BEYOND MEAT, INC.
For the period ended Mar 28, 2026. Filed May 7, 2026.
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Mar 28, 2026 · Filed May 7, 2026
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Note
Note 13. Related Party Transactions
TPP
In connection with the Company’s investment in TPP, a joint venture with PepsiCo, Inc., the Company sold certain products directly to the joint venture. As part of its Global Operations Review, in 2023, the Company made the decision to discontinue the Beyond Meat Jerky product line and discontinued it in 2024. See Note 10.
The Company earned $0 in net revenues from TPP in each of the three months ended March 28, 2026 and March 29, 2025.
Related Party Employment Agreement
Subsequent to the three months ended March 28, 2026, effective May 4, 2026, the Company hired the son of Seth Goldman, the Company’s Chair of the Board of Directors, for a full time, salaried position, as Senior Manager of Community Engagement, with a base salary of $130,000, target annal bonus of 10% and such other standard company benefits available to similarly situated employees of the Company.
Note 14. Segment Information
The Company operates inone segment in the plant-based meat industry, offering a portfolio of revolutionary plant-based meats.
In accordance with ASC 280, “Segment Reporting,” the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and President, who reviews operating results to make decisions about allocating resources and assessing performance for the entire Company, has been identified as the CODM.
The Company derives revenue primarily in North America and Europe and manages the business activities on a consolidated basis. The Company’s CODM allocates resources and assesses performance at the consolidated level. As the Company operates inone segment, entity-wide segment disclosures about products and services, and major customers are the same as what has been presented elsewhere in this report and in the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
The accounting policies of the segment are the same as those described in Note 2. On a quarterly basis, the CODM reviews the GAAP measure of consolidated net (loss) income as the measure of the segment’s performance and for determining the allocation of resources.
The following table presents the details of the significant segment expenses, segment net revenues, and the segment performance measure, net loss, in the periods indicated.
| Three Months Ended | ||
|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | March 28,2026 | March 29,2025 |
| Net revenues | $58,206 | $68,731 |
| Less: | ||
| Cost of goods sold | 56,221 | 75,657 |
| Research and development expenses | 5,220 | 7,462 |
| Selling expenses | 6,326 | 6,971 |
| Marketing expenses | 5,627 | 12,088 |
| General and administrative expenses | 25,916 | 30,922 |
| Interest expense | 6,732 | 1,024 |
| Equity in losses of unconsolidated joint venture | 16 | 11 |
| Remeasurement of warrant liability | (1,300) | — |
| Remeasurement of derivative liability | (11,891) | — |
| Gain on debt extinguishment | (6,060) | — |
| Other segment items(1) | (119) | (4,317) |
| Net loss | $(28,482) | $(61,087) |
(1) Includes Other, net and Income tax (benefit) expense as reported in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations. Other, net includes $1.5 million and $0.9 million in interest income in the three months ended March 28, 2026 and March 29, 2025, respectively. Other, net also includes $(1.3) million and $3.5 million in foreign currency transaction (losses) gains in the three months ended March 28, 2026 and March 29, 2025, respectively. See the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements for the other financial information regarding the Company’s operating segment.
See the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements for other financial information regarding the Company's operating segment.
Note 15. Subsequent Events
2030 Notes Conversion
Subsequent to the three months ended March 28, 2026, an additional $62.6 million in aggregate principal amount of 2030 Notes were converted into shares of the Company’s common stock and the Company issued 52,092,284 Conversion Shares to such converting noteholders and an aggregate of 3,869,808 anti-dilution RSUs to the recipients of the MIP awards. An aggregate of 2,641,921 shares have been reserved for Anti-Dilution Increases with respect to PSU awards, at maximum payout, associated with these 2030 Note conversions, to be awarded when the performance criteria to earn them are established.
