Analyst Consensus ?
ConsensusHold35 ratings
Bullish822.8%
Neutral2468.6%
Bearish38.6%
The Hershey Company · HSY · FY2026 Q1 · Calendar Q2 2026
Hershey Beats on EPS and Revenue, Holds Guidance as Gross Margin Recovery Builds
Hershey delivered a Q1 FY2026 beat, with EPS of $2.35 versus a $2.04 consensus estimate and revenue of $3.10B versus $3.03B expected, driven by resilient North American confectionery demand and stronger-than-expected Easter sell-through. Management maintained full-year guidance, citing gross margin improvement of roughly 300 basis points in Q2 and further gains in the second half as cocoa hedges and pricing actions take hold. Despite the beat, the stock declined 1.8% on the report day while the benchmark rose 1.0%, though shares subsequently drifted higher by 4.5%. The combination of favorable price elasticity, a robust innovation pipeline including a premium Hershey launch, and salty-snack momentum from private-label share gains underpins management's confident tone, though macro risks from SNAP changes, cocoa volatility, and GLP-1 adoption remain.
Reported Before market openNYSEConsumer Defensive
$37.30B market cap
100quality score
Company 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.…
Earnings scorecard
Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS
$2.35
Consensus $2
EPS surprise
+15.2%
Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue
$3.10B
Consensus $3.03B
Revenue surprise
+2.5%
Reported versus consensus
Earnings History
Estimate
Beat
Miss
Match
Analyst 52W Price Targets
$183.91Previous close
$129.11Low
$215.81Average
$260High
Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted previous close from FN2's market snapshot as of Jul 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evercore ISI Group | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jul 23, 2026 |
| Stifel | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Jul 22, 2026 |
| Barclays | Equal Weight | Equal Weight | Maintain | Jul 21, 2026 |
| UBS | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jul 16, 2026 |
| JP Morgan | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jul 13, 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 |
| Wells Fargo | Equal Weight | Equal Weight | Maintain | May 1, 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 |
| RBC Capital | Sector Perform | Sector Perform | Maintain | Feb 3, 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 previous close $183.91. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.
| Firm | Analyst | 52W target | Price when posted | Upside | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evercore ISI | Analyst unavailable | $225 | $170.25 | +22.3% | Jul 23, 2026 |
| Barclays | Andrew Lazar | $208 | $171.7 | +13.1% | Jul 21, 2026 |
| Jefferies | Analyst unavailable | $190 | $170.27 | +3.3% | Jul 16, 2026 |
| Piper Sandler | Analyst unavailable | $200 | $174.41 | +8.7% | Jul 9, 2026 |
| Evercore ISI | Analyst unavailable | $255 | $191.12 | +38.7% | May 27, 2026 |
| Mizuho Securities | John Baumgartner | $185 | $192.8 | +0.6% | May 20, 2026 |
| D.A. Davidson | Analyst unavailable | $208 | $181.92 | +13.1% | May 4, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $220 | $182.34 | +19.6% | May 4, 2026 |
| Goldman Sachs | Analyst unavailable | $240 | $182.34 | +30.5% | May 1, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $227 | $188.65 | +23.4% | Apr 23, 2026 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Matthew Smith | $215 | $191.45 | +16.9% | Apr 21, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $225 | $197.93 | +22.3% | Apr 14, 2026 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $249 | $226.94 | +35.4% | Feb 25, 2026 |
| Mizuho Securities | Analyst unavailable | $195 | $226.07 | +6.0% | Feb 24, 2026 |
| Stephens | Analyst unavailable | $260 | $230.61 | +41.4% | Feb 12, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $238 | $230.12 | +29.4% | Feb 6, 2026 |
