Beyond Meat's Rising Challenges Despite Strong Q4 2023 Earnings

Beyond Meat had a strong quarter -- for Beyond Meat

To be completely fair to Beyond Meat, Q4 2023 was, indeed, a good one for the company. It lived up to its self-imposed goal of cutting costs, and it was able to increase volumes in new markets outside the United States. The numbers on the second point were fairly impressive, with retail channel sales in foreign markets up 22.1% in the quarter and 33.7% higher in the food service channel.

Beyond Meat's really big problem

That statement actually leads into the problem that Beyond Meat investors should really be monitoring. Volume fell 22.6% in the domestic retail segment in Q4 and 25.9% in the domestic food service grouping. For the full year, volume was down 33.9% in the domestic retail segment and 26.9% in domestic food service. Both occurred despite the company charging lower per-pound prices, which should have supported volumes.

Beyond Meat is a risky proposition

Beyond Meat's management team is trumpeting their successes, which is what you would expect the company to do. Investors, however, should take that good news with a grain of salt. Beyond Meat is still trying to figure out if it has a sustainable business model. At this point, even with the progress on costs and strong foreign sales, the evidence hasn't proven that Beyond Meat has what it takes to survive as a stand-alone company. Investors should tread carefully here.