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Social phenomenon Beyond Meat arrived at some Dunkin’ Donuts stores in Manhattan last week in the form of its breakfast sausage, but the alternative-meat revolution hit a casual dining speed bump. Parent Dunkin’ Brands seemed excited to climb aboard the Beyond bandwagon. “We are proud to collaborate with this industry leader to become the first U.S. restaurant chain to serve a Beyond Breakfast Sausage option,” said Dunkin’ CEO David Hoffman in a press release.

Shares of Beyond Meat set an all-time high of more than $200 a share on the day of the sausages’ Dunkin’ debut. Expanding distribution is key to maintaining growth—and the stock multiple. Dunkin’ eventually hopes to roll out the sausage to its 20,920 franchised stores. Wall Street expects Beyond sales to grow by 60% from 2019 to 2020 and values the stock at 33 times estimated 2020 sales, which implies that Beyond Meat isn’t just for vegans craving authentic beef or pork flavor. Eco-conscious carnivores may also feel the need to embrace alt-meat; 14% of greenhouse-gas emissions are estimated to come from livestock.

But brand positioning is complicated, and Beyond isn’t every chain’s, well, meat. Take Chipotle Mexican Grill. “Chipotle’s food with integrity principles includes serving responsibly sourced, classically cooked, real food with wholesome ingredients without artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives,” a spokeswoman emailed. “At this time, these processed plant-based alternatives don’t meet our strict standards.” Chipotle introduced vegan protein “sofritas” in 2014 and says vegetarian and vegan offerings made up 12% of all meals sold in 2018.

Beyond Meat reports on July 29. Short interest in the stock is high, which can mean fireworks. The shares rose almost 40% the day after its first quarterly report in June. But in a revolution, you never know.

Last Week

Eyes on the Prize

Earnings season rolled on, with investors fixated on a Federal Reserve interest-rate cut this week. Stocks did little before the S&P 500 index hit a new high on Wednesday, and the Nasdaq took off on Friday. Second-quarter gross domestic product slowed to 2.1%. For the week, the Dow industrials ticked up 0.1%, to 27,192.45; the S&P 500 rose 1.7%, to 3025.86; and the Nasdaq Composite surged 2.3%, to 8330.21.

Mueller Speaks

Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller testified before the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees on his report into Russian interference in the 2016 elections. He offered few revelations, sticking closely to his report. He stressed that he did not exonerate President Donald Trump on obstruction charges, described the president’s behavior during the campaign as “problematic,” and warned that Russia was continuing its disinformation campaign.

Raising the Debt Ceiling

The House passed a two-year debt-ceiling deal, providing for $320 billion in new spending above the 2011 budget bill. The agreement will take the budget as an issue off the table until after the 2020 election, though deficits will deepen. The House is on summer recess; the Senate is expected to pass the bill this week.

Probing Tech

The Justice Department announced an antitrust review of Big Tech. Separately, the Federal Trade Commission agreed to a settlement with Facebook on privacy violations. Facebook agreed to government monitoring, improved compliance, and a $5 billion fine. Facebook released earnings soon after, with quarterly revenue up 28%. The stock rose.

The Age of Boris

The U.K.’s Conservative Party elected Boris Johnson, the former London mayor and foreign minister, as party leader and prime minister, replacing Theresa May. Johnson has been bombastically pro-Brexit, arguing he will take the U.K. out of the European Union “do or die” by Oct. 31, without a deal if necessary. He quickly began reshaping his cabinet with euroskeptics. The EU has refused to renegotiate exit terms.

Protests: PR, Hong Kong

Protests forced the ouster of Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló, felled by a scandal over his involvement in vulgar online chat messages. Meanwhile, protests continued against the Hong Kong government, with marches and intermittent violence. Trump praised China President Xi Jinping for reacting “very responsibly” even as China appeared to begin a more violent crackdown.

Apple and Intel Talk

Apple and Intel announced a deal that involves the chip maker selling its smartphone modem unit—both patents and staff—to Apple.

At Last, a T-Mobile Deal

The long-predicted Justice Department approval of the $26 billion T-Mobile US-Sprint merger finally took place. The deal involves the sale of some Sprint assets to Dish Network, creating a fourth wireless player. A group of state attorneys general is suing to block the deal.

SoftBank’s Megafund

SoftBank launched a new fund, Vision Fund 2, with $108 billion in commitments, and participation from Microsoft, Apple, and Foxconn.

--Robert Teitelman and Dan Lam

Email: editors@barrons.com