Analyst Consensus ?
ConsensusHold35 ratings
Bullish822.8%
Neutral2468.6%
Bearish38.6%
The Hershey Company · HSY · FY2025 Q4 · Calendar Q1 2026
Hershey: Salty Snacks and Hedging Support 2026 Outlook
The current analysis supports a cautiously constructive view of Hershey's operating trajectory: management paired a confident 2026 outlook with strong salty-snack momentum, brand investment, innovation, and cocoa hedging. The thesis remains conditional because pricing elasticity, commodity costs, tariffs, policy changes, and competitive response could limit margin recovery.
Reported Before market openNYSEConsumer Defensive
$32.74B market cap
100quality score
Earnings scorecard
Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS
$1.71
Consensus $1.40
EPS surprise
+22.1%
Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue
$3.09B
Consensus $2.98B
Revenue surprise
+3.7%
Reported versus consensus
Market reaction
prior-close to event-session close
Stock move
+9.0%
Event window
SPY move
-1.2%
Same window
Abnormal move
+10.3%
Stock minus SPY
Volume
2.9×
Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift
+0.3%
Up to 20 sessions
HSYSPY benchmark
Ask FN2 about HSY FY2025 Q4
Transcript, numbers and history already loaded
Why did HSY rise 9.0% after beating EPS estimates in FY2025 Q4?What changed in HSY's guidance and outlook in FY2025 Q4?Give me the bull and bear case for HSY after FY2025 Q4 earnings.
Free account. Your question opens in FN2 with this report's transcript and numbers attached.
Transcript intelligence
What changed
The current analysis puts greater emphasis on the 2026 sales and margin outlook, 18% salty-snack growth, brand spending, and cocoa hedging. Relative to the prior analysis, the main evidence to track is whether innovation and salty snacks can offset pricing and commodity risks.
Guidance delta
The current analysis cites 4%-5% 2026 net sales growth and a gross-margin target near 41%, versus 2%-4% revenue growth in the prior-quarter analysis; both analyses label guidance sentiment maintained.
Key takeaways
- Management presented a confident 2026 outlook centered on sales growth and gross-margin recovery.
- Salty snacks were a notable growth driver, while cocoa hedging was described as a cost buffer.
- Brand investment and product innovation remain central to the multi-year plan.
- Pricing elasticity, cocoa volatility, tariffs, and SNAP changes are the main watchpoints.
Management priorities
- Increase brand and advertising investment.
- Advance innovation across confectionery, salty snacks, and protein.
- Continue cocoa and commodity hedging while managing pricing.
- Use the planned Investor Day to outline the multi-year innovation roadmap.
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Estimate
Beat
Miss
Match
Analyst 52W Price Targets
$158.31Current
$129.11Low
$212.19Average
$260High
Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted current price from FN2's market snapshot as of Sep 30, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.
Firm-level rating actions
FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.
