Hershey's stock rallies after profit and sales beat expectations, boosted by higher prices and salty snacks strength

Shares of Hershey Co. (HSY) rallied 2.3% in premarket trading Thursday after the chocolate and salty snacks company beat profit and revenue expectations, helped primarily by higher prices. Net income rose to $518.6 million, or $2.52 a share, from $399.5 million, or $1.94 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of $2.60 beat the FactSet consensus of $2.46. Sales jumped 11.1% to $3.03 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $2.95 billion, driven primarily by price realization while volumes increased "slightly." North America confectionary sales grew 9.9%, North America salty snacks sales soared 25.5% and international sales increased 4.4%. The company affirmed its 2023 adjusted EPS growth guidance of 11% to 12%, while the current FactSet EPS consensus of $9.53 implies 11.9% growth. Hershey's stock has dropped 19.1% over the past three months through Wednesday while the S&P 500 has shed 8.3%.

-Tomi Kilgore

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10-26-23 0709ET

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