Beyond Meat (BYND -4.97%), a leading maker of plant-based meat substitutes, is slated to report its fourth-quarter and full-year 2021 results on Thursday, Feb. 24, after the market closes. An earnings call is scheduled for the same day at 5 p.m. ET.
While the company has recently released great news on the partnership front, the boost to sales from these expanded team-ups won't start until the first quarter of 2022.
Investors will probably be approaching the Q4 report with some apprehension. The company missed Wall Street's earnings estimates in the first three quarters of 2021, with the first- and third-quarter misses being substantial. Shares fell 7% and 13.3% the day after the Q1 and Q3 releases, respectively. They gained 1.7% following the Q2 release.
In 2022, shares of Beyond Meat (which held its initial public offering in 2019) are down 10.8%, whereas the S&P 500 is down about 7.7% through Feb. 14. Last year, the stock was a big underperformer. It plummeted 47.9%, while the S&P 500 returned 28.7%. That was a reversal of its fortunes from 2020, when it surged 65.3% while the broader market returned 18.4%.
The pandemic has significantly affected the company's results. Overall, the crisis -- especially in the early stages -- has helped sales in its retail business, but hurt those in its food-service business. The company's bottom line has also been hurt by the pandemic, which has increased certain costs.
Here's what to watch in Beyond Meat's upcoming Q4 report.
Image source: Getty Images.
Beyond Meat's key quarterly numbers
Here are the year-ago period's results and Wall Street's estimates to use as benchmarks.
| Metric |
Q4 2020 Result |
Company's Q4 2021 Guidance |
Company's Projected Change |
Wall Street's Q4 2021 Consensus Estimate | Wall Street's Projected Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $101.9 million | $85 million to $110 million | (17%) to (8%) | $101.4 million | (0.5%) |
| Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) | ($0.34) | N/A | N/A | ($0.72) | N/A. Loss expected to widen 112%. |
Data sources: Beyond Meat and Yahoo! Finance. Note: The company didn't provide earnings guidance.
For context, in the third quarter, Beyond Meat's revenue rose 13% year over year to $106.4 million. Net loss was $54.8 million, or $0.87 per share, down from a net loss of $19.3 million, or $0.31 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding the $1.8 million in expenses attributable to COVID-19 in the year-ago period, net loss per share widened 211% to $0.87. That result fell quite short of the adjusted loss of $0.39 per share Wall Street was expecting.
Channel and geographic performance
Here's how the distribution channels and geographic markets performed last quarter:
| Geographic Distribution Channel | Q3 2021 Revenue | Change YOY |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. retail | $52.4 million | (16%) |
| U.S. food service | $15.1 million | (7%) |
| U.S. total | $67.5 million | (14%) |
| International retail | $21.4 million | 168% |
| International food service | $17.5 million | 117% |
| International total | $38.9 million | 143% |
| Total revenue | $106.4 million | 13% |
Data source: Beyond Meat. YOY = year over year.
In the earnings release, the company attributed the strong international performance to "expansion of overall distribution, accelerated orders and, to a lesser extent, new product introductions." The decline in U.S. revenue was "primarily as a result of lower overall demand, and operational challenges with severe weather as a key driver," it said.
Greatly expanded partnerships poised to boost 2022 sales
On Jan. 5, Beyond Meat and Kentucky Fried Chicken, which is owned by Yum! Brands (YUM -1.05%), announced the availability of plant-based
Beyond Fried Chicken nuggets in KFC restaurants across the United States beginning on Jan. 10. The nuggets are available for a limited time, while supplies last.
Good news followed on Jan. 10 when the king of fast food, McDonald's, announced that its plant-based burger, McPlant, would be available at approximately 600 U.S. locations in the San Francisco Bay and Dallas-Fort Worth areas starting on Feb. 14. The sandwich will be available while supplies last.
First-quarter 2022 guidance
Because the stock market looks ahead, guidance will be important. It could be a bigger factor than fourth-quarter results in the market's reaction to the release.
So investors should know that Wall Street is currently modeling for Q1 revenue to grow 24% year over year to $133.8 million. Analysts also expect the adjusted loss to widen 31% to $0.55 per share.
