# HERSHEY CO (HSY)

Informational only - not investment advice.

CIK: 0000047111
SIC: 2060 Sugar & Confectionery Products
SIC breadcrumb: [Manufacturing](/division/D/) > [Food And Kindred Products](/major-group/20/) > [SIC 2060 Sugar & Confectionery Products](/industry/2060/)
Latest 10-K filed: 2026-02-17
SEC page: https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=47111
Filing source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/47111/000162828026008586/hsy-20251231.htm

## At a glance

FY2025 · period end 2025-12-31 · filed 2026-02-17 · accession 0001628280-26-008586 · source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0000047111.json

| Metric | Value | FY | Provenance |
| --- | ---: | ---: | --- |
| Revenue | 11,692,576,000 USD | 2025 | verified |
| Net income | 883,259,000 USD | 2025 | verified |
| Assets | 13,741,297,000 USD | 2025 | verified |
| Free cash flow | 1,822,745,000 USD | 2025 | computed |
| Net margin | 7.55% | 2025 | computed |
| Operating margin | 12.33% | 2025 | computed |
| Revenue YoY | +4.38% | 2025 | computed |
| ROE | 19.05% | 2025 | computed |

Computed values are grepcent-computed from the verified facts above and may differ from ratios the company itself reports. Free cash flow = operating cash flow − capital expenditures. Net margin = net income ÷ revenue. Operating margin = operating income ÷ revenue. Revenue YoY = FY2025 revenue ÷ FY2024 revenue − 1 (consecutive fiscal years only). ROE = net income ÷ period-end stockholders' equity.

Peer groups: [Food and beverage staples](/compare/food-beverage/) · SIC 2060 Sugar & Confectionery Products

No market price, no rating, no forecast on this site. Not investment advice.

## Peer comparisons including HSY

- Food and beverage staples: [peer review](/compare/food-beverage/) · [market-risk page](/compare/food-beverage/risk/)

### Peer percentile fingerprint

| Ratio | HSY | Peer median | Percentile | N |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Net margin | 7.6% | 5.3% | 66 | 51 |
| Operating margin | 12.3% | 7.6% | 75 | 49 |
| Revenue growth | 4.4% | 3.0% | 62 | 51 |
| FCF margin | 15.6% | 7.6% | 92 | 50 |
| ROE | 19.0% | 9.1% | 83 | 49 |
| ROA | 6.4% | 4.0% | 60 | 51 |
| Liabilities / equity | 1.96 | 1.19 | 71 | 49 |
| Current ratio | 1.19 | 1.65 | 30 | 51 |

Percentile = share of the N covered peers reporting that ratio whose value is lower (ties counted half); computed among grepcent-covered companies in SIC major-group 20 Food And Kindred Products, not the whole market. A higher percentile means a higher value of the ratio, not a better company. Ratios with fewer than 8 reporting peers are omitted. Latest reported values per company; fiscal periods may differ. Descriptive arithmetic - not a score, rating, or ranking.

## Selected Fundamentals
| Metric | Value | Unit | FY | Filed |
| --- | ---: | --- | ---: | --- |
| Revenue | 11692576000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-17 |
| Net income | 883259000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-17 |
| Assets | 13741297000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-17 |

## Financials

Annual standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-02-17. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0000047111.json. Derived margins, ratios, and free cash flow are computed from the extracted annual SEC facts.

