Beyond Meat Q2 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
August 7, 2024

There are 11 speakers on the call.

Operator

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Beyond Meat 20 24 Second Quarter Conference Call. All participants will be in listen only mode. Please note, this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Paul Shepherd, Vice President, FP and A and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Speaker 1

Thank you. Hello, everyone, and thank you for your participation on today's call. Joining me are Ethan Brown, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer and Luby Couture, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. By now, everyone should have access to our Q2 2024 earnings press release filed today after market close. This document is available in the Investor Relations section of Beyond Meat's website at www.beyondmeat.com.

Speaker 1

Before we begin, please note that all the information presented today is unaudited and that during the course of this call, management may make forward looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in these forward looking statements. Forward looking statements in our earnings release, along with the comments on this call, are made only as of today and will not be updated as actual events unfold. We refer you to today's press release, our quarterly report on Form 10 Q for the quarter ended June 29, 2024, to be filed with the SEC and our annual report on Form 10 ks for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 along with other filings with the SEC for a detailed discussion of the risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward looking statements made today. Please also note that on today's call, management may reference adjusted EBITDA, adjusted loss from operations and adjusted net loss, which are non GAAP financial measures.

Speaker 1

While we believe these non GAAP financial measures provide useful information for investors, any reference to this information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information presented in accordance with GAAP. Please refer to today's press release for a reconciliation of these non GAAP financial measures to their most comparable GAAP measures. And with that, I would now like to turn the call over to Ethan Brown.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Paul, and good afternoon, everyone. I am pleased to report a strong quarter of progress against our 2024 plan, including exceeding our Q2 revenue objective, continued reduction in operating expenses and cash consumption and our best quarterly gross margin since Q3 2021. Today, I'll provide more detail around this progress in the context of each of our 5 key objectives for 2024, including the launch of Beyond 4 as a defining pillar for Beyond Meat's center of the plate role in the global health and wellness trend. First, a brief overview of our 2nd quarter financial results. Net revenues of $93,200,000 exceeded the top end of our $85,000,000 to $90,000,000 guidance range, but still reflected an 8.8% decline from the year ago period.

Speaker 2

As discussed on prior calls, during the Q2 of 2024, we scaled back on promotional trade discounts and together with the initial appearance of price increases on certain products in the U. S, this resulted in a 6.1% increase in our net revenue per pound compared to the year ago period, including a 20.5% increase in our U. S. Retail channel net revenue per pound. Gross margin rose to 14.7%, substantially higher than the 2.2% outcome in the same quarter last year and the 4.9% level achieved in the Q1 of this year.

Speaker 2

Importantly, we expect to see further gross margin progress across the balance of the year, reflecting the combined impact of more fully distributed pricing adjustments, continued moderation of promotional spending and ongoing COGS improvements as we consolidate our network and continue on our lean management journey. Operating expenses in the 2nd quarter fell to $47,600,000 as we continue to pursue efficiencies throughout the organization, marking a $8,400,000 reduction year over year and a $2,000,000 reduction compared to the Q1 of this year after adjusting for the $7,500,000 class action settlement we disclosed last quarter. Lastly, our cash consumption fell to $15,500,000 in the 2nd quarter, a 67% 52% reduction on a year over year quarter over quarter basis, respectively. We continue to aggressively manage cash use across the business and remain highly focused on working toward cash flow positive and ultimately profitable operations. With that, let me delve into our 5 priorities for 2024, including our clear and enhanced positioning around health at the back of the Beyond 4 launch.

Speaker 2

1st, getting leaner. Q2 provides a very clear proof point that our operations are making progress toward getting leaner and more efficient. This quarter compared with the year ago period, we realized $11,400,000 more in gross profit despite lower revenue and $8,400,000 less in operating expenses. Furthermore, inventory and cash consumption were both down on a year over year and sequential basis. Throughout the first half of twenty twenty four, we realized a reduction in operating expenses of 22,600,000 excluding the $7,500,000 class action settlement accrued in Q1 2024, as reflected in our updated guidance, we are targeting a reduction in operating expenses in the remainder of 2024 compared to the equivalent period in 2023.

Speaker 2

In support of lean management implementation, we continue to narrow our focus on specific products, markets, consumers and messages. This brings us to our 2nd priority, the Beyond 4 rollout. We officially kicked off the launch and accompanying campaigns for Beyond 4 during the week leading up to Memorial Day, an exciting moment for the company, one that marks the culmination of multiyear innovation of our core platforms of Beyond Burger, Beyond Beef and Beyond Dinner Sausage. Beyond 4 represents a clear manifestation of our company's product strategy. As I have often shared, despite compelling data on the health benefits of our products from peer reviewed research at the Stanford School of Medicine's SWAP MEAT study, A sustained misinformation campaign championed by members of the incumbent animal protein industry as well as the pharmaceutical industry collecting sizable antibiotic sales to livestock sector has substantially and negatively impacted consumer perception of our products and the plant based meat industry as a whole.

