Business
Beyond Meat’s stock collapses after debt deal
What does it cost a company when it’s no longer in the zeitgeist? For stockholders in Beyond Meat, perhaps as much as 99% of their money, if they bought at the top of the market.
Shares of the El Segundo maker of plant-based meats, an investors’ darling a few year ago, collapsed this week to less than $1 after the company wrapped up a deal to reduce its debt burden. The deal involves issuing up to 326 million new shares to the note holders.
The stock-diluting deal was spurred by declining sales at the company, which makes pea-based foods that mimic the taste of beef, chicken and pork.
It’s a stark reversal for Beyond Meat, whose products were in big demand early in the pandemic but are now less so as consumer tastes have shifted back to animal meats amid a surge of interest in protein.
“Animal meats are in the true cyclical fashion of consumer trends, having a moment that currently leaves less room for our products and brand,” founder and Chief Executive Ethan Brown told analysts during the company’s August conference call. “You’ve got these cultural moments that occur. And we happen to be on the other side of the particular moment.”
Beyond Meat went public in 2019 in an initial stock offering that saw its shares almost triple in price and then hit nearly $235 within months, as the public, restaurant chains and the media alike were captivated by the new food technology, which made plant-based burgers more than just palatable.
After that initial wave of interest, however, a number of its high-profile restaurant deals petered out and the company experienced a steady decline in sales from a peak of $465 million in 2021 to $326 million last year — all while never earning a profit. Second quarter sales were off 20%, losing the company $29.2 million.
Shares closed at 67 cents Wednesday, down 14%.
Beyond Meat also faces competition from chief rival Impossible Foods in Redwood City, Calif., which has made sales gains at supermarkets and is available as a Whopper at Burger King.
Beyond Meat has not been alone in its struggles. The entire U.S. plant-based meat and seafood industry saw a 28% drop in unit sales and an 18% drop in revenue to $1.17 billion over the last two years, according to a report by the Good Food Institute, a nonprofit that advocates for alternative proteins. The downturn also hit markets outside the U.S.
Inflation at the supermarket has made U.S. consumers less willing to buy premium-priced products, including plant-based proteins. That led some markets to move the products from refrigerated displays next to animal meats to the freezer, where they are harder to find, according the report.
Emma Ignaszewski, the institute’s associate vice president of corporate engagement, said that although there may be a “protein boom” she thinks that the plant-based companies can succeed if their products are positioned correctly.
“Plant-based proteins really need more investment, more innovation to match conventional meat on the factors that matter most to consumers, and that’s taste, price and accessibility,” she said.
“These products …. often cost two to three to four times more than their conventional counterparts. So when the wallet’s hurting this is not where people are turning to. Also, many products continue to lag consumer expectations on taste,” she said.
Beyond Meat did not respond to emails for comment, but Brown laid out his plan for boosting sales and turning a profit during the last conference call.
The company has been reducing its head count, and in August laid off 44 more employees, or about 6% of its total global workforce. It also hired a “chief transformation officer” who will focus on reducing operating expenses and increasing efficiency.
However, key to the company’s comeback are new product offerings, amid a growing consumer dislike of processed foods — a tag that has stuck with plant-based meats after a public relations campaign financed by the meat industry. Brown calls it a “headwind of misinformation.”
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again movement also has targeted processed foods.
Last year, the company released a new version of its flagship Beyond Burger that reduced its saturated fat content, and a product line called Beyond Sun Sausage with fewer and less-processed ingredients.
It also has tested a new product called Beyond Ground that has only a handful of ingredients, including faba bean and potato protein. Brown told analysts that the test went well on the company’s social channels. And it has released a steak filet at select restaurants.
The company wants to reduce prices, as well as to “counter misinformation around our products,” Brown said. Last year, its new burger earned endorsements by the American Diabetes Assn. and Good Housekeeping. The American Heart Assn. has included the product in its recipe collection.
We know “that the extreme nature of the current renaissance around animal protein will, as consumer trends do, moderate. This moderation may occur solely with time, new information or new trends, or may be spurred on by a set of related factors, including pricing pressure, droughts and genetic disease outbreaks,” he told analysts.
