Business

Beyond Meat’s stock collapses after debt deal

Published

5 months ago

October 16, 2025

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.

Business

Disneyland Resort President Thomas Mazloum named parks chief

Published

2 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

Disneyland Resort President Thomas Mazloum named parks chief

Disneyland Resort President Thomas Mazloum has been named chairman of Walt Disney Co.’s experiences division, the company said Tuesday.

Mazloum succeeds soon-to-be Disney Chief Executive Josh D’Amaro as the head of the Mouse House’s vital parks portfolio, which has become the economic engine for the Burbank media and entertainment giant. His purview includes Disney’s theme parks, famed Imagineering division, merchandise, cruise line, as well as the Aulani resort and spa in Hawaii.

Jill Estorino will become the head of Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. She previously served as president and managing director of Disney Parks International and oversaw the company’s theme parks and resorts in Europe and Asia.

Estorino and Mazloum will assume their new roles on March 18, the same day as D’Amaro and incoming Disney President and Chief Creative Officer Dana Walden.

“Thomas Mazloum is an exceptional leader with a genuine appreciation for our cast members and a proven track record of delivering growth,” D’Amaro said in a statement. “His focus on service excellence, broad international leadership and strong connection to the creativity that brings our stories to life make him the right leader to guide Disney Experiences into its next chapter.”

Mazloum had been about a year into his tenure at Disneyland. Before that, he was head of Disney Signature Experiences, which includes the cruise line. He was trained in hospitality in Europe.

In his time at Disneyland, Mazloum oversaw the park’s 70th anniversary celebration and recently pledged to eliminate time limitations for park-hopping, which are designed to manage foot traffic at Disneyland and California Adventure.

Mazloum will now oversee a 10-year, $60-billion investment plan for Disney’s overall experiences business, which includes new themed lands in Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World. At Disneyland, that expansion could result in at least $1.9 billion of development.

The size of that investment indicates how important the parks are to Disney’s bottom line. Last year, the experiences business brought in nearly 57% of the company’s operating income. Maintaining that momentum, as well as fending off competitors such as Universal Studios, is key to Disney’s continued growth.

In his new role, Mazloum will have to keep an eye on “international visitation headwinds” at its U.S.-based parks, which the company has said probably will factor into its earnings for its fiscal second quarter. At Disneyland Resort, that dip was mitigated by the park’s high percentage of California-based visitors.

Times staff writer Todd Martens contributed to this report.

Business

What soaring gas prices mean for California’s EV market

Published

14 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

What soaring gas prices mean for California’s EV market

It has been a bumpy road for the electric vehicle market as declining federal support and plateauing public interest have eaten away at sales.

But EV sellers could soon receive a boost from an unexpected source: The war in Iran is pushing up gas prices.

As Americans look to save money at the pump, more will consider switching to an electric or hybrid vehicle. Average gas prices in the U.S. have risen nearly 17% since Feb. 28 to reach $3.48 per gallon. In California, the average is $5.20 per gallon.

Electric vehicles are pricier than gasoline-powered cars and charging them isn’t cheap with current electricity prices, but sky-high gas prices can tip the scales for consumers deciding which kind of vehicle to buy next.

“We probably will see an uptick in EV adoption and particularly hybrid adoption” if gas prices stay high, said Sam Abuelsamid, an auto analyst at Telemetry Agency. “The last time we had oil prices top $100 per barrel was early 2022 and that’s when we saw EV sales really start to pick up in the U.S.”

In a 2022 AAA survey, 77% of respondents said saving money on gas was their primary motivator for purchasing an electric vehicle. That year, 25% of survey respondents said they were likely or very likely to purchase an EV.

As oil prices cooled, the number fell to16% in 2025.

In California, annual sales of new light-duty zero-emission vehicles jumped 43% in 2022, according to the state’s Energy Commission. The market share of zero-emission vehicles among all light-duty vehicles sold rose from 12% in 2021 to 19% in 2022.

“Prior to 2022, we didn’t really have EVs available when we had oil price shocks,” Abuelsamid said. “But every time we did, it coincided with a move toward more fuel-efficient vehicles.”

Dealers are anticipating a windfall.

Brian Maas, president of the California New Car Dealers Assn., predicted enthusiasm for EVs will rebound across California if oil prices don’t come down.

“If prior gasoline price spikes are any indication, you tend to see interest in more fuel-efficient vehicles,” he said.

Rising gas prices could be a lifeline for EV makers at a time when federal support for green cars has been declining.

Under President Trump, a federal $7,500 tax incentive for new electric vehicles was eliminated in September, along with a $4,000 incentive for used electric vehicles.

In California, the zero-emission vehicle share of the total new-vehicle market was 22% through the first 10 months of 2025, then dropped sharply to 12% in the last two months of the year, according to the California Auto Outlook.

Meanwhile Tesla, the most popular EV brand in the country, has grappled with an implosion of its reputation with some consumers after its chief executive, Elon Musk, became one of Trump’s most vocal supporters and helped run the controversial Department of Government Efficiency.

Over the last several months, Ford, General Motors and Stellantis have pared back EV ambitions.

Other automakers, including Nissan, announced plans to stop producing their more affordable electric models.

The Trump administration has moved to roll back federal fuel economy standards and revoked California’s permission to implement a ban on new gas-powered car sales by 2035.

David Reichmuth, a researcher with the Clean Transportation program in the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the shift in production plans will affect EV availability, even if demand surges.

That could keep people from switching to cleaner vehicles regardless of higher gas prices.

“This is a transition that we need to make for both public health and to try to slow the damage from global warming, whether or not the price of gasoline is $3 or $5 or $6 a gallon,” he said.

According to Cox Automotive, new EV sales nationally were down 41% in November from a year earlier. Used EV sales were down 14% year over year that month.

To be sure, oil prices can fluctuate wildly in times of uncertainty. It will take time for consumers to decide on new purchases.

Brian Kim, who manages used car sales at Ford of Downtown LA, said he has yet to see a jump in the number of people interested in EVs, hybrids or more fuel-efficient gas-powered engines.

Still, if the price at the pump stays stuck above its current level, it could happen soon.

“Once the gas prices hit six [dollars per gallon] or more and people feel it in their pocket, maybe things will start to change,” he said.

Business

Nearly 60 gigawatts of U.S. clean power stalled, trade group finds

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Nearly 60 gigawatts of U.S. clean power stalled, trade group finds

A total of 59 gigawatts of U.S. clean energy projects are facing delays at a time when demand for power from AI data centers is surging, according to a trade group study.

Developers are seeing an average delay of 19 months over issues such as long interconnection times, supply constraints and regulatory barriers, the American Clean Power Assn. said in a quarterly market report.

The backlog is happening despite the growing need for power on grids that are being taxed by energy-hungry data centers and increased manufacturing. The Trump administration has implemented a slew of policies to slow the build-out of solar and wind projects, including delaying approvals on federal lands.

The potential energy generation facing delays is the equivalent of 59 traditional nuclear reactors, enough to power more than 44 million homes simultaneously.

“Current policy instability is beginning to impact investor confidence and negatively impact project timelines at a time when demand is surging,” American Clean Power Chief Policy Officer JC Sandberg said in a statement.

Despite the hurdles, developers were able to bring more than 50 gigawatts of wind, solar and batteries online in 2025, accounting for more than 90% of all new power capacity in the U.S., the report found. Clean power purchase agreements declined 36% in 2025 compared with 2024, signaling that the build-out of clean power in the U.S. could be lower in the 2028 to 2030 time period, according to the report.

Chediak writes for Bloomberg.