Speaker 2

In response, we have intensified our innovation road map's emphasis on health. The team has made remarkable progress with regard to this objective, so much so that over the longer run, I believe it will be arguable whether Beyond Meat is at its core a plant based meat company that delivers health and wellness or a health and wellness company that makes plant based meat. The On4 portfolio so successfully captures our health commitment. That as I previously noted, it's worth repeating our 4th generation Beyond Burger, Beyond Beef and Beyond Dinner Sausage are recipe certified by the American Heart Association's Heart Check program and are included in the American Diabetes Association's Better Choices for Life program. Reflecting the widespread corrosiveness of the false and misleading attack, I do not expect consumer perception to shift quickly and certainly not overnight.

Speaker 2

However, I do believe it will change and this change is being aided by the increasing number of highly credible doctors, registered dietitians and nutritionists who are coming out in strong support of our Beyond 4 products. This support stems from the Beyond 4 portfolio's clean ingredients and nutritional profile. For those who are newer to our story, these attributes are worth highlighting. Beyond4 Burger and Beef products use protein sourced from yellow peas, brown rice, red lentils and fava beans and fat from avocado oil to deliver 21 grams of clean protein with just 2 grams of saturated fat. By comparison, that's 75% less saturated fat than equivalently sized eightytwenty beef burger.

Speaker 2

Turning to Beyond 4 dinner sausage, we see a similar story with protein from yellow peas and brown rice, fat from avocado oil delivering 75% less saturated fat than equivalently sized pork sausage. These strong nutritional gains are occurring within products that are also winning praise from consumers for improved taste. As I reflect on these outcomes, I'm immensely proud of and grateful for our team. From our truly tireless innovators to our adaptive production crews who routinely rise to the engineering challenges of a fast moving company. Before moving on from our product strategy, I will briefly touch on the recent launch of an entirely new line, Beyond Sun Sausage.

Speaker 2

Beyond Sun Sausage is not intended to replicate beef, pork or poultry, but rather is intended to be its own delicious satisfying protein option delivered in the context of nutritious and clean ingredients. The concept, which is receiving high praise from consumers and registered dietitians for taste and nutrition and bears the emblem of the American Heart Association's Heart Check Program and the American Diabetes Association's Better Choices For Life Program is a confident step for Beyond Meat in the plant based meat category outside of the confines of a particular animal species. Instead simply focusing on taste, out feel, nutrition and ingredients. The platform is built on the same protein blend from yellow peas, brown rice, red lentils and fava beans mixed with avocado oil, delivering 12 grams of protein and only 1 gram of saturated fat and is offered in 3 delicious bold flavors. Cajun, featuring diced red peppers and dried onions pineapple jalapeno, featuring dried pineapple and diced jalapenos and pesto featuring a blend of basil, oregano, rosemary spices.

Speaker 2

I've watched consumer and nutrition community feedback with great interest and was pleased to read what is my favorite comment in quite some time. Short and to the point, I believe this consumer post sums up our brand, people and culture in 7 words writing, you guys keep getting better and better. As we moved into summer grilling season with Memorial Day, we launched our Serve Love marketing campaign around our Beyond 4 platform to heighten consumer awareness of the health benefits of Beyond 4 products across a variety of media. We centered on Serve Love as this messaging communicates what we genuinely believe to be true. That serving Beyond4 products to family, friends or yourself is an act

Speaker 3

of love due first and foremost

Speaker 2

the product's strong health credentials as well as attendant goodness for the world, whether that be climate, environment or animal welfare. With our 4th and the products relevant to cardiovascular health, the image for the campaign is 2 hands forming a heart shape around our burger. Further, as part of the campaign, we unveiled our first ever cookbook, Serve Love, a collection of heart healthy beyond meat recipes certified by the American Heart Association's Heart Check Program. The cookbook is available for free download via the Beyond Meat website and helps to make nutritious plant based meals more accessible to all. Now turning to our 3rd priority, making progress to our U.

Speaker 2

S. Trade and pricing programs in support of improved gross margin. For Q2, net revenue per pound in the U. S. Retail channel was up 20.5% as compared to the year ago period and up 11.7% sequentially as compared to the Q1 of this year.

Speaker 2

The impact of pricing changes on the U. S. Foodservice channel net revenue per pound was more muted as we saw some higher trade expenses related to some of our larger customers in this channel. Nevertheless, we expect our U. S.

Speaker 2

Pricing actions to provide a tailwind to our net revenues per pound in both channels through the balance of the year. Looking now at cost of goods sold and gross margin, we have substantially completed the consolidation of our production network, which is our 4th priority. This consolidation is enabling us to benefit from better asset utilization and inventory management, which we expect to continue freeing up working capital, aiding overhead absorption and generating production and logistics efficiencies, while also providing for better management of logistics and quality control. We believe these pricing, trade and ultimately COGS initiatives represent meaningful steps toward restoring gross margin. 5th, we are maintaining our investment focus in Europe by serving our strategic customers in this important plant based meat market.

