Beyond Meat recently denied reports that it plans to file for bankruptcy. Nevertheless, the plant-based company appears to be buckling under financial pressure.
“Beyond Meat is currently struggling with declining sales, increased competition, and financial instability,” noted Ragini Bhalla, Creditsafe’s head of brand.
With Beyond Meat enduring a 20% drop in revenues during Q2 2025, Creditsafe examined the company’s Days Beyond Terms (DBT), or how late the company is paying its bills.
Data showed that Beyond Meat’s DBT more than doubled over the past 12 months, reaching 20 in May 2025 and 19 in July 2025 – much higher than the industry average of 12.
“This increasing delay in payments to suppliers indicates the company could be experiencing liquidity pressures,” Bhalla said in a statement shared with The Food Institute. “Although (Beyond Meat) has denied imminent bankruptcy filings, these rising DBT figures highlight growing financial challenges.”
The Debt Load Grows
Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown said in a statement that the company’s poor results were largely due to “ongoing weakness in the plant-based meat category,” particularly in the U.S. retail and international foodservice markets, Vegconomist reported.
Beyond Meat’s growing late payments also contributed to aging invoices, according to Creditsafe. The alt-meat company’s 31-60 days overdue category experienced a major jump in April 2025, reaching 19.2%, compared to just 8.2% in November 2024.
“Over the past year, Beyond Meat’s payment behavior has fluctuated significantly,” Bhalla noted.
Creditsafe data shows that 30.97% of Beyond Meat’s outstanding bills were 1-30 days past due in September 2024; by January 2025, that figure increased to 46.6%.
Beyond’s growing trend in overdue payments could be a sign of escalating cash flow challenges. The company, once a leader in the plant-based protein sector, has $1.2 billion in debt, according to Creditsafe.
Destined for the Great Beyond?
From a fundamental perspective, Beyond Meat has been one of the worst stocks in the entire market recently, according to FI analysis. And, profitability is distant. In 2024, on an operating basis the company lost 45 cents from every dollar of sales.
Beyond Meat is reportedly working with advisors to explore restructuring options. Brown said the company is responding with rapid cost reductions and a realignment of its core product lines. It also announced plans in late July to drop “Meat” from its name to simply be known as “Beyond” – an effort to focus on traditional plants amid falling sales and rising demand for protein, as greenqueen.com noted.
Though its business results have been undeniably poor, Beyond Meat does appear to have enough liquidity to continue operations into 2027, Seeking Alpha reported.
Perhaps it’s not time to stick a fork in the alt-meat company just yet.
“A [Chapter 11] bankruptcy filing could signal a critical turning point for Beyond Meat,” Bhalla said, “offering a chance for a financial reset as it navigates the increasingly competitive plant-based market.”
