The Hershey Company (HSY) Stock

The Hershey Company (HSY) is a Consumer Staples stock trading at $186.39 (as of 2026-08-21), with a market capitalization of $37.81B and a trailing P/E of 25.4. Figures are sourced from first-party U.S. SEC EDGAR filings and market data.

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.

Understand The Hershey Company: how it makes money

The Hershey Company makes and sells confectionery (chocolate and non-chocolate), gum and mint products, pantry items, and snack items, it sells primarily through three businesses, North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International, and it makes money by selling these packaged food products.

Hershey's profit is structurally anchored in North America Confectionery, with that segment producing the largest reported segment income, while results in other segments appear smaller and more variable, so operating momentum is closely tied to confectionery category and channel execution.

Revenue by segment (latest quarter)
NA Confectionery$2.5B
NA Salty Snacks$0.3B
International$0.3B

Business quality (Solid): Clear segment reporting (North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, International) and multiple operating KPIs tied to market share, channel takeaway, and capacity, but some KPIs point to softness (including a negative retail takeaway figure), and segment income is limited outside North America Confectionery.

Valuation: At 32× earnings, HSY trades 21% above the Food Products average (26×). Note: one-time items can distort reported P/E.

Bull case

  • Confectionery segment is the core profit engine: North America Confectionery Segment Income is the largest reported segment income figure (USD_B 0.72).
  • Market momentum KPIs point to strength: Provided operating KPIs show positive momentum indicators, including DOTS Momentum (31.0 percent) and Holiday Sell-Through (90.0 percent).
  • Capacity investments are explicitly tracked: Hershey tracks Core Capacity Investment Since Last Three Years (USD_B 0.8), along with new and refurbished production line counts.

Bear case

  • Some channel execution indicators look negative: U.S. Candy, Mint and Gum Retail Takeaway in Multi-Outlet Plus Convenience Channels is negative at -2.7 percent.
  • Non-confectionery segment income is much smaller in the provided figures: North America Salty Snacks Segment Income (USD_B 0.08) and International Segment Income (Loss) (USD_B 0.03) are materially smaller than North America Confectionery Segment Income.
  • Share movement KPIs include declines: The provided KPI set includes Candy, Mint and Gum Share Decline (0.97 percent), which could weigh on growth if trends persist.
Valuation — source: SEC EDGAR (first-party)
Price$186.39
Market Cap$37.81B
P/E Ratio25.4
EV / EBITDA15.6
Price / Book8.29
Price / Sales3.11
FCF Yield5.9%
DCF Value (model)$104.44
DCF Upside vs Price-44.0%
Profitability & Growth — source: SEC EDGAR
Revenue (TTM)$11.69B
Net Margin7.6%
Revenue Growth (YoY)6.6%
FCF Growth (YoY)1114.6%
Financial Health — source: SEC EDGAR
Altman Z-Score4.30 (safe)
Piotroski F-Score5/9 (moderate)
Valuation vs Sector & Industry
Stock P/E25.4
Sector P/E (Consumer Staples)26.7
Industry P/E (Food Products)26.1
vs Sector-5.0%
vs Industry-2.6%
Smart-Money Activity — SEC Form 4 / 13F / Congressional disclosures
Top Institutional HolderVANGUARD GROUP INC ($3.47B)
Institutional Holders Tracked10
Congressional Trades (recent)10
Company
SectorConsumer Staples
IndustryFood Products
CEOKirk C. Tanner
Employees18,540
CountryUS
IPO Date1980-03-17

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HSY earnings history · HSY institutional & insider holders · HSY KPIs & operating metrics · HSY financials · HSY investor presentations & press releases · HSY SEC filings · HSY peers · Congress trades · Insider trades · Short interest · Stock screener

Data as of 2026-08-21.

Figures sourced from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC EDGAR) filings and market data. Not personalized investment advice.