The Hershey Company

Hershey is the largest chocolate maker in North America. Its best-known brands are Hershey's, Reese's, Kit Kat (which Hershey makes and sells in the US under a license from Nestlé), Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, and Ice Breakers. North America Confectionery, the chocolate and candy business, brought in about 81% of net sales in 2025. Hershey also sells salty snacks, including SkinnyPop popcorn, Dot's Homestyle Pretzels, and LesserEvil, an organic snack brand it bought in November 2025.

A smaller International segment sells mostly in Mexico, Brazil, India, and Malaysia. Sales peak around Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day, and Easter. The Milton Hershey School Trust, a charity that runs a free boarding school, controls about 80% of the shareholder votes through special Class B shares. This means no one can buy Hershey unless the trust agrees.

Hershey's price reflects worry about shrinking candy volumes, not a temporary mood. Cocoa prices spiked in 2024, so Hershey raised prices about 12%. Shoppers responded by buying less candy. But profit is recovering.

Adjusted gross margin rose to 42.7% in the third quarter of 2026, from 31.8% a year earlier, and management raised its full-year earnings outlook again in October 2026. Part of that raise came from refunds of tariffs that Hershey paid. Cocoa has fallen from its peak, and management expects further declines into 2027, though cocoa rose again in late August 2026 before it eased in September. For the gap to close, volume needs to stop falling while cocoa costs keep easing.

That would let margins keep rising through 2027. Hershey's brands showed real pricing power, since the company raised prices sharply and kept most of its customers. The main risk to this case is that high prices, a weaker low-income shopper, and weight-loss drugs keep shrinking how much candy people buy. Management has described 2026 and 2027 as years of restoring profit.

It expects a more balanced mix of sales and profit growth to return from 2028. Volume has not stopped falling yet: it fell about 10 points in the third quarter, more than the 8 points of the second quarter. The next tests are cocoa costs through the rest of 2026, full-year 2026 results and the 2027 outlook, due in early 2027, and the first quarter of 2027, when lower hedged cocoa costs should show in margins. If volumes stabilize and cocoa keeps easing, the gap could close over the next several quarters.

If cocoa spikes again or volumes keep falling, it could take until 2028.

1. Oct 29, 2026Failed

   Q3 2026 earnings: Halloween season volume and marginA smaller volume decline, higher adjusted gross margin and the $8.36 to $8.52 EPS outlook held or raised pass; a deeper volume drop or a lower outlook fails.Outcome: Adjusted gross margin rose to 42.7% and the EPS outlook rose to $8.58 to $8.74, but volume fell about 10 points, more than the 8 points of Q2.
2. Jan 29, 2027 · est.Pending

   Full-year 2026 results and 2027 outlookA 2027 outlook with double-digit EPS growth and stable volume passes; an outlook cut because of new cocoa costs or weak demand fails.
3. Apr 2027 · est.Pending

   Q1 2027 earnings: cocoa cost relief shows in marginsGross margin up again as lower hedged cocoa costs arrive and volume flat or up passes; margin pressure from the September 2026 cocoa jump fails.

Every passed and failed checkpoint across all picks

• October 29, 2026Hershey reported Q3 2026 results. Net sales grew 3.0% to $3.28 billion, and organic net sales grew 0.8%. Prices added about 11 points of growth, while volume fell about 10 points. Adjusted earnings per share grew 103% to $2.64, and adjusted gross margin rose 10.9 points to 42.7%. Hershey's US candy retail sales grew 0.8% in the 12 weeks to September 27, 2026, but its market share fell.
• October 29, 2026Hershey raised its 2026 outlook. It now expects adjusted earnings per share of $8.58 to $8.74, growth of 36% to 38.5% (before: 32.5% to 35%), and net sales growth of about 5%. About $0.25 of that outlook comes from tariff refunds that Hershey received in Q2 and Q3 2026. It now expects organic net sales growth of about 3% (before: 3% to 3.5%).
• October 14, 2026From October 12 to October 14, 2026, the Milton Hershey School Trust sold 30,000 more common shares for about $4.9 million under the same trading plan, per its Form 4 filing. Its Class B shares did not change.