| Metric | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Revenue |  | 7,515,426,000 | 7,791,069,000 | 7,986,252,000 | 8,149,719,000 | 8,971,337,000 | 10,419,294,000 | 11,164,992,000 | 11,202,263,000 | 11,692,576,000 |
| Net income | 720,044,000 | 782,981,000 | 1,177,562,000 | 1,149,692,000 | 1,278,708,000 | 1,477,512,000 | 1,644,817,000 | 1,861,787,000 | 2,221,239,000 | 883,259,000 |
| Operating income | 1,255,173,000 | 1,313,409,000 | 1,623,664,000 | 1,595,952,000 | 1,782,698,000 | 2,043,722,000 | 2,260,787,000 | 2,560,867,000 | 2,898,232,000 | 1,441,528,000 |
| Gross profit | 3,169,539,000 | 3,455,376,000 | 3,575,325,000 | 3,622,478,000 | 3,701,269,000 | 4,048,598,000 | 4,498,785,000 | 4,997,816,000 | 5,300,888,000 | 3,922,691,000 |
| Operating cash flow | 1,013,428,000 | 1,249,515,000 | 1,599,993,000 | 1,763,873,000 | 1,699,657,000 | 2,082,884,000 | 2,327,837,000 | 2,323,190,000 | 2,531,596,000 | 2,277,367,000 |
| Capital expenditures | 269,476,000 | 257,675,000 | 328,601,000 | 318,192,000 | 441,626,000 | 495,877,000 | 519,481,000 | 771,109,000 | 605,942,000 | 454,622,000 |
| Dividends paid | 499,475,000 | 526,272,000 | 562,521,000 | 610,312,000 | 640,732,000 | 685,987,000 | 775,030,000 | 889,071,000 | 1,084,802,000 | 1,085,296,000 |
| Share buybacks | 592,550,000 | 300,312,000 | 247,500,000 | 527,211,000 | 211,196,000 | 457,946,000 | 388,964,000 | 264,913,000 | 494,191,000 | 0.00 |
| Assets | 5,524,333,000 | 5,553,726,000 | 7,703,020,000 | 8,140,395,000 | 9,131,845,000 | 10,412,231,000 | 10,948,820,000 | 11,902,941,000 | 12,946,861,000 | 13,741,297,000 |
| Liabilities | 4,696,646,000 | 4,622,161,000 | 6,295,754,000 | 6,395,401,000 | 6,893,962,000 | 7,655,002,000 | 7,649,276,000 | 7,803,855,000 | 8,232,207,000 | 9,104,547,000 |
| Stockholders' equity | 785,856,000 | 915,338,000 | 1,398,721,000 | 1,739,222,000 | 2,234,352,000 | 2,757,229,000 | 3,299,544,000 | 4,099,086,000 | 4,714,654,000 | 4,636,750,000 |
| Free cash flow | 743,952,000 | 991,840,000 | 1,271,392,000 | 1,445,681,000 | 1,258,031,000 | 1,587,007,000 | 1,808,356,000 | 1,552,081,000 | 1,925,654,000 | 1,822,745,000 |

### Ratios

ROE and ROA use period-end equity/assets. Liabilities / equity uses total liabilities divided by stockholders' equity. Current ratio uses current assets divided by current liabilities when both are reported.

| Metric | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Net margin |  | 10.42% | 15.11% | 14.40% | 15.69% | 16.47% | 15.79% | 16.68% | 19.83% | 7.55% |
| Operating margin |  | 17.48% | 20.84% | 19.98% | 21.87% | 22.78% | 21.70% | 22.94% | 25.87% | 12.33% |
| Return on equity | 91.63% | 85.54% | 84.19% | 66.10% | 57.23% | 53.59% | 49.85% | 45.42% | 47.11% | 19.05% |
| Return on assets | 13.03% | 14.10% | 15.29% | 14.12% | 14.00% | 14.19% | 15.02% | 15.64% | 17.16% | 6.43% |
| Liabilities / equity | 5.98 | 5.05 | 4.50 | 3.68 | 3.09 | 2.78 | 2.32 | 1.90 | 1.75 | 1.96 |
| Current ratio | 0.95 | 0.96 | 0.93 | 1.05 | 1.57 | 0.90 | 0.80 | 0.97 | 0.96 | 1.19 |

## As-reported value updates

3 tracked differences above grepcent's stated thresholds were found between the earliest XBRL-filed value and the value currently on file for the same fiscal period.

Ledger: /company/HSY/revisions/


## Quarterly

Quarterly standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-07-30. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0000047111.json.

