Toast, the Boston company whose terminals and payment systems run restaurant counters and kitchens, became the target of a coordinated legal challenge on Wednesday. The FTC, California acting through the Los Angeles County Counsel and San Francisco City Attorney, and the attorneys general of Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Utah sued the company, alleging it deceptively touted its costs and its "24/7/365" customer support alongside hidden and unauthorized fees and deceptive subscription and cancellation practices, the agency said in a release.
The complaint had been building for more than a year. Agency investigators first demanded information in June 2025 about the marketing, sales and support behind Toast's restaurant systems, and by June 2026 staff had drafted a complaint and a proposed settlement order; Toast pushed back on whether the cited laws even fit its business, said it would go to court if talks failed and warned that penalties, remedies or compliance requirements could materially affect its results or operations, according to its quarterly filing. Those talks ended without a deal.
The suit lands as Toast's finances are stronger than at any point since its 2021 listing. Momentum continued into the quarter ended June 30, 2026, when revenue reached $1.9 billion and operating income climbed to $152 million from $80 million a year earlier, the company reported.
What happens next depends on whether the parties return to the negotiating table or proceed to trial. For now, the case sits with a federal court. The company disagreed with the allegations and maintained their commitment to the nearly 200,000 business locations that run on Toast today.