| Firm | Rating | Prior rating | Action | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RBC Capital | Sector Perform | Sector Perform | Maintain | Aug 21, 2026 |
| Barclays | Equal Weight | Equal Weight | Maintain | Aug 3, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Equal Weight | Equal Weight | Maintain | Jul 31, 2026 |
| UBS | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jul 31, 2026 |
| JP Morgan | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jul 31, 2026 |
| Evercore ISI Group | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jul 23, 2026 |
| Stifel | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Jul 22, 2026 |
| Piper Sandler | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Jul 9, 2026 |
| B of A Securities | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jun 25, 2026 |
| Mizuho | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | May 20, 2026 |
| DA Davidson | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | May 4, 2026 |
| TD Cowen | Buy | Hold | Upgrade | May 1, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Apr 23, 2026 |
| Deutsche Bank | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Mar 30, 2026 |
| Jefferies | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Feb 2, 2026 |
| Goldman Sachs | Buy | Sell | Upgrade | Sep 16, 2025 |
| Citigroup | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Apr 15, 2025 |
| Bernstein | Market Perform | Outperform | Downgrade | Oct 7, 2024 |
| Argus Research | Hold | Buy | Downgrade | Aug 14, 2024 |
| Exane BNP Paribas | Neutral | Outperform | Downgrade | Mar 26, 2024 |
| Credit Suisse | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Feb 3, 2023 |
| Cowen & Co. | Perform | Market Perform | Maintain | Sep 14, 2022 |
| BMO Capital | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Apr 29, 2022 |
| CFRA | Sell | Hold | Downgrade | Apr 23, 2020 |
| Edward Jones | Buy | Hold | Upgrade | Mar 25, 2020 |
| Bank of America | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Dec 20, 2019 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Jul 26, 2019 |
| Piper Jaffray | Underweight | Neutral | Downgrade | Jun 20, 2019 |
| Susquehanna | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Oct 25, 2018 |
| PiperJaffray | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jul 27, 2018 |
| Argus | Hold | Buy | Downgrade | May 5, 2018 |
| Berenberg | Hold | Sell | Upgrade | Dec 18, 2017 |
| Societe Generale | Hold | Sell | Upgrade | Feb 28, 2017 |
| Tigress Financial | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Jul 11, 2016 |
| Nomura | Sell | Reduce | Maintain | Apr 20, 2015 |
Named analyst price targets
Upside is calculated against the persisted current price $158.31. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.
| Firm | Analyst | 52W target | Price when posted | Upside | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RBC Capital | Analyst unavailable | $206 | $187.84 | +30.1% | Aug 21, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $200 | $175.05 | +26.3% | Aug 3, 2026 |
| Bernstein | Alexia Howard | $201 | $174.83 | +27.0% | Jul 31, 2026 |
| D.A. Davidson | Analyst unavailable | $190 | $174.91 | +20.0% | Jul 31, 2026 |
| Deutsche Bank | Analyst unavailable | $191 | $177.2 | +20.6% | Jul 31, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $190 | $177.23 | +20.0% | Jul 31, 2026 |
| Evercore ISI | Analyst unavailable | $225 | $170.25 | +42.1% | Jul 23, 2026 |
| Barclays | Andrew Lazar | $208 | $171.7 | +31.4% | Jul 21, 2026 |
| Jefferies | Analyst unavailable | $190 | $170.27 | +20.0% | Jul 16, 2026 |
| Piper Sandler | Analyst unavailable | $200 | $174.41 | +26.3% | Jul 9, 2026 |
| Evercore ISI | Analyst unavailable | $255 | $191.12 | +61.1% | May 27, 2026 |
| Mizuho Securities | John Baumgartner | $185 | $192.8 | +16.9% | May 20, 2026 |
| D.A. Davidson | Analyst unavailable | $208 | $181.92 | +31.4% | May 4, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $220 | $182.34 | +39.0% | May 4, 2026 |
| Goldman Sachs | Analyst unavailable | $240 | $182.34 | +51.6% | May 1, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $227 | $188.65 | +43.4% | Apr 23, 2026 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Matthew Smith | $215 | $191.45 | +35.8% | Apr 21, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $225 | $197.93 | +42.1% | Apr 14, 2026 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $249 | $226.94 | +57.3% | Feb 25, 2026 |