Speaker 2

In May, McDonald's Germany kicked off its Famous Meals promotion with a campaign that featured 2 celebrity favorite meals built around the McPlant Burger and McPlant Nuggets. Elsewhere in Europe, we launched Beyond Steak, Beyond Smash and Beyond Burger Jalapeno for food service in the Netherlands and Beyond Steak at retail in Belgium, while expanding availability of the Beyond Burger at Co Op Stores across the UK. We are also beginning our expansion into the significant plant based meat refrigerated category in Germany, having successfully reformulated our products to achieve refrigerated shelf life requirements in that and other European markets. Before wrapping up, I want to call attention to the return of a true fan favorite. Beyond the original Orange Chicken, which we partnered with Panda Express to provide to consumers in a series of LTOs over the past few years was the number one most requested dish on Panda Express's social channels, became the subject of a petition signed by over 7,000 consumers.

Speaker 2

Listening to this demand from the consumer, beginning last month, Panda Express brought back beyond the original orange chicken across hundreds of participating locations across the country for another LTO. If you have the chance to stop by and try the dish, your taste buds will not be disappointed. As with each of our QSR customers, including McDonald's, Starbucks UK, Pizza Hut UK and AU Canada, we are grateful for our partnership with Panda Express. With that, I'll close by saying we are encouraged by many of the results we see this quarter, results that demonstrate clear progress against our 2024 plan and our longer term goal of profitable operations. I look forward to taking your questions later.

Speaker 2

I will now turn the call over to Luby to walk us through our Q2 financial results in greater detail as well as update our outlook for 2024.

Speaker 4

Thank you, Ethan, and good afternoon, everyone. I'll begin by reviewing our Q2 financial results before providing an update on our 2024 outlook. Net revenues decreased 8.8 percent to $93,200,000

Speaker 5

dollars in the Q2 of

Speaker 4

2024 compared to $102,100,000 in the year ago period. We were, however, pleased to see net revenues come in above our guidance range for the quarter, and we note that the rate of decline was much lower than the 18% year on year decline we saw in the Q1 of 2024. This decrease in net revenues for the Q2 was primarily driven by a 14% decrease in volume of products sold, partially offset by a 6.1% increase in net revenue per pound. The increase in net revenue per pound was primarily driven by lower trade discounts, pricing changes and changes in product sales mix, partially offset by unfavorable changes in foreign currency exchange rates. Breaking this down by channel, our U.

Speaker 4

S. Retail channel net revenues decreased 7.5% to $44,900,000 in the Q2 of 2024 compared to $48,500,000 in the year ago period. Volume of products sold decreased 23.2%, primarily reflecting ongoing demand softness in the plant based meat category and the lapping of substantial promotional sales to a club channel customer in the year ago period. However, we were pleased to see a 20.5% increase in net revenue per pound, primarily resulting from lower trade discounts, changes in product sales mix and the early impact from recent pricing actions. Regarding the latter, although it is still early days, we are encouraged by the initial reads on consumer price elasticity, which appear to be generally in line with our expectations.

Speaker 4

U. S. Foodservice channel net revenues decreased 18.9% to $10,300,000 in the Q2 of 2024 compared to $12,800,000 in the year ago period. Volume of products sold decreased 20%, primarily reflecting ongoing demand softness in the plant based meat category as well as the impact from certain distribution losses. Volume losses in U.

Speaker 4

S. Foodservice were partially offset by a 1.4% increase in net revenue per pound, primarily resulting from pricing changes and changes in product sales mix, partially offset by higher trade discounts. In part, these higher trade discounts represented some trade reconciliations and true ups for larger customers in this channel. International retail channel net revenues decreased 12.1 percent to $17,600,000 in the Q2 of 2024 compared to $20,000,000 in the year ago period, primarily due to a 6.9% decrease in net revenue per pound and a 5.5% decrease in volume of products sold. At a high level, the year on year decrease in international retail was largely driven by weakness in our EU chicken portfolio, which is lapping its year ago market launch and channel sell in.

Speaker 4

Unfavorable changes in foreign currency, particularly with respect to the Canadian dollar and softening category demand in some geographic regions. International foodservice channel net revenues decreased 2.5 percent to $20,400,000 in the Q2 of 2024 compared to $20,900,000 in the year ago period, primarily due to a 1.4% decrease in volume of products sold and a 0.9% decrease in net revenue per pound. Overall, the year over year decrease was mainly driven by reduced sales to a large QSR customer where we were lapping the launch of an LTO in the year ago period. Gross profit in the Q2 of 2024 was $13,700,000 or gross margin of 14.7 percent compared to $2,300,000 or gross margin of 2.2% in the year ago period. This represented our best quarterly gross margin performance since the Q3 of 2021 and our lowest quarterly cost of goods sold per pound since the Q2 of 2021, suggesting that we are starting to see the financial benefits from some of the pricing, network consolidation and other cost reduction initiatives we have been pursuing.

Speaker 4

This quarter we saw some abatement of the transitional direct labor costs, which began to impact us in the Q1 as we brought more production volume in house and we are continuing to realize efficiency improvements as we accumulate internal production experience of our finished goods. Also, we are pursuing some rationalization of our U. S. Warehousing network and it has been encouraging to see the realization of year over year savings in our transportation and warehousing expenses. At a high level, the decrease in cost of goods sold per pound primarily reflected lower inventory provision, lower manufacturing costs including depreciation and lower logistics costs per pound, partially offset by higher materials costs per pound.

