Analyst Note
| Rebecca Scheuneman, CFA |Beyond Meat’s first quarter sales grew 11% to $108 million, missing our $115 million mark and FactSet consensus of $113 million. Retail revenue grew 45% while food-service sales fell 34%. Even so, we now think our second-quarter $136 million sales target looks light, given Beyond’s April expansion into thousands of additional European retail locations, and the May U.S. retail launch of burger 3.0, the firm’s latest patty, which performs materially better in taste tests while cutting fat and calories. It will be supported by significant marketing support ahead of Memorial Day and the kick-off of the grilling season. Retail demand remains strong, with repeat rates rising to 57% in the quarter, well above the 20% rates typical of successful consumer products. Further, we think the increasing availability of vaccines will boost food-service demand, and we plan to increase our second-quarter sales estimate toward the midrange of management's $135 million-$150 million guidance.