PIK Interest on 2030 Notes
On May 1, 2026, the aggregate remaining principal amount of the 2030 Notes was increased by approximately $10.4 million in interest payment in the form of PIK interest at a rate of 9.5% for the period from October 15, 2025 to May 1, 2026, pursuant to the terms of the 2030 Notes indenture.
Distribution Agreement
On April 15, 2026, the Company entered into a Distribution Agreement with Big Geyser, Inc. (“Big Geyser”) whereby the Company appointed Big Geyser as its exclusive distributor of the Company’s recently launched beverage line of sparkling plant-based protein drinks called “Beyond Immerse” within a certain defined territory in the northeast United States. The Distribution Agreement is for an initial term often years, subject to automatic eight-year renewals or early termination under certain conditions. The Company is not required to sell, and Big Geyser is not required to purchase, any specified minimum quantities of product. The Company may be subject to certain early termination fees, non-renewal fees or penalties (primarily based on lost profits or volumes sold or distributed by Big Geyser) in the event of certain breaches or early termination of the Distribution Agreement.
The following discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those set forth in Part I, Item 1A, Risk Factors, in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on April 9, 2026 (the “2025 10-K”), Part II, Item 1A, Risk Factors and Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements included elsewhere in this report and those discussed in other documents we file from time to time with the SEC. The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes and other financial information included in this quarterly report and our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes included in our 2025 10-K. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for any future periods and our operating results for the three months ended March 28, 2026 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2026 or for any other interim period or for any other future year or period.
Overview
Beyond Meat is a leading plant-based meat company offering a portfolio of revolutionary plant-based meats and other innovative plant-based food and beverage products. We seek to deliver the power of plants to consumers through our plant-based meat products, an innovation that enables consumers to experience the taste, texture and other sensory attributes of popular animal-based meat products while enjoying the nutritional and environmental benefits of eating our plant-based meat products, and adjacent products that deliver taste and macronutrients from plants and plant-based ingredients. Our brand promise, “Eat What You Love,” represents a strong belief that there is a better way to feed our future and that the positive choices we all make, no matter how small, can have a great impact on our personal health and the health of our planet. By shifting from animal-based meat to plant-based meat, we can positively impact four growing global issues: human health, climate change, constraints on natural resources and animal welfare.
We sell a range of plant-based meat products across our three core platforms of beef, pork and poultry. As of March 2026, Beyond Meat branded products were available across mainstream grocery, mass merchandiser, club store and natural retailer channels, and various food-away-from-home channels, including restaurants, foodservice outlets and schools, with certain of our products available generally for a limited time exclusively through our Beyond Test Kitchen DTC channel, which we launched in the fourth quarter of 2025.
As the demand for plant-based meat products has continued to decline persistently over the past three years, we have continued to adjust to the changing market landscape and evolving patterns in consumer demand to position Beyond Meat for long-term growth. In addition to our cost-cutting initiatives, we have taken steps to broaden our distribution channels, including direct-to-consumer sales, optimize our distributor relationships and seek more effective consumer input to enable us to respond to shifts in consumer preferences. For example, we launched our Beyond Test Kitchen DTC platform, in the fourth quarter of 2025, giving consumers early access to new plant-based protein products, generally for a limited time, which allows us to test new products directly with consumers and obtain consumer feedback and make adjustments before investing in potential broader product releases. We have also sought to further simplify and improve the quality of product ingredients, including with the use of avocado oil in many of our products. We have also taken our first step in expanding our product portfolio to product adjacencies with the introduction in January 2026 of Beyond Immerse, a plant-based protein beverage, through our Beyond Test Kitchen DTC channel. We continue to focus on expanding our share of the market for plant-based meat products, particularly in select markets and geographies where we see both short- and long-term opportunities for growth, as well as where we believe we can position ourselves as the go-to provider of healthy and desirable plant-based meats and other plant-based protein products.