Speaker 4

Operating expenses were $47,600,000 in the Q2 of 2024 compared to $56,000,000 in the year ago period. The decrease in operating expenses was primarily due to reduced marketing expenses and lower non production headcount expenses, partially offset by an increase in general and administrative expenses. The reduction of operating expenses combined with the aforementioned improvement in gross profit drove

Speaker 1

a $19,800,000

Speaker 4

year on year reduction in our operating loss, an achievement more notable when considering that net revenue was $9,000,000 lower this quarter than in the year ago period. Net loss was 34,500,000 dollars or $0.53 per common share in the Q2 of 2024 compared to $53,500,000 dollars or $0.83 per common share in the year ago period. Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $23,000,000 or minus 24.7 percent of net revenues in the Q2 of 2024 compared to an adjusted EBITDA loss of $40,800,000 or 40% of net revenues in the year ago period. Turning to our balance sheet and cash flow highlights. Our cash and cash equivalents balance, including restricted cash, was $158,000,000 and total outstanding debt was $1,100,000,000 as of quarter end on June 29, 2024.

Speaker 4

Inventory fell to $119,500,000 at the end of the second quarter, down by $3,000,000 from Q1 of this year and by $87,600,000 from Q2 of last year. Net cash used in operating activities was $47,800,000 in the 6 months ended June 29, 2024, compared to $88,300,000 in the year ago period. Capital expenditures totaled $2,500,000 in the 6 months ended June 29, 2024 compared to $7,100,000 in the year ago period. Finally, I'll conclude by commenting on our 2024 full year outlook, which we are updating as follows. Net revenues are now expected to be in the range of $320,000,000 to 340,000,000 dollars Gross margin is now expected to be in the mid teens range.

Speaker 4

Operating expenses excluding the $7,500,000 accrual related to the consumer class action settlement recognized in the Q1 of 2024 are expected to be in the range of $180,000,000 to 190,000,000 dollars and capital expenditures are expected to be in the range of $15,000,000 to $20,000,000 And with that, I'll turn the call over to the operator to open it up for your questions.

Operator

Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer The first question is from Ben Theurer with Barclays. Please go ahead.

Speaker 6

Hi. Good afternoon, Ethan and Luby. Thanks for taking my question. So Ethan, to begin with maybe as it comes out to the rollout of Beyond 4.0, the platform and then obviously the associated price increases you've been putting through and we're seeing that already nicely as you've highlighted on a per pound basis. 2 things around this.

Speaker 6

1, can you update us on how much of your portfolio has seen this upgrade and the new pricing already and how much is still yet to come over the next couple of months and or quarters? And then what has consumer perception maybe been just around the product and how is the feel associated with the price point, which obviously is a higher one than prior? That would be like kind of like my first general question and I have a quick one for Doobie.

Speaker 3

Okay, great. So I'll go ahead and answer the first point first on what percentage of the portfolio is undergoing the renovation upgrade. And if you look at what we've launched so far, you have the Beyond Burger, you have Beyond Beef and then you have Beyond Dinner Sausage. All of those now have the new formula and the associated endorsements and things of that nature. And that new formula is new proteins, new fat systems, etcetera.

Speaker 3

And then the additional application there is a some sausage, which has even lower saturated fat levels. We do expect to continue to migrate the portfolio in the direction of those types of things. But for now, those are the major changes we've made. On the price increase, we've generally been pleased. As Louie mentioned, the elasticity has come in largely where we expected.

Speaker 3

But I think the other piece to note is the significant reduction in promotional trade. That has helped us a lot on margin, and we've been very pleased to see the portfolio sustain that. If you look at the consumer reception, which is for your third question, we do have data, which is encouraging. If you strip away the promotional activity at Telkonet, which kind of tends to distort the year over year numbers, and just look at the base and then you look at some of our larger accounts, you do see velocity, for the Beyond 4 items, particularly beef and the burger, which is where we have the most data, you're seeing growth in certain accounts that are significant national grocer accounts and then seeing stabilization in others. So we're quite pleased with that given that we instituted a significant price increase, pulled back on trade.

Speaker 3

And so we think that is evidence that the product is doing well and the messaging is resonating. Also along those lines, if you look at the chatter about the product, both in the medical community and in the nutrition and registered dietitian community, it is extremely positive. It's not positive in the sense of this doesn't taste very good, but it's very healthy. It's really a, to me, something that our research and development and operations team needs to be extremely proud of. They not only improved the nutritional profile of those products, which were already strong, as I mentioned, but they also, from an organoleptic perspective, improve the products.

Speaker 3

And so and we're seeing that in the reaction whether on social media, whether on media coverage. So overall, we're very pleased with that launch. It's going extremely early days. We just announced it right before Memorial Day, and we continue to see some of it on the dinner sausage side flow through. So overall, quite pleased.

