Beyond Meat (BYND -1.46%), a leading maker of plant-based meat substitutes, is slated to report its first-quarter 2022 results on Wednesday, May 11, after the market close. An earnings call is scheduled for the same day at 5 p.m. ET.
Investors will probably be feeling mostly cautious heading into the report. Following the release of last quarter's report, shares dropped 9.2%. The quarter's revenue and earnings missed Wall Street's consensus estimates, as did management's revenue guidance for full-year 2022. Moreover, the company fell short of analysts' earnings estimates in all four quarters of last year, with three of the misses being large.
That said, there's also reason for investors to feel hopeful. The quarter to be reported will be the first quarter in which sales will be included for the company's greatly expanded partnerships with McDonald's and Yum! Brands' Kentucky Fried Chicken, which were announced in January.
In 2022, Beyond Meat stock is down 43% through April 29. The S&P 500 index, including dividends, is underwater by 13% over this period.
Here's what to watch in Beyond Meat's upcoming Q1 report.
Image source: Beyond Meat.
Beyond Meat's key numbers
Here are the year-ago period's results, and Wall Street's estimates to use as benchmarks. Management didn't issue quarterly guidance.
| Metric | Q1 2021 Result | Wall Street's Q1 2022 Consensus Estimate | Wall Street's Projected Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $112.4 million | $108.2 million | 3.9% |
| Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) | ($0.42) | ($0.98) | N/A |
Data sources: Beyond Meat and Yahoo! Finance.
The quarter's results will include sales stemming from January's three expanded partnerships with two fast-food giants. The most notable one is on the international front: As of Jan. 5, the McPlant plant-based burger became a permanent menu item at McDonald's locations throughout the U.K. and Ireland.
The second two notable partnerships involve large trials in the United States. Plant-based Beyond Fried Chicken nuggets became available at Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants across the country beginning on Jan. 10. And the McPlant was included on the menu at about 600 U.S. McDonald's locations in the San Francisco Bay and Dallas-Fort Worth areas starting on Feb. 14. Both trials were to run for as long as supplies lasted.
For context, in the fourth quarter, Beyond Meat's revenue edged down 1.2% year over year to $100.7 million, slightly short of the $101.4 million analysts had projected. Adjusted for one-time items, net loss was $80.4 million, or $1.27 per share, a 274% widening from the net loss of $0.34 per share in the year-ago period. That result missed Wall Street's consensus estimate, which was for an adjusted loss of $0.71 per share.
Channel and geographic performance
Here's how the distribution channels and geographic markets performed last quarter:
| Geographic Distribution Channel | Q4 2021 Revenue | Change (YOY) |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. retail | $50.0 million | (20%) |
| U.S. food service | $20.6 million | 35% |
| U.S. total | $70.6 million | (8.8%) |
| International retail | $14.3 million | 11% |
| International food service | $15.7 million | 36% |
| International total | $30.1 million | 23% |
| Total revenue | $100.7 million | (1.2%) |
Data source: Beyond meat. YOY = year over year
"The decrease in U.S. retail channel net revenues primarily reflected softer demand [in the category], five fewer shipping days in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to the year-ago period, increased trade discounts, and, to a lesser extent, loss of market share," the company said in last quarter's earnings release.
"Investors need to pay close attention to what the company says about market share," as I wrote in my article on last quarter's results.
Guidance
Last quarter, management issued full-year 2022 revenue guidance. The stock will probably move if management notably revises its outlook, though that isn't likely this early in the year.
For full-year 2022, management guided for revenue in the range of $560 million to $620 million, an increase of 21% to 33% year over year. That guidance disappointed investors when it was released because, at that time, Wall Street had been projecting 2022 annual revenue growth of 37%.