In early 2026, we commenced a strategic repositioning of our brand to “Beyond The Plant Protein Company,” under which we are expanding beyond our plant-based meat products into a broader portfolio of plant-based protein offerings across multiple categories and adjacencies, including products like Beyond Immerse, our first functional beverage line of sparkling plant-based protein drinks. This repositioning is intended to address prolonged weakness and category contraction in the traditional plant-based meat segment by leveraging our plant-based protein expertise, technology platform and brand to pursue new growth opportunities across multiple product categories and adjacencies. In April 2026, we entered into a distribution agreement with Big Geyser, a major non-alcoholic beverage distributor, to expand distribution of Beyond Immerse beyond the DTC channel into retail, convenience, foodservice and other outlets. The repositioning and beverage expansion will require incremental investment in marketing, distribution infrastructure and working capital, and there can be no assurance that these initiatives will be successful or generate returns sufficient to offset the required investment. See Part II, Item 1A, Risk Factors, included elsewhere in this report.
Net revenues decreased to $58.2 million in the three months ended March 28, 2026 from $68.7 million in the three months ended March 29, 2025, representing a 15.3% decrease. We have a history of losses and negative cash flows from operating activities. Net loss in the three months ended March 28, 2026 and March 29, 2025 was $28.5 million and $61.1 million, respectively, as persistent weak demand in the plant-based meat category and for our products, changes in product sales mix and distribution losses in certain channels, among other things, resulted in declines in our net revenues that we were unable to offset with commensurate cost reductions. Loss from operations in the three months ended March 28, 2026 and March 29, 2025 was $41.1 million and $64.4 million, respectively. In the three months ended March 28, 2026 and March 29, 2025, we incurred negative cash flows from operating activities of $5.0 million and $26.1 million, respectively.
Our operating environment continues to be negatively affected by several challenges, including, but not limited to, ongoing, further weakened demand in the plant-based meat category and for our products, particularly in the refrigerated subsegment, among others, adverse changes in consumer tastes and perceptions about plant-based meat, broad macroeconomic headwinds including inflation, high interest rates, waning consumer confidence and potential recessionary concerns in certain geographic regions, adverse changes in consumers’ perceptions about the health attributes of our products, increased competitive activity in the plant-based meat category, global events such as the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East, and their impacts on the surrounding areas and global economy, current and proposed future tariffs as well as their potential impact on availability of raw materials and/or distribution of our products, and increased uncertainty surrounding international trade policy and regulations, including through the implementation of retaliatory tariffs or related counter-measures and the negative effects of anti-American sentiment, among others, all of which have had and could continue to have unforeseen impacts on our actual realized results. In recent periods, our net revenues, gross profit, gross margin, earnings and cash flows have been adversely impacted by the following, each of which may continue to impact our business and financial condition in the future.
unfavorable changes in our product sales mix, including the launch of new products, which may carry lower margin profiles relative to existing products, increased sales to strategic QSR customers as a percentage of our total sales, which generally carry a lower selling price per pound, and lower demand for our core products;
continued weak demand and its resultant impact on our sales due to slower category growth, particularly for refrigerated plant-based meat;
the impact of general economic conditions in the U.S. and international markets on us, our customers, our suppliers, our vendors and consumers, including concerns related to inflation, geopolitical and economic uncertainty and instability, the conflict in the Middle East, and its impact on the surrounding areas and global economy, a potential recession, the shutdown of the federal government including regulatory agencies, tariffs and trade wars, increased energy and fuel costs, and the effects of those conditions on consumer spending;
unfavorable changes in consumers’ perceptions about the health attributes of plant-based meats, including our products, and increased competitive activity;
deceleration of the adoption of plant-based meat across Europe and ongoing regulatory uncertainty about labeling and marketing practices, which could negatively impact our ability to expand distribution of our products;
the impact of the plant-based meat sector’s premium pricing relative to animal protein, which has caused and could continue to cause consumers to avoid plant-based meat or trade down into cheaper forms of protein, including animal meat, beans and other non-animal meat protein sources;
negative impacts on capacity utilization as a result of lower than anticipated demand and, therefore, production volumes, which have in the past and could in the future give rise to increased cost of goods sold per pound, underutilization fees, termination fees and other costs to exit certain supply chain arrangements and product lines, and/or the write-down or write-off of certain equipment and other fixed assets and impairment charges, all of which could negatively impact gross margin, driving less leverage on fixed costs and delaying the speed at which cost savings initiatives positively impact our financial results;
changes in forecasted demand, including for our core products—namely Beyond Burger, Beyond Beef, Beyond Chicken, Beyond Steak and Beyond Sausage—and others;
managing inventory levels, including sales to liquidation channels at lower prices, write-down or write-off of excess and obsolete inventory, or increase in inventory provision;
changes in our pricing strategy, including actions intended to improve our price competitiveness relative to competing products or to improve profitability, such as price increases of certain of our products in our U.S. retail and foodservice channels that we implemented in 2024;
increased cost of goods sold per pound due to input cost inflation, including higher transportation, storage, raw materials, energy, labor and supply chain costs;
potential disruption to our supply chain generally caused by distribution and other logistical issues, including the impact of cyber incidents at suppliers and vendors; and
labor needs at the Company as well as in the supply chain and at customers.