Speaker 3

On the price increase, I'll hand it over to Luby to handle that.

Speaker 4

Yes. Ben, I think did you have a second part of the question? Was it specific to the price increase?

Speaker 6

No, no, no, no. The price that was actually covered by Ethan. What I was wondering, you tend to always give a little bit of more of a near term outlook and not only for the full year. So anything you could maybe share on what your initial thoughts as to the Q3 now as we start getting into easier comps from last year? Fair to assume that we're going to get into growth and continued margin expansion also on a sequential basis?

Speaker 6

Or how should we think about the 3rd quarter maybe in context to the Q2 as that one came already better than what you initially expected?

Speaker 4

Yes, sure. So I think as Ethan mentioned in his prepared remarks, we do expect to see sequential improvement in our gross margins in the second half of the year, and our guidance would imply that as well. You're correct. In recent quarters, we have provided some directional color for the current quarter. We're not doing this that for Q3 specifically, but what I'll say is, if you think about just the seasonality of our business, right, typically we tend to generate most of our revenues or a bigger portion of our revenues in the second and third quarters.

Speaker 4

And so as you're thinking about Q3 versus Q4, I would just keep that in mind. And then from an operating expense perspective, if you look at our guidance, right, what it would imply, obviously, for the back half of the year would be a lower rate of operating expenses relative to the first half.

Speaker 6

Okay, perfect. Thank you very much. I'll pass it on.

Speaker 3

Sure.

Operator

The next question is from Adam Samuelson with Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead.

Speaker 7

Yes. Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone.

Speaker 3

Hey, Adam.

Speaker 7

Hi. So I guess, maybe first just thinking about kind of that tension between kind of the price increases and the clear desire to drive gross margins, but also kind of thinking about the unit cost reductions and kind of the ability to drive that on a lower volume base. Can you help us think about the improvement in gross margins in the second half? And how much we should be thinking really is incremental price increases or the flow through of effectuated price increases and mix versus actual reductions in unit costs from here. I appreciate you're trying to simplify the business.

Speaker 7

But the volume base is also shrinking. So I'm trying to balance those two figures. Thank you.

Speaker 4

Sure. Do you want me I can take that.

Speaker 3

Sorry, sorry, Louis. I'll grab it and then hand it over to you. Sorry, I'm sorry, I'm on mute. So I think if you look at the cadence of the price increase, we began it in certain retailers and certain products beginning in April, phased it in a little bit more in May. And so this the 3rd Q4, it should be the sort of fuller distribution.

Speaker 3

And so we do expect some uplift from that. And then of course, trade reduction will continue throughout the back half. So we'll also expect a good guide from that. But I don't want to underestimate, and I think this is where your question is, the significant progress that we're making on cost of goods and that is coming from several different areas. Probably 1st and foremost is the internalization of our network.

Speaker 3

That decision was taken for a variety of reasons. But one of the main benefits, right, is that it's cut down on tolling fees and underutilization fees that had been somewhat of a drag on the business. It's also allowing for significant savings in logistics as we move forward as well as much better overhead utilization and absorption overhead absorption. So we continue to think that those will drive a lower cost basis across the products for the balance of the year. Some other things that are kind of knickknacks, the inventory reserves coming down and then reduced depreciation on a smaller asset base given the write off we did at the end of last year.

Speaker 3

So those things all combined to have, I think, a favorable view on the top line and then some significant progress we continue to bring cost out of the system. And I think the last piece is more almost philosophical. We are bought into, as I've mentioned many times over the last sort of 18 months, the lean management practice and principles. And so the establishment of value streams, looking at our business that way and the horizontal flow of value across it has allowed us to continue to be getting more efficient. And so I think we're realizing cost reduction and savings and focus even on things like materials through that transition to a lean manufacturing.

Speaker 3

But, Libby, anything you want to add to that?

Speaker 4

No, I think you've covered it pretty well, Ethan. I think what I would just say is that if you look at the results for the Q2, yes, we did begin to see some of the benefits from the recent price increases. But as Ethan mentioned, those we should get as that price increase starts to impact a greater portion of the overall business, we should have more of a benefit from that. I mean, if you look at our net revenue per pound this quarter in Q2 in our U. S.

Speaker 4

Retail business that was up 20.5%. I think one thing that's notable there is that most of that was not driven actually by pricing strict list price increases. It was driven by a reduction in the of promotional spending relative to a year ago and there was also some benefits from And so the impact of pricing was not yet impacting that in a major way. And so we'll benefit from more of that as we go through the year. And then as Ethan mentioned, there's other things within cost of goods sold as well, where we should other areas where we should see some efficiencies.

Speaker 4

As Ethan mentioned, there were some temporarily high labor costs and things like that as we were bringing production volume in house. And so the back half improvement that we expect in gross margin is being driven both by the top line, better pricing as well as improvement in COGS.

