MeritValue

BEYOND MEAT, INC.

BYNDdata completeness 100%9 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

BEYOND MEAT, INC. earns about -3% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 186% over 5 years — worth asking whether the growth reaches owners. The cash-flow models don't apply cleanly here — the ledger says why below.Whether it’s worth owning at today’s price is the last question — and yours to answer, below.

i. The business — what you’d actually own
FigureFY 2021FY 2022FY 2023FY 2024FY 2025
Revenue$464.7M1$418.9M2$343.4M3$326.5M3$275.5M3
Net income−$182.1M4−$366.1M5−$338.1M6−$160.3M6$219M6
Operating cash flow−$301.4M7−$320.2M8−$107.8M9−$98.8M9−$144.9M9
Capital expenditure$136M10$70.5M11$10.6M12$11M12$12.3M12
Free cash flow (derived)−$437.3M7−$390.7M8−$118.4M9−$109.8M9−$157.2M9
Total debt$2.26B13$2.27B14$2.28B15$2.28B16$831.5M16
Cash & equivalents$733.3M17$309.9M18$190.5M19$131.9M20$203.9M20
Diluted shares63.2M63.6M64.3M66.0M180.9M

Superscripts are receipts. Each links to the SEC filing the number came from (full list at the bottom).

ii. Your slice — ownership made literal
If you owned
shares
Net assets behind them
−$0.06
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
$12.11
Free cash flow it threw off
−$8.69
Debt you’d be carrying
$45.96

10 shares is a claim on −$0.06 of net worth that earned you $12.11 and generated −$8.69 of cash last year, against $45.96 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-3% avg · 5y
FY21 -8%FY22 -15%FY23 -17%FY24 -8%FY25 35%

It earned an average -3% on invested capital over 5 years. Compare that to what it costs to fund the business.

seeing a moat in the numbers →
Management signal · capital allocation
+186% shares · 5y

Share count is up 186% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has fallen 63% — deleveraging.

reading capital allocation →

Signals, not verdicts — read from the filings above. Numbers don’t prove a moat; they show its footprint. You decide.

iv. What it’s worth — engine v0.1.0
DCF · Growth Exit 10Y
not applicable
3y-median FCF non-positive — growth-exit DCF not applicable (see EPV)
DCF · Growth Exit 5Y
not applicable
3y-median FCF non-positive — growth-exit DCF not applicable (see EPV)
Earnings Power Value
not applicable
normalized (5y-median) earnings non-positive — EPV undefined
Graham Number
not applicable
diluted EPS missing or non-positive — Graham Number undefined

Different models answer different questions — which to trust when →

Sources — the receipts
  1. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001655210-24-000025 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001655210-25-000034 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001655210-26-000022 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001655210-24-000025 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001655210-25-000034 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001655210-26-000022 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001655210-24-000025 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001655210-25-000034 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001655210-26-000022 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001655210-24-000025 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001655210-25-000034 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001655210-26-000022 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001655210-23-000017 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001655210-24-000025 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001655210-25-000034 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001655210-26-000022 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001655210-23-000017 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001655210-24-000025 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001655210-25-000034 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001655210-26-000022 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)