Bloomberg News contributed to this report.
Wednesday was a major moment for the coverage of the United States military. Scores of journalists with access to the Pentagon handed in their press passes rather than sign on to new rules laid out by Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense.
The news organizations that have refused to agree to the rules include large organizations such as The New York Times, NBC News and Fox News, as well as many smaller publications that focus entirely on the military. At least one news organization, the conservative cable network One America News, has agreed to the new terms.
The new rules codify sharp limitations on access and raise the prospect of punishment — including revocation of credentials — for simply requesting information on matters of public interest. Lawyers representing national news organizations have been negotiating for weeks with Pentagon officials over the strictures.
The old rules fit on a page. The new ones fill out 21 pages.
The new rules are a stark departure — in length and scope — from the previous guidelines the Pentagon required journalists to sign to obtain a press pass. Here are some of the differences.
New York Times Analysis
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The Old Rules
1
For many years before Pete Hegseth became defense secretary, journalists needed to sign a one-page list to obtain a press pass, as well as agree to a background check and other security measures. This copy of the one-page form was signed by Idrees Ali, a reporter for Reuters, in 2020.
New York Times Analysis
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The New Rules
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The Pentagon has framed the new restrictions, outlined in this memo, as an important step toward “preventing leaks that damage operational security and national security.” Media outlets see an attempt to curb First Amendment protections and question the policy’s premise. “Our members did nothing to create this disturbing situation,” reads a statement from an association representing Pentagon reporters.
Roving Reporters
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Mr. Hegseth has expressed concerns about reporters walking unescorted in Pentagon corridors, according to people with knowledge of internal discussions.
New York Times Analysis
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Access Privileges
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While journalists do not have a constitutional right of access to government buildings like the Pentagon and the White House, case law has clarified that once the access has been granted, it cannot be withdrawn arbitrarily or without due process.
New York Times Analysis
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Press Badges
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These red-and-white items (see p. 17 of this document) will make for easy identification of journalists in the building. The outgoing badges were run-of-the-mill affairs with a subdued “PRESS” on the bottom edge.
New York Times Analysis
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Escort Procedures
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Summoning an escort to accompany a journalist to an interview or other engagement requires significant effort, with one correspondent calling it a “big ask.”
New York Times Analysis
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A Clarification
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Language in a draft of the new rules was widely interpreted as saying the department was requiring news organizations to seek preapproval from defense officials for their stories. This section, among others, eliminates the ambiguity.
New York Times Analysis
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Asking Questions
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These lines present a particularly troubling set of problems for Pentagon correspondents and their news organizations, because they target the language of journalistic inquiry. Reporters ask for information all the time, and in many different ways. What is the difference, for example, between what the new policy calls “solicitation” and a journalist asking, “What’s going on in the secretary’s office?”
Tim Parlatore, a special adviser to Mr. Hegseth, said that the stricture applies only when the journalist “crosses the line” to asking defense officials “to violate these criminal statutes.”
New York Times Analysis
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Agree to Disagree
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This acknowledgement was a subject of negotiation between media lawyers and the Pentagon. A previous draft of the new rules would have required journalists to initial a dozen specific points, whereas the revised version, here, presents a global sign-off including a nod to industry misgivings about the restrictions.
A San José-based tech company that sells roof shingles with built-in solar panels is the latest to announce plans to leave the Golden State for Texas.
GAF Energy will relocate its headquarters to Georgetown, Texas, on Dec. 13, the company announced in a notification document filed with state officials. The company said its decision was motivated by better market opportunities in Texas, rather than an unfavorable business environment in California.
The company will lay off 138 California-based employees, including technicians, engineers and managers.
The San José headquarters, which is currently used for research, development and solar panel manufacturing, was opened in 2021. Both in-person and remote employees will be affected by its closure, the notice said.
Required by the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN, the notice must be issued by a company 60 days before a mass layoff.
GAF Energy, which is owned by Standard Industries, opened a manufacturing facility in Texas last year. The company plans to consolidate its operations at a new headquarters in the state, President Martin DeBono said.