Speaker 7

Okay. That's helpful. And if I could follow-up with the second half, I think take the revenue, the gross profit, the OpEx and the CapEx guidance and I roll it all together, I mean, it would still imply kind of negative free cash flow, maybe slightly smaller cash usage than you saw in the first half of the year, depending on exactly which direction working capital trends. I guess but that includes kind of some of the pricing and the gross margin actions that you're kind of alluding to. So from where we are in the second half of the year, what is the how do we think about the pathway to actually getting to a free cash flow, a positive outcome and kind of when do you think it's possible that that could be achieved?

Speaker 4

I can take that. I mean, we have not so I think it's absolutely true that our top priority as an organization, as a management team is we are trying to drive this business to cash flow positive operations as quickly as possible. We have not said that, that will occur this year. And as you know, we typically we don't provide guidance in terms of expected cash consumption during the year. But look, as we've said on previous calls, right, that we are working we continue to work on bolstering our balance sheet.

Speaker 4

That's a top priority for us. But we're going to continue to do the things that you're starting to see the results of in this quarter, which is continue to reduce operating expenses, continue to drive gross margin higher. I think the team has done a really good job from in terms of our working capital efficiency. You can see our CapEx spending has been pretty low as well. So all of those things will benefit us, but we're certainly not calling for getting to cash flow positive in the back half of this year.

Speaker 5

I appreciate the color. I'll pass it on. Thanks.

Operator

The next question is from Robert Moskow with TD Cowen. Please go ahead.

Speaker 8

Hi, thanks. I had a question about how retailers in the U. S. Are viewing the plant based category. I mean, you said yourself that the category still remains weak.

Speaker 8

But I was wondering like how are retailers responding to that? Are they reducing shelf space for the category and reaction? Or is it leading to a shakeout of the smaller players? And could you actually benefit from that as a result? Thanks.

Speaker 3

Yes. Thanks, Rob. Appreciate it. So I think the answer is a little bit of both. Just a broader context, as I've said many times, we view this, although we thought initially we would escape it, we view this as just part of the process of disruption.

Speaker 3

There's going to be pushback, there's going to be a lull, there's going to be a shakeout. And that is obviously happening. Our job is to strengthen our business throughout that and emerge stronger as a result, and I think we're doing that. The retailers are responding to this in a number of different ways. Some are just staying the course.

Speaker 3

Some are shifting product placement between fresh and frozen and others are actually getting pressure on some of the lower performing players. So in that sense, I think we do benefit as Beyond and Impossible emerge as the 2 main players. So I think it's all of the above, but I also just want to caution, I continue to view this over a much longer lens. I think what you're seeing with the Beyond 4 portfolio is the main thing that destabilized this category has been the misperception around health. Obviously, there have been some pricing issues and things of that nature, which in a recessionary or difficult economic environment are always more challenging.

Speaker 3

But we are hammering away at the single most important issue in our view that is required to get the entire category growing again. And the early results we're seeing from Beyond 4 suggests that we're onto the right strategy. And I have no doubt that as more and more consumers become educated, not only from us, but from nutritionists who are backing up, pediatric dieticians, doctors, national health organizations, etcetera, that it will become, I wouldn't say just stubborn few, but it will become fewer and fewer people that are misled around the tremendous benefits they can bring to themselves and to their families by changing out the protein inside of the plate and using YON to improve their health. So the ability of our team to create products that not only deliver on taste, but really deliver on this health message, I think can't be over stated. Over time, we'll continue to address price.

Speaker 3

And in some regards, if you look at certain products with certain customers in certain regions, we have already achieved an element of price parity. But that right now is not the most important factor to consider. It really is around cleaning the well a bit and making sure that consumers understand the power of these products to impact the health of their lives and their loved ones.

Speaker 8

Okay. Just a quick follow-up. Maybe I missed it, but how much was the price increase that you took that you mentioned in April, not including the trade spend variations? And how did it influence 2Q?

Speaker 4

I don't think we

Speaker 3

give the exact blended amounts, But, Luvi, if you want to add kind of what some of the results have been, I don't think we ever shared the full blended amount.

Speaker 4

Yes. No, that's right, Rob. So we you didn't miss it. We didn't say exact how much the price increase was. But I think you can you probably get a sense if you look at consumer takeaway data.

Speaker 4

But again, like if you look at the change in net revenue per pound in our U. S. Retail channel, like I said, pricing was actually not the most significant driver of that. It was the vast majority of that was related to the reduction in trade spend and then there was some benefit from mix, which was also a bigger driver than just pricing alone.

Speaker 8

But there was a price increase. So is it showing up more in Q3 because you're in more retailers with the price increase in 3rd? I'm just a little unclear like to how to dimensionalize it.

Speaker 4

Yes. That would be our expectation Rob is that it would show up more in the 3rd and 4th quarter because, as Ethan mentioned, right, there was the price increase was implemented in waves. The first wave really began to happen in early April and the second wave in May. And so when you look at the 3rd Q4, we should benefit from a full quarter of more widely distributed price increases.

Speaker 8

Okay. Thank you very much.

Speaker 3

Sure.

Operator

The next question is from Alexia Howard with Bernstein. Please go ahead.

Speaker 9

Good evening, everyone. Hey, there. So can we ask about your market share trends in Europe? We obviously don't have visibility into that. As I think about the U.

