Beyond Meat Inc. faced a setback as the company reported a significant decline in revenue and lowered its full-year 2023 net revenue forecast. This news caused the company’s stock to take a hit in trading.
In the fiscal second quarter, Beyond Meat recorded a net loss of $53.5 million, or 83 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $97.1 million, or $1.53 per share, in the same period last year. Net revenue also experienced a substantial drop of 30%, decreasing from $147 million to $102.1 million.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet had projected an average net loss of 84 cents per share on revenue of $108.7 million, highlighting that Beyond Meat’s actual results fell short of expectations.
Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown acknowledged the mixed results of the second quarter but remained optimistic about future growth. He attributed the challenges faced during this period to ongoing industry headwinds, which affected net revenues and influenced the sales mix and gross margin of the company’s products. However, he emphasized that progress had been made in terms of operational efficiency, including significant year-over-year reductions in operating expenses, cost of goods sold per pound, and overall cash consumption.
Brown stated that Beyond Meat anticipated a modest return to year-over-year top-line growth in the third and fourth quarters of 2023. He also outlined expectations for decreased cash consumption and increased gross margin in comparison to the first half of the year.
The company provided a full-year revenue guidance range of $360 million to $380 million, falling slightly below the analysts’ forecast of $387.1 million.
Despite these challenges, Beyond Meat’s stock has experienced a 24% increase since the beginning of the year, surpassing the 18% increase seen in the S&P 500.
