Is Beyond Meat a Long-Term Buy or a Fad That's Fading?
- - Is Beyond Meat a Long-Term Buy or a Fad That's Fading?
Marc Guberti, The Motley FoolJanuary 16, 2026 at 6:50 AM
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Key Points -
Swapping 0% APR notes for 7% APR notes just to get three extra years before debt maturity is not a good look for a company that regularly loses money.
Beyond Meat's sales are declining across the board as the plant-based meat industry continues to fade.
While Beyond Meat may have occasional meme rallies, no long-term investor should touch this ticking time bomb.
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Beyond Meat (NASDAQ: BYND) was once heralded as a company that could challenge conventional meat, but sometimes, conventional and familiar things are superior to new ones. That's been the verdict among investors and consumers, given that Beyond Meat stock has crashed 99% over the past five years.
Its status as a meme stock has helped it outperform the S&P 500 year to date with a 19% gain, but the stock is so volatile that all those gains could disappear tomorrow. Beyond Meat, as a company and a stock, looks cooked.
A plant-based meat burger sitting on a plate.
Image source: Getty Images.
Beyond Meat can kick its debt further down the road only for so long
Beyond Meat is currently sitting on $1.2 billion in debt, which it will probably fail to pay. The company has a market cap of only $445 million and loses money each quarter. Beyond Meat's desperation was apparent in its recent debt restructuring.
The company got rid of $800 million in convertible notes that were due in 2027. These notes had a 0% annual percentage rate (APR). Beyond Meat replaced these same notes with new 7% APR convertible notes that are due in 2030. More than 300 million shares are also included as offered securities in the new convertible notes.
Beyond Meat swapped 0% APR for 7% APR just to give itself three extra years before the debt matures. However, revenue declines across key categories for multiple quarters don't give much confidence that Beyond Meat can return to growth and boost profits.
Beyond Meat cannot afford additional expenses
Beyond Meat's revenue has been declining for multiple years, and as that trend continues, it will be more difficult to return to profitability. Its year-over-year revenue decreases also come at a time when net losses continue to build.
The plant-based meat company reported a net loss of $110 million in Q3 2025. That's not only bad but also worse than its Q3 2024 performance. The same trend played out in the first nine months of the year, with net losses reaching $193 million across the first nine months of 2025. That's compared to a net loss of $115 million over the same stretch in 2024.
It's not even one-off events that are fueling those losses. Beyond Meat has delivered operating losses throughout 2024 and 2025, including a $112 million operating loss in Q3. A "remeasurement of warrant liability" is the main reason net losses were less than operating losses in Q3, but the fundamental issue of operational profitability persists.
Operating losses are simply a reflection of the company's performance before interest and taxes are taken into account. Interest expenses will go up at a time when Beyond Meat cannot afford for anything else to go wrong. While Beyond Meat may enjoy some meme rallies here and there, the company looks destined for bankruptcy in the long run.
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Marc Guberti has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Beyond Meat. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Source: “AOL Money”