Cost-Reduction Initiatives and Global Operations Review
A key component of achieving our long-term business strategy is to achieve cost leadership and continue driving the cost of our products down over time. In response to the difficult environment and the negative impact of certain factors on our business and the overall plant-based meat category, beginning in 2022 we pivoted our focus toward sustainable long-term growth supported by three pillars: (1) driving margin recovery and operating expense reduction through the implementation of lean value streams across our beef, pork and poultry platforms; (2) inventory reduction and cash flow generation through more efficient inventory management; and (3) focusing on near-term retail and foodservice growth drivers while supporting key strategic long-term partners and opportunities.
In 2023, we initiated our Global Operations Review, which involves narrowing our commercial focus to certain anticipated growth opportunities, and accelerating activities that prioritize gross margin expansion and cash generation. These efforts have to date included or resulted in, and may in the future include or result in, the exit or discontinuation of select product lines; changes to our pricing architecture within certain channels; cash-accretive inventory reduction initiatives; non-cash charges such as provision for excess and obsolete inventory and potential additional impairment charges, write-offs, disposals and accelerated depreciation of fixed assets, and losses on sale and write-down of fixed assets; further optimization of our manufacturing capacity and real estate footprint; workforce reductions; and the cessation of our operational activities in China in 2025.
The following table summarizes the non-cash charges recorded in our unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations in the three months ended March 28, 2026 and March 29, 2025 as a result of the cessation of our operational activities in China:
| (in thousands) | Three Months Ended March 28, 2026 | Three Months Ended March 29, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of goods sold: | ||
| Inventory write-offs | $— | $260 |
| Accelerated depreciation | 546 | 637 |
| Research and development expenses: | ||
| Accelerated depreciation | — | 830 |
| SG&A expenses: | ||
| Loss on write-down and write-off of assets | — | 356 |
| Total | $546 | $2,083 |
We may not be able to fully realize the cost savings and benefits initially anticipated from our cost-reduction initiatives and Global Operations Review, and the realized costs may be greater than expected. For additional information see Part I, Item 1A, Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—Our strategic initiatives to improve our operations and product portfolio and improve our cost structure could have long-term adverse effects on our business, and we may not realize the operational or financial benefits from such actions, including achieving our profitability, cash flow and financial performance objectives, in our 2025 10-K.
Correction of Previously Issued Interim Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
During the fourth quarter and full year 2025 financial close procedures, we identified errors in our previously issued interim unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 29, 2025 relating to (i) inventory valuation and (ii) debt issuance costs. We have determined that the errors identified were immaterial to our previously issued interim unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 29, 2025 and have corrected these errors prospectively in the accompanying interim unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 29, 2025 in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 250, “Accounting Changes and Error Corrections.” We have also corrected impacted amounts within the notes to the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements, as applicable. See Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, to the Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this report.