“In light of ongoing changes in the solar industry, we are aligning our business and our team to focus on key markets where solar is most compelling for builders and homeowners,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “This decision was not taken lightly. We are grateful to our employees in San Jose for their contributions to the business and are committed to assisting those impacted through this transition.”
GAF Energy advertises a more practical approach to rooftop solar energy by embedding solar panels directly into shingles, rather than installing them on top of a roof.
The consolidation to a Texas headquarters will help the company “drive efficiencies, foster stronger collaboration and partnership amongst teams, and better serve customers,” the spokesperson said.
Though Silicon Valley is known as a premier tech hub and incubator for young companies, many firms have left the state in recent years, complaining of strict regulations, high taxes and costly labor.
Tesla moved its headquarters out of Palo Alto in 2021, the same year that financial services firm Charles Schwab relocated from San Francisco to northern Texas. Elon Musk moved the head offices of his other companies — SpaceX and X — to Texas last year, as did Chevron, the oil giant that was started in California.
Bed Bath & Beyond’s chief executive, Marcus Lemonis, recently took aim at California and announced that the company would not reopen stores in the state, writing on X that “California has created one of the most overregulated, expensive, and risky environments for businesses.”
Economists said the state remains the fourth-largest economy in the world, boasts a diverse pool of talent and is a hub of technological innovation.
GAF Energy did not point to faults in California’s business environment as a reason for moving operations to Texas. However, the company will suspend all operations in the Golden State.
Gov. Gavin Newsom wrapped up the 2025 legislative session with the usual flurry of activity, signing several important environmental, energy and climate bills and vetoing others ahead of Monday’s deadline.
Among the newest laws in California are efforts to accelerate clean energy projects and advance the state’s position as a climate leader — but also decisions to ramp up oil drilling and reject the phase-out of forever chemicals.
Here’s a look at what happened this year:
In September, Newsom signed a blockbuster suite of bills including the reauthorization of California’s signature cap-and-trade program, which sets limits on greenhouse gas emissions and lets large polluters buy and sell emissions allowances at quarterly auctions. The Legislature extended the program by 15 years to 2045, rebranded it as “cap-and-invest” and specified how its revenues will be allocated for wildfire prevention efforts, high-speed rail and other projects.
The greenhouse gas trading program is seen as essential for the state to meet its climate targets, including reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.
“California really needed to act this year to decisively try to put in policies to meet our climate goals [and support] the economy and different sectors,” said Susan Nedell, senior western advocate with the nonpartisan policy group E2. She called state legislative efforts especially important as the Trump administration aims to erode California’s authority on tailpipe emission standards, electric vehicle initiatives and renewable energy projects, among others.
“This is the time for California to lead, and I really feel like they came through on it as a state,” Nedell said.
WHAT ELSE BECAME LAW
- One of the more controversial bills of the year was Senate Bill 237, which makes it easier to drill up to 2,000 new oil wells in Kern County. It’s a tradeoff that also makes it more difficult to drill new oil or gas wells offshore. Legislators said it will help address the volatility of gasoline prices following announcements from oil companies Phillips 66 and Valero that they are shutting down two big refineries in the state. Environmental groups were quick to condemn the bill.
- Also controversial was Assembly Bill 825, which will expand California’s participation in a regional power market — enabling the state to buy and sell more clean power with other Western states. Opponents feared that it will cede some control of California’s power grid to out-of-state authorities, including the federal government. Supporters said it will improve grid reliability and save money for ratepayers.
- January’s firestorm in L.A. led to a renewed focus on the state’s approach to fires, including Senate Bill 254, which contains various policies to address California’s aging electric infrastructure and wildfire prevention goals. It will secure about $18 billion to replenish the state’s wildfire fund — a state insurance policy for utilities — which officials say will help protect ratepayers from excessive utility liability costs. It also will establish a program to speed up the construction of power lines needed for clean energy projects.
- Assembly Bill 39 requires cities and counties with at least 75,000 residents to plan for more electrification infrastructure by 2030, including electric vehicle charging and building upgrades. The measures must address the needs of low-income households and disadvantaged communities.