Flow metrics use discrete quarter-length periods from 10-Q/10-Q/A filings. Q4 revenue and net income are derived only when annual FY and nine-month YTD facts exist for the same fiscal year; derived Q4 values are labeled. EPS Q4 is not derived.

| Quarter | End date | Revenue | Net income | Diluted EPS | Method |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | --- |
| 2009-Q2 | 2009-07-05 |  |  | 0.31 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2009-Q3 | 2009-10-04 |  |  | 0.71 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2010-Q1 | 2010-04-04 |  |  | 0.64 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2023-Q3 | 2023-10-01 | 3,029,987,000 | 518,577,000 |  | reported discrete quarter |
| 2023-Q4 | 2023-12-31 | 2,657,111,000 | 349,042,000 |  | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD |
| 2024-Q1 | 2024-03-31 | 3,252,749,000 | 797,453,000 |  | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q2 | 2024-06-30 | 2,074,480,000 | 180,894,000 |  | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q3 | 2024-09-29 | 2,987,494,000 | 446,301,000 |  | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q4 | 2024-12-31 | 2,887,540,000 | 796,591,000 |  | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD |
| 2025-Q1 | 2025-03-30 | 2,805,419,000 | 224,203,000 |  | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q2 | 2025-06-29 | 2,614,718,000 | 62,719,000 |  | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q3 | 2025-09-28 | 3,181,418,000 | 276,320,000 |  | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q4 | 2025-12-31 | 3,091,021,000 | 320,017,000 |  | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD |
| 2026-Q1 | 2026-03-29 | 3,104,167,000 | 435,105,000 |  | reported discrete quarter |
| 2026-Q2 | 2026-06-28 | 2,787,306,000 | 457,665,000 |  | reported discrete quarter |

## Filed narrative (10-K & 10-Q)

## Business

Verbatim Item 1 Business section from HSY's latest 10-K: [/company/HSY/business/](/company/HSY/business/).

## Risk Factors

Verbatim Item 1A Risk Factors from HSY's latest 10-K: [/company/HSY/risk-factors/](/company/HSY/risk-factors/).

## Latest quarter (10-Q)

Latest 10-Q source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/47111/000162828026050900/hsy-20260628.htm

Extracted structurally from real Item 2 body heading to real Item 3/4 boundary.
Confidence: high
Filing date: 2026-07-30
Report date: 2026-06-28

Item 2.    MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

This Management’s Discussion and Analysis (“MD&A”) is intended to provide an understanding of Hershey’s financial condition, results of operations and cash flows by focusing on changes in certain key measures from year to year. This MD&A should be read in conjunction with our Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 28, 2026 (“this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q”). This discussion contains a number of forward-looking statements, all of which are based on current expectations. Actual results may differ materially. Refer to the Safe Harbor Statement below as well as the Risk Factors and other information contained in our 2025 Annual Report on Form 10-K for information concerning the key risks to achieving future performance goals.

The MD&A is organized in the following sections:

•Overview

•Trends Affecting Our Business

•Consolidated Results of Operations

•Segment Results

•Liquidity and Capital Resources

•Safe Harbor Statement

OVERVIEW

Hershey is a global confectionery leader known for making more moments of goodness through chocolate, sweets, mints and other great tasting snacks. We are the largest producer of quality chocolate in North America, a leading snack maker in the United States (“U.S.”) and a global leader in chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery. We market, sell and distribute our products under more than 85 brand names in approximately 65 countries worldwide.

Our principal product offerings include chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products and protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings and beverages; and snack items such as spreads, bars, and snack bites and mixes, popcorn and pretzels.

Business Acquisition

On November 18, 2025, we completed the acquisition of LesserEvil, LLC (“LesserEvil”), previously a privately held company that produces and sells organic popcorn and puffed snack products to retailers and distributors in the United States and Canada. The acquisition complements Hershey’s existing portfolio and increases manufacturing capacity.

