As Demand for Plant-Based Meat Weakens in the US, Beyond Disappoints Wall Street

Wedneday Beyond Meat 'missed Wall Street estimates for second-quarter revenue,' reports Reuters.
'Consumers' growing concerns about processed foods are severely diminishing the appeal of Beyond Meat's product line, causing retailers and quick service restaurants to pull back sharply on orders,' Rachel Wolff, analyst at Emarketer, said.
Retail sales of refrigerated plant-based meat alternative products in the U.S. have fallen 17.2% so far this year, and frozen plant-based meat alternatives have fallen 8.1%, according to data from SPINS... [Beyond's] revenue for the quarter ended June 28 fell nearly 20% to $75 million, compared with analysts' average estimate of $82 million, according to data compiled by LSEG.

While the company arguably invented a new market for plant-based meat substitutes, it also 'owns no real intellectual property,' argues The Street. 'And every company in the meat and grocery business (more or less) now sells a take-off of a product that already had limited appeal...'

Beyond Meat has admitted it's in trouble by hiring corporate restructuring expert John Boken from consultancy AlixPartners as interim chief transformation officer [with a focus that includes 'operating expense reduction' and 'broader operational efficiency']. It has also let go of 44 employees in North America (6% of its global workforce) as it seeks to cut operating expenses amid disappointing sales... Beyond Meat also has a significant cash problem. As of June 28, 2025, Beyond Meat's cash and cash equivalents balance was $117.3 million, and total outstanding debt was $1.2 billion. The company does have time to fend off a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, but it also has limited, if any, prospects to meet its impending cash needs.

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