Plant-based burger maker Beyond Meat beats forecasts, and stock soars

Beyond Meat Inc. shares soared late Thursday after the maker of plant-based burgers beat Wall Street’s expectations in its first earnings report since its initial public offering in May and issued a rosy sales forecast.

The El Segundo company posted a loss of $6.6 million, or 95 cents a share, in the first quarter, slightly smaller than its loss of 98 cents a share in the same period a year earlier.

Adjusted for stock-based compensation costs and other items, the company lost 14 cents a share. That was better than the 15-cent loss analysts had forecast, according to FactSet.

Beyond Meat reported revenue of $40.2 million, more than triple the prior year. That also beat Wall Street’s forecast of $39 million.

It also said sales would exceed $210 million this year, beating analysts’ estimate of about $205 million.

The company issued its report after the close of regular trading. Its stock jumped more than 25% to $125 a share in after-hours trading.

Ten-year-old Beyond Meat burst into the spotlight last month with its successful IPO. Its shares jumped 163% in the first day of trading, the biggest first-day pop since 2015, according to Renaissance Capital. Beyond Meat is now valued at nearly $6 billion.

It’s one of the biggest names in a growing category of vegan “meats” that are meant to appeal to both vegetarians and meat eaters. Impossible Foods and Nestle — which will launch a Sweet Earth-brand plant-based burger this fall — are others.

Beyond Meat burgers and sausages are made from pea protein, potato starch and other plant-based ingredients. Its burgers “bleed” with beet juice; its sausages are colored with fruit juice. It sells to 30,000 grocery stores, restaurants and schools in the United States, Canada, Italy, the United Kingdom and Israel.

Until now, Beyond Meat made all of its products in Columbia, Mo. Last week, it took a step toward expansion, announcing a partnership with Dutch company Zandbergen World’s Finest Meat. Zandbergen is expected to start making Beyond Meat products next year at a new facility in the Netherlands.

Bloomberg was used in compiling this report.