Beyond Meat (BYND) shares fell in after-hours trading after the vegan food company reported another challenging quarter as weak category demand, heavy restructuring charges, and ongoing operational resets continued to pressure the business. The report was previously delayed due to “material weaknesses” in internal controls over inventory accounting.
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Fourth-quarter sales decreased by 19.7% year-over-year, with revenue hitting $61.6 million. This also missed analysts’ expectations of $63 million. The downside was driven by a 22.4% drop in volume as demand softened across retail and foodservice channels.
Despite the operational weakness, Beyond Meat reported net income of $409.9 million, entirely driven by a $548.7 million non-cash gain from debt restructuring. Adjusted EBITDA remained deeply negative at –$69 million.
Gross margin declined sharply to 2.3%, down from 13.1% a year ago, hurt by inventory write-downs, discontinued product lines, and costs tied to the company’s exit from China.
Outlook
Looking forward, management now expects revenue for Q1 2026 to be in the range of $57 million to $59 million.
President and CEO Ethan Brown acknowledged the difficult quarter, citing “ongoing headwinds in the plant based meat category” and the financial impact of restructuring. But he noted that the company enters 2026 with lower leverage, extended debt maturities, and improved liquidity.
Brown said Beyond Meat is focused on stabilizing revenue, expanding margins, and repositioning the brand under its new identity, Beyond The Plant Protein Company, which will allow it to expand into adjacent plant-based nutrition categories.
Is BYND Stock a Good Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Sell consensus rating on BYND stock based on two Sells assigned in the past three months. Further, the average BYND price target of $0.75 per share implies 3.76% upside potential.
However, it’s worth noting that estimates will likely change following today’s earnings report.