[[GREPCENT_TABLE]]
[["Table of Contents","The Hershey Company | Q2 2026 Form 10-Q | Page 36"]]
[[/GREPCENT_TABLE]]

TRENDS AFFECTING OUR BUSINESS

Throughout the first six months of 2026, we experienced net sales growth, driven primarily by pricing actions, and continued consumer demand for our brands, despite the persistent dynamic macroeconomic environment and ongoing pressures on our business. Higher manufacturing, logistics, and supply chain costs continue to challenge the business and drive incremental costs (see Consolidated Results of Operations included in this MD&A). Additionally, we utilize many exchange traded commodities for our business that are subject to price volatility, specifically cocoa products, which has continued to improve during the first six months of 2026 (see Part I, Item 3 - Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q).

Furthermore, changes in global trade policies, including tariffs on U.S. imports, and certain geopolitical events, specifically the conflict in the Middle East, continue to increase global economic and political uncertainty. We are continuing to monitor the ongoing regulations related to tariffs, specifically, goods imported into the U.S. from Canada, Mexico and other countries, as well as export markets, and the impact of tariff refunds on our business. As such, the scope and length of tariffs, including their effects on the broader economy and our business, continues to evolve. Additionally, we are actively monitoring the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the potential impact on our business. For the first six months of 2026, this conflict did not have a material impact on our commodity prices or supply availability. However, we are continuing to monitor for any significant escalation or expansion of economic or supply chain disruptions or broader inflationary costs, which may result in material adverse effects on our results of operations.

As of June 28, 2026, we believe we have sufficient liquidity to satisfy our key strategic initiatives and other material cash requirements in both the short-term and in the long-term; however, we continue to evaluate and take action, as necessary, to preserve adequate liquidity and ensure that our business can operate effectively during the current economic environment. We continue to monitor our discretionary spending across the organization (see Liquidity and Capital Resources included in this MD&A).

Based on the length and severity of the fluctuating macroeconomic environment, including price volatility for our commodities, fluctuations in consumer shopping and consumption behavior, and ongoing changes in geopolitical events, including the imposition of tariffs, retaliatory tariffs and tariff refunds, as well as the conflict in the Middle East, we may continue to experience increasing supply chain costs, higher inflation and other impacts to our business. We will continue to evaluate the nature and extent of these evolving impacts on our business, consolidated results of operations, segment results, liquidity and capital resources.

[[GREPCENT_TABLE]]
[["Table of Contents","The Hershey Company | Q2 2026 Form 10-Q | Page 37"]]
[[/GREPCENT_TABLE]]

CONSOLIDATED RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

[[GREPCENT_TABLE]]
[["","","Three Months Ended","","","","Six Months Ended"],["","","June 28, 2026","","June 29, 2025","","Percent Change","","June 28, 2026","","June 29, 2025","","Percent Change"],["In millions of dollars except per share amounts"],["Net sales","","$","2,787.3","","$","2,614.7","","6.6","%","","$","5,891.5","","$","5,420.1","","8.7","%"],["Cost of sales","","1,524.0","","1,818.4","","(16.2)","%","","3,405.4","","3,679.6","","(7.5)","%"],["Gross profit","","1,263.3","","796.3","","58.7","%","","2,486.1","","1,740.5","","42.8","%"],["Gross margin","","45.3","%","","30.5","%","","","","42.2","%","","32.1","%"],["Selling, marketing & administrative (\u201cSM&A\u201d) expenses","","620.6","","603.2","","2.9","%","","1,196.6","","1,161.9","","3.0","%"],["SM&A expense as a percent of net sales","","22.3","%","","23.1","%","","","","20.3","%","","21.4","%"],["Business realignment activities","","0.1","","0.3","","(54.9)","%","","6.1","","16.6","","(63.2)","%"],["Operating profit","","642.6","","192.8","","233.3","%","","1,283.4","","562.0","","128.3","%"],["Operating profit margin","","23.1","%","","7.4","%","","","","21.8","%","","10.4","%"],["Interest expense, net","","50.0","","46.0","","8.5","%","","99.8","","90.7","","10.1","%"],["Other (income) expense, net","","4.4","","(2.3)","","(288.3)","%","","2.6","","(1.4)","","(285.3)","%"],["Provision for income taxes","","130.5","","86.4","","51.2","%","","288.2","","185.8","","55.1","%"],["Effective income tax rate","","22.2%","","57.9%","","","","24.4%","","39.3%"],["Net income","","$","457.7","","$","62.7","","629.7","%","","$","892.8","","$","286.9","","211.2","%"],["Net income per share\u2014diluted","","$","2.26","","$","0.31","","629.0","%","","$","4.39","","$","1.41","","211.3","%"],["NOTE: Percentage changes may not compute directly as shown due to rounding of amounts presented above."],["NM = not meaningful"]]
[[/GREPCENT_TABLE]]

