Talk about a nothing burger.
Beyond Meat (BYND) shares fell as much 7% on Thursday following a report from CBC that McDonald’s (MCD) ended a test of a Beyond based sandwich in Canada in April. The zany thing is that there is no fresh news here so a rebound in Beyond’s stock could be in the making.
“We feel very good about our relationship with McDonald's. The test had a start and an end as planned, and discussed during our most recent earnings call. This is not new information,” Beyond Meat founder Ethan Brown exclusively told Yahoo Finance via email. Beyond Meat shares began to recover following Brown’s comments.
Indeed Brown’s statement mirrors comments he said on the company’s early May earnings call.
“I mean that is — the test was for that period and it did conclude — for no negative reason at all,” Brown told analysts when asked about the test with McDonald’s.
In September, McDonald’s debuted the P.L.T. burger in southwestern Ontario. The sandwich was clearly labeled for a 12-week test — in other words it had a defined end date around April.
A source familiar with the matter tells Yahoo Finance, McDonald’s continues to evaluate the learnings from the test of the P.L.T.
McDonald’s was also quick to refute any beef with Beyond.
“There has been no change in the relationship between McDonald’s and Beyond Meat. We’re evaluating learnings from our recent test to inform future menu options. As we look ahead, we will plan to bring plant-based options to the menu at the right time for customers in individual markets,” a McDonald’s spokesperson told Yahoo Finance.
Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and co-anchor of The First Trade at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.
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