- Senate Bill 80 will create a $5-million fund to accelerate research and development for fusion energy. Fusion creates energy by slamming two atoms together. The state hopes to launch the world’s first fusion energy pilot project by the 2040s. “Fusion energy has the immense potential to provide consistent, clean baseload power on demand that will help us meet our clean energy goals,” said Sen. Anna Caballero (D-Merced), the bill’s author, in a statement.
- Assembly Bill 888 creates a grant program to help low-income homeowners clear defensible space around their houses and install fire-safe roofs. It is “exactly the kind of proactive, people-first policy California needs,” said Eric Horne, California director for the nonprofit Megafire Action, which is geared to ending large wildfires.
- Senate Bill 653 means that state agencies have to pay more attention to using native species in their fire prevention work and use science-based standards to avoid introducing invasive, fire-prone species.
- Senate Bill 429 establishes the Wildfire Safety and Risk Mitigation Program at the California Department of Insurance, which will fund research into developing and deploying a public wildfire catastrophe model — a computer simulation that estimates property damage from large wildfires and helps communities better assess and prepare for risk.
- Assembly Bill 462 streamlines approvals for accessory dwelling units on properties affected by the 2025 wildfires in the California Coastal Zone, requiring decisions on coastal permits within 60 days and eliminating some appeals.
- Assembly Bill 818 accelerates local permitting for rebuilding homes and allows residents to place temporary homes, such as manufactured homes or ADUs, on private lots during reconstruction.
- Assembly Bill 245 gives residents additional time to rebuild their homes or businesses in the wake of the 2025 wildfires without experiencing a property tax increase.
- Senate Bill 614 will establish new regulations for the safe transport of carbon dioxide captured from large polluters or removed from the atmosphere. The legislation will authorize the development of dedicated pipelines to move CO2 to underground geological formations for permanent storage, and was described by Newsom as a vital next step for the state’s burgeoning carbon capture, removal and sequestration market.
- Assembly Bill 14 expands the “Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies Program” statewide. The program encourages large vessels to voluntarily reduce their speed in designated areas in order to reduce air pollution and reduce the risk of fatal vessel strikes and harmful underwater acoustic impacts on whales.
WHAT WAS VETOED
- The governor vetoed Senate Bill 34, which would have required the South Coast Air Quality Management District to consider certain factors before implementing regulations at the region’s ports. Opponents, including health and environmental groups, said it would have ultimately weakened its authority and ability to meet clean air standards. In its place, the air district and the ports are pursuing a voluntary cooperative agreement that will include obligations for zero-emissions infrastructure and other clean-air efforts. “With the current federal administration directly undermining our state and local air and climate pollution reduction strategies, it is imperative that we maintain the tools we have,” Newsom wrote in his veto.
- Assembly Bill 740 would have directed the state’s energy agencies to create an implementation plan for “virtual power plants” — networks of small energy resources such as smart thermostats, home batteries and rooftop solar panels that can help reduce strain on the grid. Newsom vetoed it earlier this month, stating that it would result in additional costs for the California Energy Commission’s already depleted operating fund. But Edson Perez, California lead at the nonprofit Advanced Energy United, called its veto a “costly mistake” and said the bill would have saved ratepayers more than $13 billion.
- Newsom this week also vetoed Senate Bill 682, which would have phased out the use of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” in consumer products such as nonstick cookwear and products for infants and children. The governor cited concerns about affordability in his veto.
Earlier this year, the governor also signed the most significant reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, since it originally became law in 1970. Signed in June, Assembly Bill 130 and Senate Bill 131 exempt a broad array of housing development and infrastructure projects from CEQA in an effort to ease new construction in the state. Supporters said it will help address the state’s housing crisis, while many environmental groups were outraged by the move.
“While California was able to advance on grid regionalization, strengthen energy affordability, uphold local air quality protection, and protect endangered species, we’re frustrated by the Governor’s vetoes of measures that would have banned forever chemicals, prioritized cost effective energy consumption, expanded virtual power plants to lower electricity bills, and banned microplastics,” said Melissa Romero, policy advocacy director with the nonprofit California Environmental Voters.
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