Results of Operations - Second Quarter 2026 vs. Second Quarter 2025

Net Sales

Net sales were $2,787.3 million in the second quarter of 2026 compared to $2,614.7 million in the same period of 2025, an increase of $172.6 million, or 6.6%. The net sales increase reflects a favorable price realization of approximately 12%, primarily related to pricing actions within the North America Confectionery and International segments. Additionally, the 2025 acquisition of LesserEvil contributed approximately a 3% benefit. The increase was partially offset by a volume decrease of approximately 8%, primarily driven by volume declines in North America Confectionery and International segments, which more than offset the volume growth in the North America Salty Snacks segment. There was minimal impact from foreign currency exchange rates.

Key U.S. Marketplace Metrics

For the second quarter of 2026, our total U.S. retail takeaway decreased 5.4% in the expanded multi-outlet combined plus convenience store channels (MULO+ w/ Convenience), which includes candy, mint, gum, salty snacks and grocery items. Our U.S. candy, mint and gum (“CMG”) consumer takeaway decreased 8.6% and experienced a CMG market share decline. Our Salty consumer takeaway, excluding LesserEvil, increased 6.5% in the second quarter of 2026 and experienced a Salty, excluding LesserEvil, market share increase.

The consumer takeaway and market share information reflect measured channels of distribution accounting for approximately 90% of our U.S. confectionery and salty snack retail businesses. These channels of distribution primarily include food, drug, mass merchandisers and convenience store channels, partial dollar, club and military channels. These metrics are based on measured market scanned purchases as reported by Circana, the Company’s market insights and analytics provider, and provide a means to assess our retail takeaway and market position relative to the overall category.

[[GREPCENT_TABLE]]
[["Table of Contents","The Hershey Company | Q2 2026 Form 10-Q | Page 38"]]
[[/GREPCENT_TABLE]]

Cost of Sales and Gross Margin

Cost of sales were $1,524.0 million in the second quarter 2026 compared to $1,818.4 million in the same period of 2025, a decrease of $294.4 million, or 16.2%. The decrease was driven by $523.7 million, primarily due to lower sales volume, transformation program net savings and $117.4 million of favorable mark-to-market activity on our commodity derivative instruments intended to economically hedge future years’ commodity purchases (See Part I, Item 3 - Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for more information). The decrease was partially offset by $229.3 million of higher costs, predominantly due to unfavorable supply chain costs and unfavorable mix.

Gross margin was 45.3% in the second quarter of 2026 compared to 30.5% in the same period of 2025, an increase of 1,490 basis points. The increase was driven by favorable net price realization and net savings related to our AAA Initiative, partially offset by unfavorable supply chain costs and volume declines.

SM&A Expenses

SM&A expenses were $620.6 million in the second quarter of 2026 compared to $603.2 million in the same period of 2025, an increase of $17.4 million, or 2.9%. SM&A expenses, excluding advertising and related consumer marketing, increased 6.0% in the second quarter of 2026, driven by higher capability and technology investments, partially offset by lower compensation and benefit costs, as well as net savings related to our AAA Initiative versus the prior year. Advertising and related consumer marketing expenses decreased 3.3%, driven by efficiencies and timing of non-working media investment in the North America Confectionery segment.

Business Realignment Activities

We periodically undertake business realignment activities designed to increase our efficiency and focus our business in support of our key growth strategies. Excluding the portion recorded within Cost of Sales and SM&A expenses (as noted above), we recorded business realignment costs of $0.1 million during the second quarter of 2026 versus $0.3 million in the second quarter of 2025. The costs related to the AAA Initiative, which commenced in 2024, focused on leveraging new technology to improve supply chain and manufacturing-related spend, and optimize selling, general and administrative expenses. Costs associated with business real

[Excerpt truncated for page length; source filing is linked above.]