| Mizuho Securities | Analyst unavailable | $195 | $226.07 | +23.2% | Feb 24, 2026 |
| Stephens | Analyst unavailable | $260 | $230.61 | +64.2% | Feb 12, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $238 | $230.12 | +50.3% | Feb 6, 2026 |
| D.A. Davidson | Brian Holland | $243 | $230.2 | +53.5% | Feb 6, 2026 |
| Goldman Sachs | Analyst unavailable | $267 | $231.42 | +68.7% | Feb 6, 2026 |
| Bernstein | Alexia Howard | $250 | $230.98 | +57.9% | Feb 6, 2026 |
| Evercore ISI | David Palmer | $250 | $232.75 | +57.9% | Feb 6, 2026 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Analyst unavailable | $230 | $224.38 | +45.3% | Feb 6, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $236 | $224.38 | +49.1% | Feb 6, 2026 |
| Barclays | Andrew Lazar | $240 | $224.38 | +51.6% | Feb 6, 2026 |
| D.A. Davidson | Analyst unavailable | $207 | $194.84 | +30.8% | Feb 2, 2026 |
| Deutsche Bank | Analyst unavailable | $188 | $194.54 | +18.8% | Jan 29, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Megan Alexander Clapp | $214 | $190.67 | +35.2% | Jan 28, 2026 |
| Bernstein | Alexia Howard | $84 | $189.2 | -46.9% | Jan 26, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $210 | $198.36 | +32.7% | Jan 16, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $210 | $195.73 | +32.7% | Jan 14, 2026 |
| Piper Sandler | Analyst unavailable | $213 | $179.28 | +34.5% | Jan 6, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Chris Carey | $182 | $182.41 | +15.0% | Jan 5, 2026 |
| Piper Sandler | Analyst unavailable | $193 | $188.16 | +21.9% | Dec 19, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $211 | $181.83 | +33.3% | Dec 15, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $195 | $180.98 | +23.2% | Dec 4, 2025 |
| Jefferies | Analyst unavailable | $181 | $180.63 | +14.3% | Dec 4, 2025 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $180 | $182.66 | +13.7% | Nov 21, 2025 |
| Barclays | Andrew Lazar | $188 | $169.63 | +18.8% | Nov 3, 2025 |
| Evercore ISI | David Palmer | $215 | $167.89 | +35.8% | Oct 31, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | Megan Alexander Clapp | $184 | $168.3 | +16.2% | Oct 31, 2025 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Matthew Smith | $185 | $167.17 | +16.9% | Oct 31, 2025 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $190 | $169.35 | +20.0% | Oct 31, 2025 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Analyst unavailable | $195 | $181.38 | +23.2% | Oct 24, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $193 | $193.02 | +21.9% | Oct 16, 2025 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $205 | $194.39 | +29.5% | Oct 8, 2025 |
| Goldman Sachs | Leah Jordan | $222 | $190.28 | +40.2% | Sep 16, 2025 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $167 | $187.83 | +5.5% | Sep 9, 2025 |
| D.A. Davidson | Analyst unavailable | $188 | $190.41 | +18.8% | Aug 4, 2025 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $168 | $175.67 | +6.1% | Nov 8, 2024 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Matthew Smith | $180 | $179.69 | +13.7% | Nov 7, 2024 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $165 | $183.47 | +4.2% | Oct 23, 2024 |
| CFRA | Arun Sundaram | $169 | $183.47 | +6.8% | Oct 22, 2024 |
| Redburn Partners | Bingqing Zhu | $165 | $184.67 | +4.2% | Oct 22, 2024 |
| Jefferies | Rob Dickerson | $163 | $191 | +3.0% | Sep 26, 2024 |
| Barclays | Andrew Lazar | $202 | $195.14 | +27.6% | Sep 24, 2024 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $179 | $201.31 | +13.1% | Sep 17, 2024 |
| Wells Fargo | Chris Carey | $205 | $197.92 | +29.5% | May 6, 2024 |
| Coker Palmer | Thomas Palmer | $204 | $197.92 | +28.9% | May 5, 2024 |
| Wells Fargo | Chris Carey | $200 | $183.31 | +26.3% | Apr 17, 2024 |
| Deutsche Bank | Steve Powers | $197 | $194.19 | +24.4% | Apr 8, 2024 |
| Bernstein | Alexia Howard | $235 | $191.96 | +48.4% | Jan 29, 2024 |
| Morgan Stanley | Pamela Kaufman | $246 | $243.66 | +55.4% | Mar 20, 2023 |
| Craig-Hallum | Anthony Stoss | $129.11 | $233.86 | -18.4% | Feb 3, 2023 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $230 | $233.05 | +45.3% | Feb 3, 2023 |