| D.A. Davidson | Brian Holland | $243 | $230.2 | +32.1% | Feb 6, 2026 |
| Goldman Sachs | Analyst unavailable | $267 | $231.42 | +45.2% | Feb 6, 2026 |
| Bernstein | Alexia Howard | $250 | $230.98 | +35.9% | Feb 6, 2026 |
| Evercore ISI | David Palmer | $250 | $232.75 | +35.9% | Feb 6, 2026 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Analyst unavailable | $230 | $224.38 | +25.1% | Feb 6, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $236 | $224.38 | +28.3% | Feb 6, 2026 |
| Barclays | Andrew Lazar | $240 | $224.38 | +30.5% | Feb 6, 2026 |
| D.A. Davidson | Analyst unavailable | $207 | $194.84 | +12.6% | Feb 2, 2026 |
| Deutsche Bank | Analyst unavailable | $188 | $194.54 | +2.2% | Jan 29, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Megan Alexander Clapp | $214 | $190.67 | +16.4% | Jan 28, 2026 |
| Bernstein | Alexia Howard | $84 | $189.2 | -54.3% | Jan 26, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $210 | $198.36 | +14.2% | Jan 16, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $210 | $195.73 | +14.2% | Jan 14, 2026 |
| Piper Sandler | Analyst unavailable | $213 | $179.28 | +15.8% | Jan 6, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Chris Carey | $182 | $182.41 | -1.0% | Jan 5, 2026 |
| Piper Sandler | Analyst unavailable | $193 | $188.16 | +4.9% | Dec 19, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $211 | $181.83 | +14.7% | Dec 15, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $195 | $180.98 | +6.0% | Dec 4, 2025 |
| Jefferies | Analyst unavailable | $181 | $180.63 | -1.6% | Dec 4, 2025 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $180 | $182.66 | -2.1% | Nov 21, 2025 |
| Barclays | Andrew Lazar | $188 | $169.63 | +2.2% | Nov 3, 2025 |
| Evercore ISI | David Palmer | $215 | $167.89 | +16.9% | Oct 31, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | Megan Alexander Clapp | $184 | $168.3 | +0.0% | Oct 31, 2025 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Matthew Smith | $185 | $167.17 | +0.6% | Oct 31, 2025 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $190 | $169.35 | +3.3% | Oct 31, 2025 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Analyst unavailable | $195 | $181.38 | +6.0% | Oct 24, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $193 | $193.02 | +4.9% | Oct 16, 2025 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $205 | $194.39 | +11.5% | Oct 8, 2025 |
| Goldman Sachs | Leah Jordan | $222 | $190.28 | +20.7% | Sep 16, 2025 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $167 | $187.83 | -9.2% | Sep 9, 2025 |
| D.A. Davidson | Analyst unavailable | $188 | $190.41 | +2.2% | Aug 4, 2025 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $168 | $175.67 | -8.7% | Nov 8, 2024 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Matthew Smith | $180 | $179.69 | -2.1% | Nov 7, 2024 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $165 | $183.47 | -10.3% | Oct 23, 2024 |
| CFRA | Arun Sundaram | $169 | $183.47 | -8.1% | Oct 22, 2024 |
| Redburn Partners | Bingqing Zhu | $165 | $184.67 | -10.3% | Oct 22, 2024 |
| Jefferies | Rob Dickerson | $163 | $191 | -11.4% | Sep 26, 2024 |
| Barclays | Andrew Lazar | $202 | $195.14 | +9.8% | Sep 24, 2024 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $179 | $201.31 | -2.7% | Sep 17, 2024 |
| Wells Fargo | Chris Carey | $205 | $197.92 | +11.5% | May 6, 2024 |
| Coker Palmer | Thomas Palmer | $204 | $197.92 | +10.9% | May 5, 2024 |
| Wells Fargo | Chris Carey | $200 | $183.31 | +8.7% | Apr 17, 2024 |
| Deutsche Bank | Steve Powers | $197 | $194.19 | +7.1% | Apr 8, 2024 |
| Bernstein | Alexia Howard | $235 | $191.96 | +27.8% | Jan 29, 2024 |
| Morgan Stanley | Pamela Kaufman | $246 | $243.66 | +33.8% | Mar 20, 2023 |
| Craig-Hallum | Anthony Stoss | $129.11 | $233.86 | -29.8% | Feb 3, 2023 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $230 | $233.05 | +25.1% | Feb 3, 2023 |
