Beyond Meat (BYND 1.72%) has been one of the market's most volatile stocks over the past year. As of this writing, the company's share price has bounced 14% year to date, but trading across the last 12 months is a much more complicated story.
Beyond Meat posted massive gains last October as investors piled into the stock in hopes of powering short-squeeze momentum. Shares rocketed more than 1,000% higher over just a few days of trading. Unfortunately, the huge bullish rally proved to be short-lived.
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After hitting a 52-weak peak in October thanks to meme-stock trading momentum, Beyond Meat stock has seen a dramatic pullback. The stock has moved higher in 2026's trading, but it's still down roughly 79% from its 52-week high as of this writing. With the company valued at approximately 1.5 times this year's expected sales, is Beyond Meat a high-risk speculative play or a deep-value opportunity?
Beyond Meat by the numbers
In last year's third quarter, Beyond Meat posted revenue of $70.2 million -- representing a year-over-year decrease of 13.3%. Meanwhile, the business posted a gross profit of $7.2 million and a gross margin of 10.3%. For comparison, the business posted a $14.3 million gross profit and a gross margin of 17.7% in the third quarter of the previous year.
For a food products company that has had items on grocery-store shelves for well over a decade and has the benefit of relatively widespread distribution infrastructure, Beyond Meat's gross margin is seemingly too low to be sustainable. To put that dynamic into perspective, the business posted an operating loss of roughly $112 million on sales of approximately $70 million in Q3 last year despite efficiency initiatives.
NASDAQ: BYND
Key Data Points
As it stands, there seems to be little evidence that Beyond Meat's business model will be viable over the long term. Revenue has been sliding, and declining monetization from existing factories suggests that economies-of-scale benefits won't be arriving anytime soon. As a result, the business will likely continue to serve up big losses even if meaningful operational efficiencies are achieved.
On the other hand, it is possible that Beyond Meat could surge again in 2026 thanks to meme-stock trading. Indications that the company could be acquired could also juice the share price. These outcomes aren't impossible, but they also probably aren't worth betting on in light of structural weaknesses for the underlying business.
