The Hershey Company
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. It operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. The company offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels. It 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, Sour Strips, Whoppers, York, Ice Breakers, Breath Savers, Bubble Yum, Lily's, SkinnyPop, Pirates Booty, Dot's Homestyle Pretzels, and ONE Bar brands, as well as under the Pelon Pelo Rico, IO-IO, and Sofit brands. The company 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. It exports its products in approximately 65 countries worldwide. The Hershey Company was founded in 1894 and is based in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
What does it do?
Hershey is the company behind some of the most recognizable candy brands in America — think Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Kit Kat (in the US), Hershey's Kisses, and Jolly Ranchers. Walk into any gas station, movie theater, or grocery store checkout line and you'll likely see their products front and center. Beyond candy, they've pushed into salty snacks with brands like SkinnyPop popcorn and Dot's Pretzels. Basically, if you've ever impulse-bought something sweet or crunchy at a checkout counter, there's a good chance Hershey got your money.
Hershey is considered a 'defensive' stock — meaning people tend to keep buying chocolate and snacks even when the economy gets rocky, which makes it a safe harbor for investors during uncertain times. Right now, investors are watching closely because cocoa prices have hit historic highs, squeezing the profits of every chocolate company on earth, and Hershey is one of the biggest targets. How Hershey navigates that cost pressure — through price hikes, product reformulation, or just absorbing the hit — is a live test of how durable its business really is.
How does it make money?
Hershey generated $11.7 billion in revenue in its latest fiscal year, up from $11.2 billion the year before — a solid 4.5% growth. The vast majority of that comes from its North America Confectionery segment, which includes all the classic chocolate and candy brands sold in US stores. A smaller but growing slice comes from North America Salty Snacks — brands like SkinnyPop, which Hershey bought to diversify beyond candy. They also sell internationally, though that segment is much smaller. Net income — the actual profit after all costs — came in at $0.9 billion, meaning roughly 8 cents of profit for every dollar of sales.
Why do investors care?
The investment case for Hershey rests on one big idea: people don't stop buying chocolate. These are low-cost treats that survive recessions, and Hershey's brands have decades of loyalty built in — that's hard for any competitor to replicate overnight. The growth story has two engines: first, continuing to raise prices gradually without losing customers (they've done this successfully for years), and second, building out the salty snacks business so they're not entirely dependent on chocolate. For the thesis to work, cocoa costs need to stabilize, and consumers need to keep accepting higher prices without trading down to cheaper store-brand alternatives.
Deep Dive
MemberA full investor briefing on The Hershey Company — history, leadership, risks, and outlook.