Components of Our Results of Operations and Trends and Other Factors Affecting Our Business
Net Revenues
We generate net revenues primarily from sales of our products to our customers across mainstream grocery, mass merchandiser, club store and natural retailer channels, and various food-away-from-home channels, including restaurants, foodservice outlets and schools, mainly in the United States, the EU and Canada, with certain of our products available generally for a limited time exclusively through our Beyond Test
Kitchen DTC channel, which we launched in the fourth quarter of 2025. Following the initiation of our Global Operations Review, in recent periods, as part of our effort to reduce excess or obsolete inventory and generate incremental cash, we have also generated net revenues from ingredient sales.
We present our net revenues by geography and distribution channel as follows:
| Distribution Channel | Description |
|---|---|
| U.S. Retail | Net revenues from retail sales to the U.S. market (including direct-to-consumer sales) |
| U.S. Foodservice | Net revenues from restaurant and foodservice sales to the U.S. market |
| International Retail | Net revenues from retail sales to international markets, including Canada |
| International Foodservice | Net revenues from restaurant and foodservice sales to international markets, including Canada |
The following factors and trends in our business have driven net revenue generation in prior periods and are expected to be key drivers of net revenue generation over time, subject to the challenges discussed herein:
the level of penetration across our retail channel, including mainstream grocery, mass merchandiser, club store and natural retailer channels, and our foodservice channel, including the desire by colleges and schools, foodservice establishments, including large Full Service Restaurant and/or global QSR customers, to add plant-based products to their menus and to highlight and retain these offerings;
the timing and success of our efforts to expand distribution channels, including our direct-to-consumer (DTC) channel, and subsequent to the three months ended March 28, 2026, our distribution agreement to distribute Beyond Immerse, and the timing and success, including customer and consumer acceptance, of recently launched or new products such as Beyond Immerse, and our ability to secure broader distribution of recently launched or new products in retail and other channels;
the strength and breadth of our partnerships with global QSR restaurants and retail and foodservice customers;
the success of our pivot to focus on sustainable long-term growth, including focusing on near-term retail and foodservice growth drivers while supporting key strategic long-term partners and opportunities, and intensifying focus on channels and geographies that are exhibiting revenue growth;
distribution expansion, the timing, success and level of trade and promotion discounts, market share growth, increased sales velocity, household penetration, repeat purchases, buying rates (amount spent per buyer) and purchase frequency across our channels, including the success of our direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales efforts, including through our Beyond Test Kitchen platform, and promotional programs at attracting new users to the plant-based meat category;
international sales of our products across geographies, markets and channels as we seek to expand the breadth and depth of our international distribution and grow our numbers of international customers;
our operational effectiveness and ability to fulfill orders in full and on time;
our continued innovation and product commercialization, including the introduction of new products and improvement of existing products, such as our Beyond IV generation of products, that would enable us to appeal to a broad range of consumers, specifically those who typically eat animal-based meat, and the introduction of new products as we broaden our product portfolio to include plant-based foods and beverages, such as Beyond Immerse, with a focus on product intrinsics and compelling macronutrients;
enhanced marketing efforts and the success thereof, as we continue to build our brand, use our portfolio and marketing to directly counter misinformation about our products and the plant-based meat category, amplify our value proposition around taste, health and planet, serve as a best-in-class partner to both retail and foodservice customers to support product development and category management, and drive consumer adoption of our products;
investment in in-store execution and field resources focused on shelf availability, in-store presence and merchandising, including building out concentrated brand blocks and targeted promotions to drive increased sales;
overall market trends, including consumer awareness and demand for nutritious, convenient and high protein plant-based foods; and
localized production and third-party partnerships to improve our cost of production and increase the availability, accessibility and speed with which we can get our products to customers internationally.