Speaker 9

S. Market versus the European market, it seems as though the U. S. Has been troubled as a category because of the misinformation campaign, but the category strength is actually quite reasonably robust in Europe. However, in terms of the competitive dynamics, it seems as though the European market is more fragmented, perhaps more competitive.

Speaker 9

So I'm just wondering if you could speak a little bit to what you're seeing in terms of market share trends in the retail channel and potentially in foodservice and how you see things trending from here?

Speaker 3

Yes. So I can take that initially and then hand it over to Dewey.

Speaker 2

Yes, not only Europe, but

Speaker 3

I think if you look at Canada, we do like what we're seeing, for example, in Canada with respect to the trends for Beyond Meat in retail, where we're seeing growth and seeing some encouraging signs of broader consumer acceptance of our brand there. If you go over to Europe, it is, as you said, it's highly fragmented. So it's hard to draw kind of definitive conclusions about the entire geography. But I will say that if you look, for example, at one of our largest strategics, we continue to do a really nice book of business with them. And I think they're pleased with some of the launches we've had.

Speaker 3

And I think you'll see some continued activity there. And so on the strategic side, we like what we're seeing. Retail, there's so many different economies. There's just different factors to consider in terms of getting into the refrigerated section and things of that nature. I'm very bullish on Germany.

Speaker 3

I think it's a terrific plant based market. It's, as I've mentioned before, one of the top in the world. And so I think you'll see us be aggressive there. But drawing a conclusion around overall market share for the entire geography of Europe is difficult given the fragmentation. But maybe I don't know if you have any further details.

Speaker 4

Yes. I would just say, as it relates to the retail channel in the EU, EU. The way we think about growth in that particular channel and region is much less about market share gains and much more about distribution expansion. So we're starting from a very small base in the EU. I mean, generally speaking, if you look at our market shares across our key European markets, they're in, call it, in the low single digit percentages because we just don't have that large of a presence out in Europe at the moment.

Speaker 4

So it's really about expanding our distribution and which is why we were so focused on this initiative to make sure that our shelf life for our fresh products was where it needed to be. And so we expect we'll start to see some of the benefits from this in the back half of this year, to start seeing more distribution expansion within the EU. And in particular, as Ethan mentioned, the German market is one that we are very excited about. The vast majority of that entire market, I think it's over 95% of the category, is in the refrigerated portion of the overall category. And up until just recently, we essentially had no access to the refrigerated aisle.

Speaker 4

And so it's much more about that. I would say, just sort of generally speaking, when we look at the European market, our sort of core products, the burger and mince products over there continue to perform well. I think we've struggled a little bit more in the chicken portfolio in the EU. That's where we do see it as a very highly fragmented market over there. There is a large private label presence in the EU, as you know.

Speaker 4

And so I think the trend certainly in the chicken portion of our portfolio in the EU have been softer than we would have anticipated. But we're still we remain pleased with what we're seeing on the core side. And like I said, it really comes down to expanding distribution.

Speaker 9

Great. Thank you very much. I'll pass it on.

Speaker 3

Sure. Sure.

Operator

The next question is from Peter Saleh with BTIG. Please go ahead.

Speaker 10

Great. Thanks. Thanks for taking the question. Ethan, I was hoping you could talk a little bit about the competition, particularly in the U. S.

Speaker 10

How do you see the health of the competitors right now? And what exactly do you see them doing as you guys are reducing discounts and raising price? Are they doing the same? Or are they doing something different? Just trying to understand the dynamics right now that you're seeing with your competitors.

Speaker 3

Thanks for the question. Yes, I don't see a counter move yet on the competitive side. I think we're all trying to do the same thing, which is move from one phase of this disruption to another, which is sustainable and profitable operations. I don't anticipate any significant aggressive moves in the action to our service and prices now.

Speaker 10

Understood. And then just curious, what else can you guys do in this environment to really encourage trial or drive trial? Because that seems like to be another a big obstacle at this point in time.

Speaker 3

So the good news is, I think when there's a debate in the public sphere about pros and cons or something, right? And at some point, one side of the debate goes way too far. You tend to get people to come in and work on your behalf just because it's the right thing to do. And we're seeing that now where registered dietitians, nutritionists, doctors are saying cut this stuff out. Like these products can really help you achieve some of your goals from a whether it's cardiovascular perspective, whether whatever the goal that may fit the portfolio that we have.

Speaker 3

We're starting to see people come out of the woodwork and talk with their patients about it, talk with their followers about it. And that I think that could have earned media and engagement with consumers, while it's potentially less splashy than some of the earlier stuff we did, very meaningful because it is so consistent with that slope of enlightenment that they talk about in the Gartner life cycle, right. It's where people are now finally beginning to understand, okay, wait a minute. I mean, the folks on the call, but this can make a practical and real difference in your health. You can ignore it.

Speaker 3

You can get involved in the politics of it or you can just try it, right? And we're hearing more and more people say, you know what, Beyond 4, I really like it, some sausage, what a neat concept, really healthy, I understand it. I'm benefiting from your products in X, Y and Z. And that said, word-of-mouth is really important. And it's not all spontaneous, right?

