Company Reports

Under CEO Kirk Tanner (who took the helm in August 2025), Hershey has been intently focused on bringing consumer-valued innovation to the shelf to drive its next leg of growth. Beyond flavor enhancements, it is also revamping pack sizes (including shifting to stand-up bags and alternative sizes) to ensure its wares are stocked where consumers shop.

Hershey's second-quarter organic sales rose 3.6%, as inflation-driven price hikes offset lower volumes. In aggregate, higher prices, cocoa cost deflation, and efficiencies trumped stepped-up logistics costs and unfavorable mix, resulting in a 350-basis-point lift in adjusted gross margins to 41.6%.

Under CEO Kirk Tanner (who took the helm in August 2025), Hershey has been intently focused on bringing consumer-valued innovation to the shelf to drive its next leg of growth. Beyond flavor enhancements, it is also revamping pack sizes (including shifting to stand-up bags and alternate sizes) to ensure its wares are stocked where consumers are shopping.

Hershey's organic sales sweetened by 8% in the first quarter, as higher prices (up 10%) offset a very modest pullback in volumes (down 2%). The adjusted gross margin edged down 80 basis points to 40.4%, as heightened commodity and tariff costs outpaced increased prices and productivity savings.

On March 31, Hershey hosted an investor day outlining portfolio innovation, the One Hershey commercial model, and productivity initiatives to drive 2%-4% organic sales growth annually for 2027 and 2028. It also guided for adjusted EPS growth of 15%-20% in 2027 and 6%-8% in 2028.

After eight years at the helm, CEO Michele Buck has passed the torch to Kirk Tanner (the former CEO of Wendy's). We applaud the strategic focus Buck brought to bear--ramping up investments in Hershey's core domestic brands while pulling back in its international arm (high-single-digit percentage of total sales, where we surmise its competitive position has perpetually lagged global peers).

Hershey's fourth-quarter results included 6% organic sales growth (underpinned by higher prices that offset lagging volumes) and a 650-basis-point erosion in the adjusted gross margin to 38.3%. Fiscal 2026 organic sales are expected to rise 2.5%-3.5% against more than 30% growth in adjusted EPS.

After eight years at the helm, CEO Michele Buck has passed the torch to Kirk Tanner (the former CEO of Wendy's). We applaud the strategic focus Buck brought to bear--ramping up investments in Hershey's core domestic brands while pulling back in its international arm (high-single-digit percentage of total sales, where we surmise its competitive position has perpetually lagged global peers).

CEO Kirk Tanner's inaugural earnings report included 6.2% organic sales growth, alongside an 850-basis-point decay in adjusted gross margin to 31.8%. Management expects slightly better fiscal 2025 results, though, including 3% sales growth (from 2%) and adjusted EPS of $5.90-$6.00 ($5.81-$6.00).

AFter eight years at the helm, CEO Michele Buck has passed the torch to Kirk Tanner (the former CEO of Wendy's). We applaud the strategic focus Buck brought to bear--ramping up investments in Hershey's core domestic brands while pulling back in its international arm (high-single-digit percentage of total sales, where we surmise its competitive position has perpetually lagged its global peers).

Hershey's 26.3% organic sales growth was inflated as it lapped planned inventory reductions last year after its ERP rollout and benefited from a later Easter this year. Net of these factors, sales ticked up 1.7%. But the adjusted gross margin soured 510 basis points to 38.1% on higher cocoa costs.

After announcing her decision to step aside earlier this year, CEO Michele Buck is passing the reins to Kirk Tanner, who has served as CEO of Wendy's since February 2024. Tanner will assume the post on Aug. 18, though Buck will stay on as an advisor to facilitate a smooth transition.

We applaud the strategic focus CEO Michele Buck has brought to bear over the past eight years--ramping up investments in Hershey's core domestic brands while pulling back in its international arm (high-single-digit percentage of total sales, where we surmise its competitive position has perpetually lagged its global peers). And while cash-constrained consumers’ hankering for confections may sour near term (given the product's more discretionary nature), we don’t think Hershey’s leading position (with more than one-third share of the US chocolate aisle versus just low-single-digit marks for lower-priced private-label offerings) has been tarnished.

Adjusted gross margins sank 370 basis points to 41.2%, on stepped-up cocoa costs. Organic sales plummeted 13%, but this came against a nearly 9% increase a year ago, when Hershey built inventory in advance of its ERP rollout.

We applaud the strategic focus CEO Michele Buck has brought to bear over the past eight years--ramping up investments in its core domestic brands while pulling back in its international arm (high-single-digit percentage of total sales, where we surmise its competitive position has perpetually lagged its global peers). And while cash-constrained consumers’ hankering for confections may sour near term (given the product's more discretionary nature), we don’t think Hershey’s leading position (with more than one third share of the US chocolate aisle versus just low-single-digit marks for lower-priced private-label offerings) has been tarnished.

Despite a 9% pop in Hershey's fourth-quarter organic sales and a 60-basis-point uptick in adjusted gross margins to 44.8%, elevated cocoa costs are poised to dampen fiscal 2025 margins by 650-700 basis points.

We applaud the strategic focus CEO Michele Buck has brought to bear over the past seven years--ramping up investments in its core domestic brands while pulling back in its international arm (high-single-digit percentage of total sales, where we surmise its competitive position has perpetually lagged its global peers). And while cash-constrained consumers’ hankering for confections could be waning (given the more discretionary nature of the product), we don’t think Hershey’s leading position (with more than one third share of the US chocolate aisle versus just low-single-digit marks for lower-priced private-label offerings) has been tarnished.

Organic sales ticked down 1% in the quarter, as a 2% benefit from higher prices was unable to offset a 3% draw down in volumes. Beyond tempered sales, heated cocoa and sugar costs took a bite out of profits, sending the adjusted gross margin down 460 basis points to 40.3%.

We applaud the strategic focus CEO Michele Buck has brought to bear over the past seven years--ramping up investments in its core domestic brands while pulling back in its international arm (high-single-digit percentage of total sales, where we surmise its competitive position lags its global peers). And while cash-constrained consumers’ hankering for confections could be waning (given the more discretionary nature of the product), we don’t think Hershey’s leading position (with more than one third share of the US chocolate aisle versus just low-single-digit marks for lower-priced private-label offerings) has been tarnished.

Parsing through the noise in wide-moat Hershey’s second-quarter results, we still see a competitively advantaged business poised to navigate the travails of the current industry backdrop. Organic sales collapsed nearly 17% in the quarter on an 18% volume retreat, but this downswing was primarily the byproduct of retailers working through inventory as the firm rolled out its new ERP system. Absent this, the volume decline was a more modest low-single-digit percentage. So, while cash-constrained consumers’ hankering for confections could be waning (given the more discretionary nature of the product), we don’t think Hershey’s leading position (with more than one third share of the US chocolate aisle) has been tarnished.