benavides.

Matt Coad asked about the trajectory of Lightspeed's SaaS ARPU, specifically how pricing on the 'back book' is being managed and the overall growth expectations for SaaS ARPU over time, acknowledging the impact of shifting to annual contracts on the 'front book'. He also sought a breakdown of the 2,600 new location wins between North American retail and European hospitality, and whether distribution reinvestments are already yielding benefits or are a future story.

Answer

CFO Asha Bakshani explained that current SaaS ARPU reflects lapping prior price increases. She noted that significant back book pricing actions occurred in the latter half of the previous year, and future ARPU uplift will primarily come from evolving pricing and packaging with new software modules. CEO Dax Dasilva stated that the 2,600 location wins were fairly evenly distributed across retail and hospitality, attributing the acceleration to outbound sales investments. He added that while some partnership successes are visible in EMEA hospitality, broader distribution reinvestment benefits, particularly in retail, are expected to accelerate with the new CRO.

Matt Coad from Truist Securities requested more detail on the net take rate's moving parts, specifically the one-time vs. ongoing nature of the Argentina FX impact and the processing cost recovery. He also asked for a breakdown of growth from top merchants between adding new countries and increasing wallet share.

Answer

CEO Pedro Arnt explained that while the overall take rate trend is slightly down, quarterly results are subject to significant mix shifts, making precise short-term predictions difficult. He noted the guidance implies a slight continued reduction. For top merchants, Arnt confirmed that growth is driven by both gaining wallet share in existing markets and, more significantly, expanding into new countries, a trend that is particularly pronounced among the top 10 clients.

Matt Coad of Truist Securities requested a reminder of the revenue drivers for the Capital Markets lending business, asking if it was primarily SaaS or activity-based.

Answer

CEO Stephanie Ferris clarified that growth is driven by net new SaaS sales and pricing, not AUM. She noted a small transactional component was negatively impacted by a market-wide freeze in loan syndication. CFO James Kehoe quantified this impact as a $6 million headwind in the quarter but stated activity has since rebounded strongly.