Beyond Meat third-quarter loss widens as costs mount, demand slumps

(Reuters) -Beyond Meat posted a bigger loss for the third quarter on Monday, as the plant-based meat maker grappled with persistent sluggish demand for its products and mounting costs.

The highly-shorted stock was down 8% in extended trading on Monday.

The faux-meat producer has faced waning demand after an early boom, as inflation-weary consumers turned away from its pricier products amid a shift toward less processed and, more recently, the influence of the “Make America Healthy Again” movement.

The firm had delayed its quarterly results last week to quantify an impairment charge related to some of its assets. Last Friday, it warned of material weakness within its financial reporting.

Shares of Beyond Meat, which launched a debt-for-equity swap in September to help avoid near-term de