Consumer Defensive
The Hershey Company(HSY)
Live Price
Offline$172.63
-1.53% today
1Y Change
+3.04%
Window
Jun 25, 2025 โ Jun 18, 2026
- Market Cap
- $37.65B
- Revenue Growth
- +4.4%
- EPS Growth
- -59.9%
- Dividend Yield
- 3.0%
Coverage: 247 bars ยท Jun 25, 2025 โ Jun 18, 2026
Research Briefing
A compact read on the setup, peer context, quarterly changes, and recent earnings reaction.
Research Snapshot
The Hershey Company (HSY) is a Consumer Defensive stock with a market cap of $37.65B and listed on NYSE. The stock last traded around $172.63 and up 3.0% across the available one-year price window (Jun 25, 2025 โ Jun 18, 2026). Baseline metrics include revenue growth of +4.4%, EPS growth of -59.9%, a dividend yield of 3.0%. What stands out right now is revenue +4.4%, EPS -59.9%, free cash flow -9.2% with operating margin 14.1% and ROIC 10.9%. The dividend matters to the case here, with a current yield around 3.0%. Valuation already assumes a fairly strong business story at P/E 34.5 and price/sales 3.1. Overall, the current profile looks closer to a turnaround or cyclical reset than a generic broad-market placeholder. Stock Foundry combines HSY price history, valuation, growth, dividend context, earnings, analyst forecasts, news, related Consumer Defensive peers on this page.
Sector Context
How this name stacks up against nearby peers on first-pass metrics.
Revenue Growth
Above sector median
+4.4% vs +1.7% peer median
Operating Margin
Above sector median
+14.1% vs +6.6% peer median
P/E
Above sector median
34.5 vs 14.0 peer median
What Changed This Quarter
Latest report context and the signals most likely to have changed the story.
Latest report is on the board
2026 was reported on May 7, 2026, but the surprise data is still limited.
The operating picture looks softer than before
Revenue is at +4.4% and EPS is at -59.9%, with operating margin around 14.1%.
Shareholder return is still part of the story
The stock is still offering a dividend yield around 3.0%, which matters if the thesis depends on income as much as growth.
Earnings Reaction Memory
How the stock has tended to move after recent reports.
Across the last 3 reported quarters, the stock averaged +0.2% over the next 5 trading days and finished higher after 2 of those reports.
View quarter-by-quarter reaction table
| Quarter | EPS ฮ | 1D | 5D | 20D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2026 May 7, 2026 | โ | -0.6% | +1.7% | -1.3% |
2026 Feb 5, 2026 | +22.1% | +3.2% | +0.8% | +0.3% |
2025 Oct 30, 2025 | +21.5% | -0.9% | -2.1% | +9.9% |
Benchmark Edge
HSY vs SPY, QQQ, and Sector ETFs
Normalized return, excess return, max drawdown, and calendar-year wins against the benchmarks investors actually use.
HSY
โ
Normalized return
SPY
--
S&P 500
Excess Return
--
Relative to SPY
HSY Max Drawdown
-26.94%
Trailing 1Y
SPY Max Drawdown
โ
Trailing 1Y
Calendar-Year Returns
Uses the longest available daily history for HSY and SPY.
Company Overview
The Hershey Company
New York Stock Exchange
The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, meat snacks, bars and snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and protein bars. The company provides its products primarily under the Hershey's, Reese's, Kisses, Jolly Rancher, Almond Joy, Brookside, barkTHINS, Cadbury, Good & Plenty, Heath, Kit Kat, Payday, Rolo, Twizzlers, Whoppers, York, Ice Breakers, Breath Savers, Bubble Yum, Lily's, SkinnyPop, Pirates Booty, Paqui, Dot's Homestyle Pretzels, and ONE Bar brands, as well as under the Pelon Pelo Rico, IO-IO, and Sofit brands. It markets and sells its products to wholesale distributors, chain grocery stores, mass merchandisers, chain drug stores, vending companies, wholesale clubs, convenience stores, dollar stores, concessionaires, and department stores. The company was founded in 1894 and is headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
- Leadership
- Kirk C. Tanner
- IPO Date
- Mar 17, 1980
- Employees
- 18.5k
- Street Address
- 19 East Chocolate Avenue
- Mailing
- Hershey, PA, 17033
- Region
- Hershey, PA, US
- Reporting Currency
- USD
- Investor Line
- 717 534 4200
- Last Updated
- Apr 30, 2026
Key Fundamentals
Valuation, growth, profitability, and balance sheet signals.
Valuation
- P/E
- 34.5
- EV/EBITDA
- 22.1
- Price/Sales
- 3.1
- Price/Book
- 8.0
Growth
- Revenue
- +4.4%
- EPS
- -59.9%
- Free Cash Flow
- -9.2%
Profitability
- Gross Margin
- 34.8%
- Operating Margin
- 14.1%
- Net Margin
- 9.1%
- ROE
- 23.7%
- ROIC
- 10.9%
Balance Sheet
- Debt/Equity
- 1.13
- Current Ratio
- 1.24
Earnings Reports
Latest News
Official Releases
Company announcements and filings-style updates.
Next Step
Keep the research moving
After the overview, the strongest next step is usually chart context or a tighter compare set.