Beyond Meat shares crater as losses mount, company issues weak forecast

Business

Beyond Meat “Beyond Burger” patties made from plant-based substitutes for meat products sit on a shelf for sale in New York City.
Angela Weiss | AFP | Getty Images

Beyond Meat on Wednesday reported a wider-than-expected loss for its third quarter as U.S. sales shrank.

The company’s fourth-quarter outlook also fell short of Wall Street’s expectations.

Shares of the company tumbled 17% in extended trading.

Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:

  • Loss per share: 87 cents vs. 39 cents expected
  • Revenue: $106.4 million vs. $109.2 million expected

Beyond reported fiscal third-quarter net loss of $54.8 million, or 87 cents per share, wider than a net loss of $19.3 million, or 31 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv expected a loss of 39 cents per share.

Net sales rose 12.7% to $106.4 million, missing expectations of $109.2 million.

In October, the company warned investors that it would be reporting weaker sales than it had previously predicted, citing a wide range of factors, including the delta variant and distribution problems.

And the company’s forecast doesn’t indicate a sunnier fourth quarter. Beyond is predicting net sales of $85 million to $110 million for those three months. Wall Street was expecting revenue of $131.6 million during the quarter.