Beyond Meat shares soared in extended trading on Thursday after the maker of plant-based meats delivered better-than-expected revenue in its first quarterly earnings report since going public.
In the first quarter of 2019, Beyond Meat’s net sales jumped 215% to $40.2 million, driven by increased sales of the Beyond Burger and greater demand from new and existing customers. Analysts had expected sales of $38.9 million.
The company, which went public last month, also reported a net loss of $6.6 million, compared with a net loss of $5.7 million last year. Excluding items, it lost 14 cents per share.
“We are very pleased with our successful IPO during the month of May and our strong first quarter financial results that we believe demonstrate mainstream consumers’ desire for plant-based meat products in the United States and internationally,” CEO Ethan Brown said in a news release.
“Looking ahead, we believe we are in the early stages of achieving the growth that Beyond Meat is capable of,” he added.
Beyond Meat’s stock rose 18% to $117.49 in the after-hours session. It surged more than 160% in its first day trading on the public markets and has now climbing nearly 300% above its IPO price, giving the company a market value of $5.8 billion.
As CNBC reports, “Investors have been drawn by the potential for increased demand for meat alternatives.” Euromonitor estimates the market for plant-based meat substitutes was $1.44 billion last year and will grow to $2.50 billion by 2023.
But the competition is stiffening, with Nestlé announcing earlier this week that it would be launching a plant-based product in the U.S. called the Awesome Burger.
“In some sense, competitors coming in validates the direction that we’re going,” Brown told analysts in an earnings call.
Grocery store sales accounted for $19.6 million of Beyond Meat’s sales in the first quarter while sales to restaurants such as Carl’s Jr. and Del Taco accounted for $20.6 million of its revenue. The company is forecasting full-year revenue of more than $210 million, ahead of Wall Street’s $205 million estimate.