As we seek to stabilize and grow our net revenues, we continue to face the challenges described in the Overview above, including, but not limited to, ongoing, further weakened demand within the plant-based meat category and for our products, adverse changes in consumer tastes and perceptions, broad macroeconomic headwinds, increased competitive activity, and uncertainties related to tariffs and international trade policy, among others.
We routinely offer sales discounts and promotions through various programs to customers and consumers. These programs include rebates, temporary on-shelf price reductions, off-invoice discounts, retailer advertisements, product coupons and other trade activities. The expense associated with these discounts and promotions is estimated and recorded as a reduction in total gross revenues in order to arrive at reported net revenues. At the end of each accounting period, we recognize a contra asset to Accounts receivable for estimated sales discounts that have been incurred but not paid which totaled $4.7 million and $6.2 million as of March 28, 2026 and December 31, 2025, respectively. In addition, we have made changes in our pricing architecture including price increases of certain of our products in our U.S. retail and foodservice channels, and may in the future make changes, which may have a negative impact on our net revenues, gross profit, gross margin and profitability, impacting period-over-period results. We continue to face increasing competition across all channels, and we expect that trend to continue, especially as additional plant-based meat product brands continue to enter the marketplace and the competitive landscape continues to evolve, including due to industry consolidation or realignment, and if consumers continue to trade down into cheaper forms of protein, including animal meat, beans and other non-animal protein sources. In response, we expect to continue to invest in promotional discounting to address the current consumer trend with more targeted key selling period activations that we expect will allow us to continue to build brand awareness and increase consumer trials of our products.
Seasonality
Generally, we expect to experience greater demand for certain of our products during the U.S. summer grilling season. In 2025, 2024 and 2023, U.S. retail channel net revenues during the second quarter were 5%, 21% and 10% higher than the first quarter, respectively. In general, any historical effects of seasonality have been more pronounced within our U.S. retail channel, with revenue contribution from this channel generally tending to be greater in the second and third quarters of the year, driven by increased levels of grilling activity, higher levels of purchasing by customers ahead of holidays, the impact of customer shelf reset activity and the timing of product restocking by our retail customers. In an environment of heightened uncertainty from potential recessionary and inflationary pressures, prolonged weakness in the plant-based meat category, competition and other factors impacting our business, we are unable to assess the ultimate impact on the demand for our products as a result of seasonality.
Gross Profit and Gross Margin
Gross profit consists of our net revenues less cost of goods sold. Gross margin is gross profit expressed as a percentage of our net revenues. Our cost of goods sold primarily consists of the cost of raw materials including ingredients and packaging, co-manufacturing fees, direct and indirect labor and certain supply costs, inbound and internal shipping and handling costs incurred in manufacturing our products, warehouse storage fees, plant and equipment overhead, depreciation and amortization expense, provision for excess and obsolete inventory and impairment charges, and accelerated depreciation on write-offs and disposals of fixed assets. Under certain circumstances, our cost of goods sold may also include underutilization and/or termination fees associated with our co-manufacturing agreements.
Subject to potential recessionary and inflationary pressures, prolonged weakness in the plant-based meat category, competition and other factors impacting our business, we continue to expect that long-term gross profit and gross margin improvements will be delivered primarily through:
investments in production equipment allowing for automation of certain manual functions in the production cycle;
implementation of lean value streams across our beef, pork and poultry platforms;
exiting select product lines in order to eliminate margin-dilutive products or to streamline our supply chain operations;
improved volume leverage and throughput;
reduced manufacturing conversion costs driven in part by network consolidation and optimization of our production network;
greater internalization and geographic localization of our manufacturing footprint;
finished goods, materials and packaging input cost-reductions and scale of purchasing;
end-to-end production processes across a greater proportion of our manufacturing network;
refreshed demand planning and production scheduling processes;
scale-driven efficiencies in procurement and fixed cost absorption;
product and process innovations and reformulations;
improved supply chain logistics and distribution costs;
optimization of assortment offerings through selected retailers with emphasis on higher margin products;
enhanced controls, systems monitoring and management controls over trade spend investments; and
reviewing and adjusting our pricing architecture.
