Beyond Meat is “Beyond Broke”... Now They’re Borrowing $100 Million at 12% (What Could Go Wrong?)

We all know that guy. The one who pours his life savings into flipping a house that has black mold, an exorcism history, and a septic tank from the Nixon era. Then he does it again (after barely breaking even). Because “this time will be different.” That guy now has a corporate twin… its name is Beyond Meat.

Yes, our favorite faux-burger brand just scored a fresh $100 million from a plant-based nonprofit called Unprocessed Foods (how original). 

Now, to be clear: Beyond didn’t get a gift basket or a grant. This is a loan. At 12% interest. In this economy, that’s pretty much armed robbery. It also secured the right to scoop up 12.5% of Beyond’s shares. So, if Beyond stock somehow rises from the dead, they get to ride shotgun on that miracle.

As far as numbers go, Beyond posted a Q1 that was, in CEO Ethan Brown’s own words, “disappointing.” U.S. retail sales fell 15.4%, product volume dropped 23.3%, and the company missed both revenue and earnings estimates by a country mile. Revenue came in at $68.7M, short of the expected $77.77M. Even EPS was horrible… -$0.67 vs. the forecasted -$0.46.

And for anyone thinking, “Well, it’s just a rough patch,” here’s a fun fact: the stock is down 56% in the past six months, nearly 70% over the past year, and it’s trading near its 52-week low of $2.41. As you can imagine, this slide has caused Wall Street analysts to lower their price targets. For instance, TD Cowen recently cut their target to $2.00 and kept a big ol’ “Sell” stamp on the stock.

But wait, there’s more to this mess. Beyond has $1.2 billion in debt, EBITDA of -$125.5 million, and a gross profit margin that makes frozen yogurt shops a sound investment (13%, in case you were wondering). On top of that, they’ve laid off 6% of staff, bailed on China, and iced their 2025 guidance (so don’t expect to see their products at the local grocery store very often)… which, by the way, got downgraded from fresh refrigerated to the frozen aisle.

Ethan Brown is still out here spinning the story like my dad trying to justify another boat purchase. He says this loan gives them “additional liquidity” to “invest opportunistically.” Sounds more like… “Please stop looking at the balance sheet and believe in the dream again.”

Look, there was a time when Beyond Meat was the belle of the alt-meat ball. Back in 2021, the stock nearly hit $200 per share. But times have changed. The plant-based sector overall isn’t doing hot either… sales across the industry dropped 2.3% last year. Turns out, consumers aren’t too pumped about $6 frozen pea patties that taste like sadness, especially when real meat is cheaper, juicier, and not pretending to be something it’s not.

Beyond’s plan now is to cling to whatever shelf space they can salvage and rebrand themselves as the protein alternative America didn’t know it needed. At this point, I don’t even know what it would take to turn this around.

Stocks.News has positions in Beyond Meat.