## Latest 10-K MD&A (excerpt)

Latest 10-K Item 7 source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/47111/000162828026008586/hsy-20251231.htm
Complete FY 2025 MD&A: /company/HSY/mda/fy2025/

Extracted structurally from real Item 7 body heading to real Item 7A/8 boundary. Published MD&A gate trimmed front/tail over-capture.
Confidence: high
Filing date: 2026-02-17
Report date: 2025-12-31

Item 7.    MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

This Management’s Discussion and Analysis (“MD&A”) is intended to provide an understanding of Hershey’s financial condition, results of operations and cash flows by focusing on changes in certain key measures from year to year. The MD&A should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying Notes included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those discussed elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, particularly in Item 1A. “Risk Factors.”

The MD&A is organized in the following sections:

•Business Model and Growth Strategy

•Overview

•Trends Affecting Our Business

•Consolidated Results of Operations

•Segment Results

•Liquidity and Capital Resources

•Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

BUSINESS MODEL AND GROWTH STRATEGY

We are the largest producer of quality chocolate in North America, a leading snack maker in the United States and a global leader in chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery. We report our operations through three segments: (i) North America Confectionery, (ii) North America Salty Snacks and (iii) International, as discussed in Note 13 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Our vision is to lead the future of snacking. We aspire to be a leader in meeting consumers’ evolving snacking needs while strengthening the capabilities that drive our growth. We are focused on four strategic imperatives to ensure the Company’s success now and in the future:

•Drive Core Confection Business and Broaden Participation in Snacking. We continue to be the undisputed leader in U.S. confection by taking actions to deepen our consumer connections and utilize our beloved brands to deliver meaningful innovation, while also diversifying our portfolio to capture profitable and incremental growth across the broader snacking continuum.

◦Our products frequently play an important role in special moments among family and friends. Seasons are an important part of our business model and for consumers, as they are highly anticipated, cherished times, centered around traditions. For us, it’s an opportunity for our brands to be part of many connections during the year when family and friends gather.

◦Innovation is an important lever in this variety-seeking category and we are leveraging work from our proprietary demand landscape analytical tool to shape our future innovation and make it more impactful. We are becoming more disciplined in our focus on platform innovation, which should enable sustainable growth over time and significant extensions to our core.

◦To expand our breadth in snacking and become a leading snacking powerhouse, we are focused on continuing to expand the boundaries of our core confection brands to capture new snacking occasions and increasing our exposure into new snack categories through acquisitions.

•Deliver Profitable International Growth. We are focused on ensuring that we efficiently allocate our resources to the areas with the highest potential for profitable growth. We have reset our international investment strategy, while holding fast to our belief that our targeted emerging market strategy will deliver long-term, profitable growth. The uncertain macroeconomic environment in many of these markets is expected to continue and we aim to ensure our investments in these international markets are appropriate relative to the size of the opportunity.

•Expand Competitive Advantage through Differentiated Capabilities. In order to generate actionable insights, we must acquire, integrate, access and utilize vast sources of the right data in an effective manner. We are working to

[[GREPCENT_TABLE]]
[["Table of Contents","The Hershey Company | 2025 Form 10-K | Page 22"]]
[[/GREPCENT_TABLE]]

leverage our advanced data and analytical techniques to gain a deep understanding of our consumers, our customers, our shoppers, our end-to-end supply chain, our retail environment and key economic drivers at both a macro and precision level, including digital transformation and new media models. In addition, we are in the process of transforming our supply chain capabilities and enterprise resource planning system, which will enable employees to work more efficiently and effectively.

•Responsibly Manage Our Operations to Ensure the Long-Term Sustainability of Our Business, Our Planet and Our People. We are a purpose-driven company and for more than a century, our iconic brands have been built on a foundation of community investment and connections between people around the world. We could not have achieved this without our remarkable employees who make our purpose a reality. We believe our long-standing values make our Company a special place to work.

