It may be time for Wall Street to start envisioning strong profits from the surging Beyond Meat (BYND).
Since its wildly successful initial public offering in May, all Beyond Meat has done is win — and win in a big way. The company has released new, premium-priced products (think spicy sausage, ground beef and a new burger blend) that by most accounts continue to be in strong demand by consumers.
The products are showing up at retailers beyond the traditional organic haven that is Whole Foods (we are looking at you, Target).
Moreover, Beyond Meat founder and CEO Ethan Brown tells Yahoo Finance plant-based bacon and steak are on the way.
If that wasn’t enough to get Wall Street thinking about Beyond Meat’s profit potential this year and next, the company just inked a deal with Dunkin’ Brands to bring a special sausage patty to 190-plus locations in Manhattan. The CEOs of Beyond Meat and Dunkin Brands both hinted to Yahoo Finance in an interview a nationwide rollout is likely soon in the cards.
And should that happen at Dunkin’s some 9,200-plus U.S. stores — with more fast-food tie-ups very likely on the way — Beyond Meat is poised to shock Wall Street analysts with its financials sooner than expected. That will go a long way to justifying the upstart food company’s (which hasn’t yet turned a profit...) heady $12.8 billion market cap.
All of this profit potential is not lost on Beyond Meat’s humble founder and CEO Brown.
“We are on a great path for sure,” Brown told Yahoo Finance when asked if the Dunkin tie-up will help Beyond Meat reach profitability quicker.
Right now, Beyond Meat’s guidance calls for adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to be breakeven this year. Wall Street isn’t even on the same page with Beyond Meat yet — analysts are looking for slight adjusted EBITDA this year and about $19.5 million in 2020.
They should first get on Beyond’s page for 2019...and then quickly flip to one that shows profitability for the faux meat seller quite soon.
Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and co-host of The First Trade at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @BrianSozzi
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