Speaker 3

We are working within the community to help get this message out. And you can see that with the various accreditations we have. You can see it with our broad and deep engagements in the nutrition and registered dietitian community. But it's not necessarily splashy. It's just effective.

Speaker 10

Thank you very much.

Operator

The next question is from Ken Goldman with JPMorgan. Please go ahead.

Speaker 5

Hi, thank you. Ethan, there's a lot of helpful conversation on this call about nutrition and the continued battle against misinformation and I do appreciate that. I wanted to ask a little bit about how confident you are that the products taste and texture, whichever product you want to talk about, the burger, the sausage, whatever, is

Speaker 9

where you

Speaker 5

want it to be? Because when I talk to investors and I talk to friends and family about the product, and obviously, it's a small sample size, I don't want to extrapolate too much. It's still about the taste where people say, look, I know a hamburger isn't good for me, but I like eating it more than a Beyond Burger, more than your competitors' burgers. The taste isn't quite there and the texture isn't quite there where they say, I really want to eat this. And food is still about what people want to eat more than what they have.

Speaker 5

I've asked this question before on the call, I know. So I just wanted to get a sense of an update of kind of where you are in that, in the stage of the product. Thank you.

Speaker 3

Yes. Thanks, Ken. Good question. So we wouldn't launch something that we felt did not represent an increase in the organoleptic or sensory experience of the product, right? That's not something we'd want to do.

Speaker 3

And so in particular, the shift to this protein blend dealt with some of the off flavors. The use of avocado really helped with some of the flavor notes, as well as the ale and a bunch of other changes we made. And so we are seeing that simultaneous consumer reaction that this there's obviously going to be some when you change a formula and sort of we like the old formula. So you're going to get some criticism from that. But overall, the reaction has been strong and the tests we ran prior to launching indicated that this was an improvement on taste.

Speaker 3

And so we don't need everybody to like the product. We need enough people to like it. And there are very large addressable market. As I've talked about before, not everyone does what they should do, I get that. But enough, I have a concern, that or at least a desire to be healthy, that they enjoy the taste of this and they enjoy the health benefits and so they're going for it.

Speaker 3

And I think it's really if you had to say, Ethan, here's the X amount of dollars and all you can spend it on is either taste or health, I'd absolutely go after health because that's the misperception. So not people who really like the taste of Beyond Burger and I've been doing this, what, 15 years. I know when they don't, I know when they do. And enough people that really like the taste, particularly this latest portfolio that getting clear with folks about the really transformative impacts it can have on their health. Look, I mean, we know this, that the standard American diet, it'll give you potentially a statin, give you a stint, give you some other things.

Speaker 3

And there's a way through that, which is diet and putting beyond the center of the plate is a major enabler, the healthier diet. And so that's the message we got to get across.

Speaker 5

Thank you for that. That's helpful. And then I wanted to ask a follow-up about pricing. Is the reason that you're not taking price internationally, I believe that's the case, please correct me if I'm wrong, that you don't have that scale, that you don't necessarily you're not in a place necessarily where you have the distribution yet? And to get distribution, you kind of want to maintain a price level that is maybe a little more appealing than it would be in a larger steady state environment?

Speaker 5

Or are there other factors to consider as we think about?

Speaker 3

That's right. I mean, if you look

Speaker 6

at some

Speaker 3

of the stuff we're doing in Europe, for example, with large strategic partners, I mean, that does have much more of yes, yes, they're primarily focused in the U. S.

Speaker 4

Hey, Ken, maybe what I would add to that as well is, I believe it was 2 years ago at this point, we did take a very close look at our pricing relative to the competitive set, particularly in the EU. And we felt that the price gap, our products were at a premium. They remain at a premium today, but we felt that the price gap was a little bit too large. So we did kind of reset our pricing level relative to the competitive set out there. And so I certainly think what you mentioned is certainly one element, right?

Speaker 4

But I think we did a pretty deep dive a couple of years ago to make sure that we're sort of priced in a place that we thought or that we believe makes sense for that market. Great.

Speaker 5

Thank you so much.

Speaker 3

Sure.

Operator

This concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Ethan Brown for any closing remarks.

Speaker 3

Thanks, guys. I'll be very brief. I think just wanted to emphasize, look at net revenue came in quite a bit higher than we were expecting. Margins have best it's been since 2021. Cash is way down.

Speaker 3

Operating expenses are also down. Consolidation networking needs to go really well. Continue to lean and drive cost out of the business. We're doing this while we're addressing what I think is the main issue around the categories, restoring the health halo, doing that not only our own marketing, but also in association with a lot of very influential organizations and leaders in the health and wellness community. So a lot of really positive stuff going on in a pivotal year for us.

Speaker 3

I look forward to reporting the balance of the year and sharing with you guys how this strategy continues to unfold. But appreciate the interest and live back soon.

Operator

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

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Earnings Conference Call
Beyond Meat Q2 2024
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