◦We believe our employees are among our most important resources and are critical to our continued success. We utilize continuous listening surveys that are distributed throughout the year to all employees globally to hear their thoughts on the Company’s direction and their place in it. These continuous touchpoints allow for real-time feedback and action from the Company. These surveys are further supplemented with quarterly and informative enterprise summits and team “Ask Me Anything” meetings, which, in conjunction with the continuous listening surveys, generate stronger employee engagement with the Company’s strategy, initiatives and leadership. In 2025, we maintained equitable pay achievements, including aggregate salary U.S. gender pay equity.

◦We continue to make progress on our sustainability strategy and continue to elevate these important initiatives for a greater global impact. Through our focus on sustainability and social impact across our value chain, we continue to embed resilience into our enterprise, including how we source ingredients, operate with efficiency, and produce a portfolio of products for a range of consumer needs. We operate our business with all stakeholders in mind and with a view toward long-term sustainability and value creation.

OVERVIEW

Hershey is a global confectionery leader known for making more moments of goodness through chocolate, sweets, mints and other great tasting snacks. We are the largest producer of quality chocolate in North America, a leading snack maker in the United States and a global leader in chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery. We market, sell and distribute our products under more than 85 brand names in approximately 65 countries worldwide.

Our principal product offerings include chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products and protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings and beverages; and snack items such as spreads, bars, and snack bites and mixes, popcorn and pretzels.

Business Acquisitions

On November 18, 2025, we completed the acquisition of LesserEvil, LLC (“LesserEvil”), previously a privately held company that produces and sells organic popcorn and puffed snack products to retailers and distributors in the United States and Canada. The acquisition complements Hershey’s existing portfolio and increases manufacturing capacity.

On November 8, 2024, we completed the acquisition of the Sour Strips brand from Actual Candy, LLC. Sour Strips is

an emerging sour candy brand and is available in a wide range of food distribution channels in the United States.

On May 31, 2023, we completed the acquisition of certain assets that provide additional manufacturing capacity from Weaver Popcorn Manufacturing, Inc. (“Weaver”), a leader in the production and co-packing of microwave popcorn and ready-to-eat popcorn, and former co-manufacturer of the Company’s SkinnyPop brand.

[[GREPCENT_TABLE]]
[["Table of Contents","The Hershey Company | 2025 Form 10-K | Page 23"]]
[[/GREPCENT_TABLE]]

TRENDS AFFECTING OUR BUSINESS

Throughout 2025, we experienced net sales growth, positive changes in consumer behavior, and price elasticity despite the persistent dynamic macro environment. However, increasing inflationary pressures, including ongoing price volatility for select commodities and higher manufacturing costs, continued to challenge the business. Despite a strategic pricing action in the third quarter combined with other specific actions taken to mitigate these gross margin pressures, our direct inputs continue to be the primary incremental cost to our business (see Consolidated Results of Operations included in this MD&A). We utilize many exchange traded commodities for our business that are subject to price volatility, specifically cocoa products, which continued to experience elevated market prices compared to historical levels (see Item 7A - Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K).

Furthermore, changes in global trade policies, including tariffs on U.S. imports, continue to increase global economic and political uncertainty. For the year ended December 31, 2025, the imposition of tariffs on U.S. imports and retaliatory tariffs, had a material negative impact on our results of operations and commodity prices. We are continuing to monitor the ongoing negotiations related to tariffs, specifically, goods imported into the U.S. from Canada, Mexico and other countries, as well as export markets, in which we have significant business operations, all of which may result in material adverse effects on our results of operations. The scope and length of tariffs, including their effects on the broader economy and our business, remain uncertain. These outcomes may be influenced by factors such as continued U.S. negotiations with impacted countries, retaliatory measures from other nations, possible tariff exemptions, public sentiment toward U.S. products and companies, and the domestic availability of lower-cost alternatives.

