Remember when Beyond Meat was hailed as the future of food all over instagram and tiktok, with everyone convinced their plant-based burgers would save the world? (If you’ve never tried their lab made burgers, that makes two of us.) Well that excitement peaked in 2019 when their stock soared past $200. But fast forward to today, and things have taken a sharp turn. Beyond Meat's stock has tumbled down to around $6, and the company’s sales have been dropping steadily—down 30% in the last quarter alone. Once a pioneer in plant-based eating, they’re now burning through cash and struggling to stay relevant in a market that's quickly moving on.

Beyond Meat came out of the gate with all the energy of a fresh startup: ambitious, innovative, and ready to disrupt the whole food industry. It promised a meatless future where no cow, chicken, or pig had to pay the price for our greasy meat loving habits. The California based company went public in May 2019, and the stock shot up to almost $240 a share. Beyond Meat was in every grocery store and on the menu at TGI Fridays. Even McDonald's and KFC flirted with fake meat in some stores. 

But then, enthusiasm for Beyond Meat began to fade faster than my plan to wake up at 5 a.m. every day. People didn’t like the taste (or the price) of these faux meat products as much as they initially thought. Grocery stores and restaurants started quietly pulling Beyond Meat products off the shelves. International sales, once a beacon of hope, also began to decline. In fact, the number of retail and food-service outlets offering Beyond Meat has dwindled from 144,000 to 130,000 in just one year.

But Beyond Meat’s problems go beyond a lack of consumer interest. The company has never turned a profit and it's running out of money. Its cash position has plummeted to $145 million, which still sounds like a lot of money in the bank—until you factor in the $1.1 billion in debt hanging over their heads. Let’s be honest: taking on more debt or issuing more shares at this point is like throwing a Band-Aid on a torn ACL.

To make matters worse, Beyond Meat's bills are piling up, and they’re not getting paid on time. Over a third of their payments to vendors in 2024 were overdue by 91 days or more. This doesn’t exactly scream "financial stability" to Wall Street. In an attempt to claw its way back into the spotlight, Beyond Meat is trying new things. They’ve launched the Beyond Sun Sausage, made with a mix of wholesome ingredients like yellow peas and red lentils (sounds delicious doesn’t it?). They’re also betting on a new steak alternative made with mycelium, the root system of fungi. 

The problem is that one of these new products are actually selling that well. The company’s sales dropped 9% year-over-year in Q2 2024, and the losses keep stacking up. Sure, they managed to squeeze out a 14.7% gross margin in Q2, up from a disastrous -18% in Q1, but that’s not exactly a path to profitability.

Unfortunately, Beyond Meat may be beyond repair. The market is sending a clear signal: it doesn’t matter how innovative your product is if no one is buying it. Beyond Meat has no obvious escape route from its cycle of declining sales and mounting debt. 

It’s worth noting that the entire plant-based meat category has struggled. Beyond Meat isn’t alone; consumers are growing skeptical of the high prices and health claims of these products. Even with new product launches and a "healthier" focus, Beyond Meat seems stuck in a vicious cycle of declining revenue, rising debt, and not enough cash.

Unless something drastically changes, it might be time for Beyond Meat to hang up the apron. Investors have been holding their breath for a turnaround, but at this point, it seems more likely that the company will continue the spiral. The reality is that Beyond Meat has run out of money, ideas, and—most importantly—options. It might just be time to admit that this plant-based Cinderella story is over, and the clock has struck midnight.

So, if you’re still holding onto Beyond Meat stock, you might want to consider cutting your losses before it’s too late. Because right now, the market’s speaking loud and clear—and it’s not saying "yum."

But, but, but… While Beyond Meat’s stock continues to play “how low can you go,” our Stocks.News alert on Wednesday hit a mind-blowing +162.08% gain in less than 24 hours after we called it. And guess what? Our premium members didn’t just sit back and watch the market chaos—they cashed in on those sweet gains. Oh, and did I mention that was our fifth triple-digit winner in a row? Yeah, we’re on fire.

So, why waste time watching Beyond Meat's struggles when Stocks.News premium members are busy raking in explosive gains week after week? Do the math, and if you're catching the vibe, upgrade to Stocks.News premium before the next alert drops—because trust me, it’s set to be another winner.

Until next time, stay sharp and keep stacking those gains!

Stocks.News holds positions in McDonalds, KFC, and Beyond Meat.