Vegetarian sausages from Beyond Meat Inc, the vegan burger maker, are shown for sale at a market in Encinitas, California.
Mike Blake | Reuters
Beyond Meat’s stock fell more than 20% in morning trading Tuesday after the company reported weak sales, cut its full-year revenue forecast and walked back its goal of becoming cash-flow positive in the second half of the year.
The company, which makes meat substitutes, has struggled for roughly two years as U.S. consumer interest in its products has waned. As its sales have declined, Beyond has turned its attention to cutting costs and becoming a profitable company.
However, CEO Ethan Brown told analysts on the company’s conference call Monday evening that its weak sales will likely delay its target of becoming cash-flow positive by the second half of 2023.
U.S. demand for Beyond’s meat alternatives appears to be declining at a faster rate, even as the company cuts its prices 8.6%, mostly through discounts. Its U.S. retail volume fell 34% during the period, while its domestic food service volume cratered 44%
Beyond’s second-quarter net sales fell 30.5% to $102.1 million, falling short of Refinitiv estimates of $108.4 million. The company reported a loss of 83 cents per share, beating the loss of 86 cents per share expected by Wall Street.
Beyond also cut its full-year revenue outlook to a range of $360 million to $380 million, compared to the $388 million Wall Street expected, according to Refinitiv.
To reinvigorate demand, Beyond is focusing on fighting consumer perceptions that its products aren’t healthy. Brown blamed special interest groups for seeding fear and doubt around Beyond’s ingredients and manufacturing process.
As of Monday’s closing price, Beyond’s stock was up 24% this year, giving it a market value of $981 million. Its share price is hovering under $13, a far cry from four years ago, when it was trading at an all-time high of $234.90 and valued at $13.4 billion.