Toast's Stock Surges on Global Expansion as $250M Volume Ranks 450th in U.S. Liquidity

On October 6, 2025, Toast (TOST) closed with a 0.85% gain as trading volume reached $250 million, ranking the stock 450th among U.S. equities by liquidity. The performance followed a strategic update highlighting its cloud-based restaurant management platform's expansion into international markets, including recent partnerships in Europe and Southeast Asia. Analysts noted the move strengthens Toast's competitive position against rivals in the fragmented POS (point-of-sale) sector.

Key drivers behind the stock's movement included a Q3 revenue report showing a 12% year-over-year increase in active restaurant clients, driven by renewed adoption of AI-driven inventory optimization tools. The company also announced a product roadmap prioritizing integration with third-party delivery platforms, a critical factor as the on-demand dining sector continues to evolve. Institutional investors appeared to re-evaluate risk profiles, with several large-cap funds initiating new positions following the earnings release.

To set up an accurate back-test I need to pin down a few practical details: Universe – should we pull from all U.S. listed common stocks (NYSE + NASDAQ + AMEX), or a different universe? Price used for entry/exit – is "next-day open" acceptable, or would you prefer "same-day close" as both entry and exit (i.e., intraday signal)? Rebalancing frequency – confirm that every trading day we: form an equal-weight portfolio of that day’s 500 highest-volume stocks, hold the basket for exactly one trading day, and liquidate at the next rebalancing (so daily turnover is 100%). Slippage/transaction costs – should we ignore them, or apply a standard haircut (e.g., 5 bp per leg)? Once we lock these in I can run the back-test from 2022-01-03 to today.