| Credit Suisse | Analyst unavailable | $260 | $234.77 | +64.2% | Feb 3, 2023 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $220 | $227.7 | +39.0% | Jan 3, 2023 |
| Morgan Stanley | Pamela Kaufman | $231 | $234.89 | +45.9% | Dec 20, 2022 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $269 | $236.69 | +69.9% | Dec 8, 2022 |
| Deutsche Bank | Analyst unavailable | $246 | $232.4 | +55.4% | Dec 6, 2022 |
| BNP Paribas | Analyst unavailable | $235 | $218.12 | +48.4% | Nov 15, 2022 |
| Mizuho Securities | Analyst unavailable | $210 | $227.48 | +32.7% | Apr 29, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $222 | $227.2 | +40.2% | Apr 29, 2022 |
| BMO Capital | Analyst unavailable | $255 | $227.48 | +61.1% | Apr 29, 2022 |
| Credit Suisse | Robert Moskow | $227 | $201.88 | +43.4% | Feb 4, 2022 |
| Bank of America Securities | Bryan Spillane | $225 | $201.88 | +42.1% | Feb 4, 2022 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $205 | $203.01 | +29.5% | Feb 3, 2022 |
| Goldman Sachs | Jason English | $227 | $203.01 | +43.4% | Feb 3, 2022 |
| Mizuho Securities | John Baumgartner | $196 | $203.01 | +23.8% | Feb 3, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Pamela Kaufman | $191 | $193.17 | +20.6% | Jan 11, 2022 |
Track every rating change on HSY the moment it posts. Free to start.
Start freeCompany context
Snapshot as of publicationThe Hershey Company, operating with its various subsidiaries, serves as a key manufacturer and distributor of both sweet confections and general household pantry items. Its market reach extends across the United States and globally. The enterprise strategically divides its operations into three main business segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and an International division. Its extensive product catalog features a wide array of offerings. This includes various chocolate and non-chocolate candies, as well as refreshing chewing gums and mints. Beyond traditional treats, Hershey also supplies pantry essentials such as baking ingredients, dessert toppings, a range of beverages, and sundae syrups. Furthermore, their snack collection encompasses diverse items like spreads, meat snacks, various bars and snack bites, popcorn, and protein bars.…
Historical context
All HSY earningsConsumer Defensive peers this season
Latest reports in the same sector| Company | Quarter | EPS surprise | Market move | Headline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COST Costco Wholesale Corporation | FY2026 Q4 · Calendar Q3 2026 | +3.2% | +2.9% | Costco’s growth broadens as warehouses and digital sales accelerate |
| GIS General Mills, Inc. | FY2027 Q1 · Calendar Q3 2026 | +4.6% | +1.0% | General Mills leans on mix, innovation and e-commerce amid pressure |
| KR The Kroger Co. | FY2026 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026 | +2.8% | +2.7% | Kroger: Strong digital growth offsets softer sales outlook |
| CPB Campbell Soup Company | FY2026 Q4 · Calendar Q3 2026 | +1.1% | -7.0% | Campbell’s leans on savings and innovation amid pressured demand |
| BF-A Brown-Forman Corporation | FY2027 Q1 · Calendar Q3 2026 | +3.0% | — | Brown-Forman holds FY27 outlook as RTD innovation offsets barrel pressure |
| BF-B Brown-Forman Corporation | FY2027 Q1 · Calendar Q3 2026 | 0.0% | — | Brown-Forman maintains FY27 outlook as innovation offsets pressure |
Latest beats and misses
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Get the HSY recap when the next report posts
One email per quarter with the scorecard, the market reaction and what changed on the call. No account needed.
Sources
- Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-05-11T10:29:34.698584+00:00
- FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-07-26T00:36:15.940040+00:00
- Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-09-30T17:16:53.451798+00:00
- Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-09-30T17:16:53.448843+00:00
Methodology
Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.
Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.
Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.
By FN2 Research · Updated · As of 2026-09-30. For educational purposes only; not investment advice.