Shares of Beyond Meat, Inc. (NASDAQ: BYND) soared over 20% on Thursday, after the company delivered better-than-expected sales results for the second quarter of 2024 a day ago. Earnings, however, fell short of estimates. The stock has dropped 10% over the past three months. Here’s how the plant-based protein maker performed in Q2:
Sales beat, profits miss
In Q2 2024, Beyond Meat’s revenues decreased 8.8% year-over-year to $93.2 million but surpassed market projections. The company reported an adjusted loss of $0.53 per share, which was narrower than the loss of $0.83 per share reported last year but was below the consensus target.
The top line decrease was mainly driven by a 14% drop in volume of products sold and was partly offset by a 6.1% increase in net revenue per pound. The increase in net revenue per pound was driven mainly by a scale-back in promotional trade discounts, and price increases on certain products in the US.
Revenues decrease across channels
In Q2, revenues in the US retail channel decreased 7.5% to $44.9 million compared to the prior-year quarter. The decline was mainly caused by a 23.2% drop in volume of products sold, which was partly offset by a 20.5% increase in net revenue per pound.
Revenues in the US foodservice channel fell 18.9% to $10.4 million in Q2, due to a 20% decrease in volume, partly offset by a 1.4% rise in net revenue per pound. Volume declines in the US were caused mainly by weak category demand while the growth in net revenue per pound was helped by price increases for certain products and changes in product sales mix.
Within International, revenues in the retail channel fell 12.1% to $17.6 million while revenues in the foodservice channel were down 2.5% to $20.4 million, mainly due to decreases in volume and net revenue per pound.
Volumes in the retail channel were impacted by reduced sales of chicken products in the EU, and soft demand in certain regions, while net revenue per pound decreased mainly due to higher trade discounts and pricing changes.
Higher margins and lower expenses
Beyond Meat’s gross margin improved to 14.7% in Q2 2024 from 2.2% in the year-ago quarter, driven by a reduction in cost of goods sold and a rise in net revenue per pound. This was partly offset by a drop in volume of products sold. The decrease in cost of goods sold per pound mainly reflected lower inventory provision, and lower manufacturing and logistics costs.
Operating expenses decreased 15% year-over-year to $47.6 million, driven mainly by reductions in marketing expenses and non-production headcount expenses. This was partly offset by a rise in general and administrative expenses.
Outlook
For the full year of 2024, Beyond Meat expects net revenue to range between $320-340 million. Gross margin is expected to be in the mid-teens range and operating expenses are expected to be $180-190 million. The Opex outlook excludes the consumer class action settlement expense of $7.5 million accrued in Q1 2024.