Beyond Meat sinking on weak forecast second-quarter sales amid sluggish demand

Shares of Beyond Meat has plunged 12.5% in extended trading after the plant-based meat producer reported that its net revenue fell more than 15% year over year in the first quarter. The company also warned that the figure could decline even further in the second.

Beyond Meat shares have dropped 12.5% after the company reported a more than 15% year-over-year decline in first-quarter net revenue to $58.2 million. The producer said the decline was driven by lower sales of burgers and plant-based chicken products at quick-service restaurants, as well as weaker retail sales in the U.S. market.

Beyond Meat said uncertainty in the market is expected to persist and could continue to have unforeseen impacts on the company’s actual results. Against this backdrop, the company forecast second-quarter net revenue in the range of $60-65 million, implying a decline of 14-20% versus the same period last year. The Wall Street consensus estimate, meanwhile, stands at $67 million, Reuters writes.

Beyond Meat, once a promising startup backed by Leonardo DiCaprio and Bill Gates, has struggled for years amid weakening consumer demand for plant-based meat substitutes in the U.S. As a result, its shares repeatedly hit record lows last year.

The company has attempted to stabilize the business: it held talks with private credit lenders, secured fresh funding from a diet-focused nonprofit, and announced “more aggressive” operating expense reductions. But these efforts have not had a fundamental impact on the business. For several months, it appeared that Beyond Meat was nearing the end of its story, notes The Street.

Then, in October 2025, the situation changed dramatically – the company’s shares surged “to the moon,” soaring nearly 1,400% in four days.

Several factors fueled the rally. First, users on Reddit declared it time to “make Beyond Meat great again” and described its products as “not just a veggie burger anymore, it’s a symbol of rebellion.” Around the same time, Dubai-based retail trader Dmitry Semenikhin said in a YouTube video he had bought a 4% stake in Beyond Meat, while Roundhill Investments added the stock to its Roundhill Meme Stock ETF.

Shortly afterward, Beyond Meat announced plans to expand its partnership with Walmart, the largest retailer in the U.S.

The rally triggered by those developments was followed by another selloff. The company announced a significant noncash impairment of certain assets and later said it would delay the release of its third-quarter results. It subsequently postponed the publication of its 2025 financial results for the same reason and only released them at the end of March, while also unveiling a repositioning effort and a name change to Beyond The Plant Protein Company.

Beyond Meat is "not about meat anymore,” the Motley Fool argues. The company is trying to reinvent itself as its core industry struggles, according to the Street. It is launching new products that could allow it to position itself more broadly as a plant-based protein company while also entering new partnerships.

Among the latest examples is the launch of the Beyond Immerse functional beverage line, which will be distributed by Big Geyser, one of the largest players in the industry. The Motley Fool described this as a smart move.

For investors, Beyond Meat’s expansion beyond plant-based meat represents a “high-risk turnaround story” with significant upside, The Street wrote.

The Motley Fool advises most investors to avoid Beyond Meat shares because of the intense competition in the market where the company operates.

Wall Street remains broadly negative on the stock’s prospects: the name carries four “sell” calls versus three “hold” ratings from analysts. The average target price stands at $0.66 per share, below the current share price.