Hershey's Halloween sales have disappointed, but there's hope for last-minute buying

By Steve Gelsi

Chocolate giant says seasonal sales started slower than expected, but overall Halloween participation should pick up to be in line with last year

Hershey said Halloween sales have been soft this year but last-minute buying is expected to bring the business up to 2024 levels.

Hershey Co. said Thursday that candy buying ahead of Halloween has been disappointing so far, as warmer weather and a Friday holiday have people waiting until the last minute to go shopping.

The company said that the seasonal tradition remains important to consumers, and it expects purchasing to pick up, bringing sales in line with last year.

"While Hershey's Halloween performance has been disappointing, the softness is not broad-based across our business," said Chief Executive Kirk Tanner.

A strong launch of the Reese's Oreo product and a rebound in chocolate sales have prompted Hershey's to raise its outlook for full-year, year-over-year sales growth to about 3% from at least 2%. And so far this year, Hershey said its chocolate retail sales have returned to growth, they have increased 4% after a previous 1% decline in 2024.

Still, the stock (HSY) dropped 2.3% on Thursday, closing at its lowest price since mid-July.

During the third quarter, Reese's Oreo was the "top new item" in the candy, mint and gum category, the company said, with retail-sales trends exceeding targets.

The Reese's Oreo

"Early data shows that Reese's Oreo overindexes with Gen Z and millennial buyers, a priority audience for the brand," Tanner said. The company is preparing fresh advertising and partnerships to raise the confectionery's profile on Instagram, TikTok and through live events.

Overall, net sales for the third quarter increased 6.5% from a year ago to $3.18 billion, ahead of the FactSet consensus revenue estimate of $3.12 billion.

While Hershey has managed to boost prices, and as tariff costs have declined, the extra revenue "only partially mitigates" inflation from higher cocoa costs, which are still about 70% above levels in 2023.

Hershey said it expects cocoa prices to come down over time, with a larger global supply surplus expected for the 2025 and 2026 crop thanthe prior season.

Third-quarter net income fell to $276.3 million from $446.3 million in the year-ago quarter, while adjusted earnings per share of $1.30 handily beat the FactSet consensus EPS estimate of $1.07.

The company raised its outlook for 2025 EPS to between $5.90 and $6 from a range of $5.81 to $6. That compares with the analyst EPS projection of $6.02 a share, and with the year-ago level of $9.37 a share.

The selloff in Hershey's stock has turned it negative for the year. It has now slipped 0.4% in 2025, while the S&P 500 index SPX has advanced 16.4%.

-Steve Gelsi

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10-31-25 0736ET