Gross margin may, however, continue to be negatively impacted by reduced capacity utilization if demand for our products continues to decline, investments in our production infrastructure in advance of anticipated demand, which may not materialize within the expected timeframe if at all, investment in production personnel, partnerships and product pipeline, aggressive pricing strategies and increased discounting, increases in inventory provision, write-down or write-off of excess and obsolete inventory and potentially increased sales to liquidation channels at lower prices, changes in our product and customer sales mix, expansion into new geographies and markets where cost and pricing structures may differ from our existing markets, and underutilization fees, termination fees and other costs to exit certain supply chain arrangements and product lines and, in some instances, certain non-routine charges. Gross margin improvement is also expected to continue to be negatively impacted by the impact of inflation, tariffs and increasing labor costs, materials costs and transportation costs.
Operating Expenses
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses consist primarily of personnel and related expenses for our research and development staff, including salaries, benefits, bonuses, share-based compensation, scale-up expenses, depreciation and amortization expense on research and development assets, and facility lease costs. Our research and development efforts are focused on enhancements to our existing products and production processes in addition to the development of new products. Although we expect to continue to invest in research and development over time, we decreased our research and development expenses in 2025 and expect research and development expenses in 2026 to decrease compared to the levels in 2025 as we continue to focus on reducing and optimizing operating expenses more broadly.
SG&A Expenses
SG&A expenses consist primarily of selling, marketing and administrative expenses, including personnel and related expenses, share-based compensation, outbound shipping and handling costs, non-manufacturing lease expense, depreciation and amortization expense on non-manufacturing and non-research and development assets, charges related to asset write-offs including loss on write-down of assets held for sale, consulting fees and other non-production operating expenses. Marketing and selling expenses include advertising costs, share-based compensation awards to non-employee consultants and brand ambassadors, costs associated with consumer promotions, product donations, product samples and sales aids incurred to acquire new customers, retain existing customers and build brand awareness. Marketing and selling expenses also include payments to customers for which the customer provides a distinct good or service to the Company. Administrative expenses include expenses related to management, accounting, legal, IT and other office functions, including accruals for legal matters when those matters present loss contingencies that are both probable and estimable.
Our operating expenses (as well as capital expenditures) may continue to increase as we innovate and commercialize products; build our brand, seek to expand our distribution and marketing channels and drive consumer adoption of our products; optimize our production capacity through our own internal production facilities, domestically and abroad; support our strategic and other QSR customer relationships; continue building out and optimizing our facilities, including the timing and success of surrendering, subleasing, assigning or otherwise transferring, developing or repurposing the remaining used and excess leased space or negotiating additional partial lease terminations at our Campus Headquarters on terms advantageous to us or at all; invest in our efforts to increase our customer base, supplier network and co-manufacturing partners; scale production across distribution channels; pursue geographic expansion or expand our operations in existing geographies in which we do business; and enhance our technology and production capabilities. These efforts may prove more expensive than we anticipate, and we may not succeed in increasing our revenues and margins sufficiently to offset the resulting higher expenses, particularly in light of some of the other challenges we face, for example ongoing and persistent declines in demand in the plant-based meat category and for our products, and broad macroeconomic headwinds. We incur significant expenses in developing our innovative products, building out our facilities, securing an adequate supply of raw materials, obtaining and storing ingredients and other products, and marketing the products we offer. The development of new products may require significant expenditure before we generate substantial revenue from such products, and there is no guarantee that new products that we develop will be successful. In addition, many of our expenses, including some of the costs associated with our existing and any future manufacturing facilities, are fixed. Accordingly, we may not be able to successfully implement our long-term growth strategy or achieve or sustain profitability or positive cash flows, and we may incur significant losses for the foreseeable future.
The text of this filing, as the company filed it with the SEC, without its images or exhibits. This is not investment advice.