| Credit Suisse | Analyst unavailable | $260 | $234.77 | +41.4% | Feb 3, 2023 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $220 | $227.7 | +19.6% | Jan 3, 2023 |
| Morgan Stanley | Pamela Kaufman | $231 | $234.89 | +25.6% | Dec 20, 2022 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $269 | $236.69 | +46.3% | Dec 8, 2022 |
| Deutsche Bank | Analyst unavailable | $246 | $232.4 | +33.8% | Dec 6, 2022 |
| BNP Paribas | Analyst unavailable | $235 | $218.12 | +27.8% | Nov 15, 2022 |
| Mizuho Securities | Analyst unavailable | $210 | $227.48 | +14.2% | Apr 29, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $222 | $227.2 | +20.7% | Apr 29, 2022 |
| BMO Capital | Analyst unavailable | $255 | $227.48 | +38.7% | Apr 29, 2022 |
| Credit Suisse | Robert Moskow | $227 | $201.88 | +23.4% | Feb 4, 2022 |
| Bank of America Securities | Bryan Spillane | $225 | $201.88 | +22.3% | Feb 4, 2022 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $205 | $203.01 | +11.5% | Feb 3, 2022 |
| Goldman Sachs | Jason English | $227 | $203.01 | +23.4% | Feb 3, 2022 |
| Mizuho Securities | John Baumgartner | $196 | $203.01 | +6.6% | Feb 3, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Pamela Kaufman | $191 | $193.17 | +3.9% | Jan 11, 2022 |
Track every rating change on HSY the moment it posts. Free to start.
Start freeMarket reaction
prior-close to event-session close
Stock move
-1.8%
Event window
SPY move
+1.0%
Same window
Abnormal move
-2.8%
Stock minus SPY
Volume
1.7×
Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift
+4.5%
Up to 20 sessions
HSYSPY benchmark
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Try FN2 freeTranscript intelligence
What changed
EPS came in at $2.35, a 15.2% surprise over the $2.04 estimate, while revenue of $3.10B beat the $3.03B consensus by 2.5%. North American confectionery posted high single-digit growth and Easter sell-through exceeded expectations despite a shorter season. Gross margin improvement of approximately 300 bps is expected in Q2, with additional gains in H2. Salty-snack core brands grew 10% as private-label share declined. The stock fell 1.8% on the report day (benchmark +1.0%), but subsequently recovered +4.5%. Trading volume was 1.67x baseline.
Guidance delta
Maintained. Management reaffirmed full-year 2026 guidance for 4-5% net sales growth and a gross margin target of approximately 41%, citing macro headwinds that remain within modeled expectations. No change to the outlook despite the Q1 beat.
Key takeaways
- EPS of $2.35 beat the $2.04 estimate by 15.2%; revenue of $3.10B beat $3.03B by 2.5%.
- Gross margin expansion of approximately 300 bps expected in Q2, with further improvement in H2.
- Easter sell-through exceeded expectations despite a shorter season; confectionery posted high single-digit growth.
- Full-year guidance maintained; price elasticity running more favorably than conservative assumptions.
- Premium Hershey product launch in H2 described as an elevated experience with strong consumer testing.
Management priorities
- Launch premium Hershey product in the second half of 2026.
- Drive Reese's expansion in the UK and broader Europe, including potential local manufacturing.
- Expand functional snack offerings through VivaKi JV and the better-for-you portfolio.
- Execute seasonal and tentpole marketing activations including the Hershey movie tie-in.
- Roll out stand-up bag packaging and other pack-type innovations.
Sources
- Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-05-11T10:29:34.698584+00:00
- FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-07-26T00:37:12.209961+00:00
- Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-07-30T07:01:21.571940+00:00
- Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-07-30T07:01:21.569205+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 . For educational purposes only; not investment advice.