Last earnings

October 29, 2026 (8-K on sec.gov)

Next earnings

Expected about January 29, 2027. The company has not confirmed the date.

• 10-QQuarterly report for the period ended Sep 27, 2026Filed October 29, 2026 · hsy-20260927
• 8-KEarnings releaseFiled October 29, 2026 · Press release and exhibits
• 8-KChange of directors or officers and Investor disclosureFiled September 2, 2026 · hsy-20260902
• 10-QQuarterly report for the period ended Jun 28, 2026Filed July 30, 2026 · hsy-20260628
• 8-KEarnings releaseFiled July 30, 2026 · Press release and exhibits
• 8-KChange of directors or officersFiled June 9, 2026 · hsy-20260603
• 8-KChange of directors or officers and Investor disclosureFiled May 28, 2026 · hsy-20260528
• 8-KShareholder vote resultsFiled May 8, 2026 · hsy-20260505
• 10-QQuarterly report for the period ended Mar 29, 2026Filed April 30, 2026 · hsy-20260329
• 8-KEarnings releaseFiled April 30, 2026 · Press release and exhibits

Every filing on SEC EDGAR (CIK 47111)

• Hershey is selling less candy. After raising prices by about 12%, volume fell about 8 points in Q2 2026 and about 10 points in Q3 2026. In North America Confectionery, volume fell about 11 points in Q3 2026, and Hershey lost US candy market share. Management said low-income households are under the most pressure. If volume keeps falling once the price increases stop adding growth, sales could shrink.
• Hershey's plan to recover its margins depends on cocoa costs falling in 2027. Cocoa futures in New York rose to about $6,800 per ton in late August 2026, because of weather risk and a smaller crop in Ghana. They fell to about $5,370 on September 30 and closed at $5,665 on October 9. Hershey hedges cocoa 3 to 24 months ahead, so a new price spike would hit its costs with a delay, not right away.
• GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, like Wegovy and Zepbound, reduce appetite. As more people use them, they may buy less candy and snacks, which would slowly shrink Hershey's main market.
• The salty snacks business is growing but earning less. In Q3 2026, segment sales grew 22.3%, mostly from LesserEvil, but segment profit fell 17.9% because of higher freight, manufacturing and commodity costs. Management has pointed to supply problems at Dot's Pretzels that new automation is meant to fix in 2027. Hershey paid about $769 million for LesserEvil, so a weak return there would hurt.
• Hershey has changed several top leaders in a short time. CEO Kirk Tanner joined in August 2025, the President, US left in May 2026, a new Chief Supply Chain Officer started in June 2026, CFO Dave Hulays took over in September 2026, and a new President, International starts in October 2026. This much turnover at the top adds execution risk during the margin recovery.
• The Milton Hershey School Trust controls about 80% of the shareholder votes. It has blocked takeover bids before, so ordinary shareholders are unlikely to get a buyout premium, and they have little say over the board. The trust also sold about 1.48 million common shares from March to October 2026 under a trading plan. This did not change its Class B shares, which hold most of its votes.
• Hershey had about $5.1 billion of debt and $0.7 billion of cash at the end of September 2026. This is manageable for a company this profitable, but it leaves less room for another large acquisition or bigger buybacks while margins recover.

Hershey funds itself with cash from operations and with unsecured fixed-rate notes that the parent company issues. The debt does not limit Hershey, and Moody's expects leverage on its own measure to fall from the mid-2 times range to below 2 times over 12 to 18 months. Read more

Yield at the current rate

3.3% (current annual rate, at today’s price)

Dividend yield

3.2% (last 12 months, at today’s price of $176.43)

Paid per share

$5.726 in the last 12 months (4 payments)

Current annual rate

$5.808 ($1.452 × 4 a year)

Latest ex-dividend date

August 14, 2026, $1.452 per share

Dividends per share by year

From 2020 to 2025, the dividend grew by about 11.7% a year. From 2015 to 2025, the dividend grew by about 9.4% a year.

Source: company filings and market data, read on November 13, 2026. The ex-dividend date is the first day a buyer no longer gets the next payment.