What happened
Shares of Beyond Meat (BYND +4.46%) were taking a dive as the plant-based meat company posted another round of dismal results in its latest earnings report.
The news comes as the protein industry in general is struggling. Tyson Foods also issued disappointing numbers; showing that Beyond Meat and the rest of the industry are failing to convert people away from animal-based meat.
According to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, the stock was down 17.3% as of Thursday's close.
NASDAQ: BYND
Key Data Points
So what
Like much of the rest of the plant-based meat industry, Beyond Meat is faltering, and the latest results put those challenges into sharp relief.
Revenue tumbled 30.5% to $102.1 million in the second quarter, which missed estimates of $108.4 million, and the company blamed the sharp drop in revenue in part on a bump in the year-ago quarter from sell-in from its new Beyond Meat Jerky product.
The results further down the income statement were also troubling. Gross margin was just 2.2% in Q2, meaning the company had just $2.3 million left over after paying for the cost of production. That was actually an improvement from a year ago when it had a negative gross profit of $6.2 million as the company said that lower materials costs, lower inventory reserves, and lower logistics costs help lift its gross margin.
Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) loss was $40.8 million, or 40% of revenue, an improvement from a loss of $68.8 million in the year-ago quarter.
On the bottom line, the company reported a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) loss of $53.5 million, or $0.83 per share, which was an improvement from a $1.53 per-share loss in the quarter a year ago and better than the consensus estimate of a loss of $0.86.
CEO Ethan Brown said, "The second quarter brought mixed results amid otherwise strong progress toward our goal of sustainable long-term growth."
Now what
The company cut its guidance for the year, calling for revenue of $360 million to $380 million, which compared to a previous range of $375 million to $415 million. The new guidance implies a decline of 9% to 14%, though management forecast a return to revenue growth in the second half of the year.
It also stepped back from a goal of reaching positive operating cash flow in the second half of the year.
Beyond Meat stock is now down 94% from its all-time highs, and its disruptive vision seems to have collapsed. Investors are best off avoiding this broken stock.