Additionally, evolving priorities of the U.S. administration, such as leadership changes at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) in early 2025, as well as the Make America Healthy Again movement, subject the food industry to increasing laws and regulations, including nutrition, food date labeling and traceability recordkeeping requirements, as well as changes in consumer expectations and behavior. For example, in April 2025, the FDA announced that it would be phasing out the approved use of petroleum-based synthetic dyes in food products. Therefore, in an effort to be responsive to the evolving regulatory environment and to ensure consumers have options to fit their lifestyle while maintaining trust and confidence in our products, we announced our decision to remove all certified Food, Drug & Cosmetic colors from our great tasting snacks by the end of 2027. The estimated costs associated with this removal are not expected to have a material impact on our financial position, results of operations or liquidity.

As of December 31, 2025, we believe we have sufficient liquidity to satisfy our key strategic initiatives and other material cash requirements in both the short-term and in the long-term; however, we continue to evaluate and take action, as necessary, to preserve adequate liquidity and ensure that our business can operate effectively during the current economic environment. We continue to monitor our discretionary spending across the organization (see Liquidity and Capital Resources included in this MD&A).

Based on the length and severity of the fluctuating macroeconomic environment, including price volatility for our commodities, the possibility of a recession, changes in consumer shopping and consumption behavior, and changes in geopolitical events, including the imposition o

[Excerpt truncated for page length; the complete text is on the linked full-MD&A page.]

Read the full FY 2025 MD&A: /company/HSY/mda/fy2025/
All MD&A years: /company/HSY/mda/


## MD&A history

Prior-year 10-K MD&A spans are extracted from SEC filings with the same bounded parser used for the latest filing. Each year's full verbatim text is on its own sub-page.

- [FY 2024 MD&A](/company/HSY/mda/fy2024/): filed 2025-02-18; accession 0000047111-25-000014 (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/47111/000004711125000014/hsy-20241231.htm)
- [FY 2023 MD&A](/company/HSY/mda/fy2023/): filed 2024-02-20; accession 0000047111-24-000009 (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/47111/000004711124000009/hsy-20231231.htm)
- [FY 2022 MD&A](/company/HSY/mda/fy2022/): filed 2023-02-17; accession 0000047111-23-000012 (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/47111/000004711123000012/hsy-20221231.htm)
- [FY 2021 MD&A](/company/HSY/mda/fy2021/): filed 2022-02-18; accession 0000047111-22-000017 (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/47111/000004711122000017/hsy-20211231.htm)




## Macro cross-references

Indicators mapped to this company's SIC classification (industry 2060 Sugar & Confectionery Products) by grepcent's deterministic macro-sector crosswalk. A navigational mapping, not a statistical or causal claim.

- [INDPRO](/indicator/INDPRO/): Industrial Production: Total Index
- [TCU](/indicator/TCU/): Capacity Utilization: Total Index
- [PPIACO](/indicator/PPIACO/): Producer Price Index by Commodity: All Commodities
- [GDPC1](/indicator/GDPC1/): Real Gross Domestic Product
- [DGS10](/indicator/DGS10/): Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 10-Year Constant Maturity
- [FEDFUNDS](/indicator/FEDFUNDS/): Federal Funds Effective Rate
- [CES0500000003](/indicator/CES0500000003/): Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees, Total Private
- [PAYEMS](/indicator/PAYEMS/): All Employees, Total Nonfarm

Macro-to-micro threads including this sector: [Inflation (CPI / PCE / PPI)](/thread/inflation-cpi-pce-ppi/), [US labor market](/thread/us-labor-market/), [Growth & output](/thread/growth-output/), [Money & trade](/thread/money-trade/), [Government finances](/thread/government-finances/), [Sector employment](/thread/sector-employment/), [Industrial orders & inventories](/thread/industrial-orders/), [Trade & external](/thread/trade-external/).

All macro indicators: /indicators/


## For LLMs & downloads

Markdown twin: /company/HSY.md · JSON record: /company/HSY.json · verified financials: /company/HSY/financials.json / /company/HSY/financials.csv · machine TOC for the whole site: /llms.txt