Over the past year, Beyond Meat (BYND +5.61%) has seen its stock price fall 75%. The shares now trade for less than $1, putting them in penny stock land. That's a high-risk Wall Street niche most investors should avoid. And yet, the company continues to have a well-recognized consumer staples brand and is seen as a leader in the plant-based meat alternative niche. Is it a buy, sell, or hold in 2026?
Sell or avoid Beyond Meat
The reason to stay away from Beyond Meat is very clear. The consumer staples company has been suffering through a long sales downtrend. The company's top line peaked in 2022 and has since trended steadily lower. Worse, the company has yet to turn a sustainable profit.
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That's not a great backdrop for an investment. And then you have to consider that Beyond Meat is competing with consumer staples giants that have stronger marketing, distribution, and research and development capabilities. All in, the reason to stay away from Beyond Meat is that it is a money-losing start-up with a struggling product operating in a highly competitive industry dominated by gigantic companies.
Buy Beyond Meat
There are two potential reasons to buy Beyond Meat. The first is that you believe it can turn its business around. That's possible, but given the sales trends, it looks very much like plant-based meat alternatives are a fad that's over. That's not to suggest that these products have no place in the market, but that they appear like niche items. This brings up the second reason to buy it: you think a larger company will acquire Beyond Meat. That's possible, too, given the brand's notoriety. However, buying stocks based on impossible-to-predict acquisition events is usually a bad plan.
NASDAQ: BYND
Key Data Points
Hold Beyond Meat
If you bought Beyond Meat recently, you presumably still believe in your reasoning. There's probably no need to sell right away. However, you'll want to pay close attention to the company's sales. If it can't get revenue back into growth mode, you may want to reconsider your commitment. That said, if you are sitting on material paper losses, you might want to think about the value you'll derive from capturing those losses to offset capital gains elsewhere in your portfolio. That may turn out to be more beneficial than holding on and hoping for a recovery.
Beyond Meat isn't a great story
All in, only the most aggressive investors should consider buying Beyond Meat in 2026. And even then, extreme caution should be taken when considering this money-losing penny stock.
