Overview
- Hershey, which reported results Thursday, posted net sales of $3.10 billion and adjusted EPS of $2.35, beating Wall Street estimates.
- Sales rose on roughly 10% price increases and last year’s deal activity, while overall volumes fell about 2 percentage points and North America candy volumes dropped about 4 points on price pushback and one fewer shipping day.
- Salty snacks gained ground as organic volume rose 5%, and the LesserEvil acquisition lifted that segment’s growth by about 20 percentage points for the quarter.
- Adjusted gross margin fell by 0.8 percentage point from a year ago because of higher commodity costs and new tariff expenses.
- Full‑year targets stayed in place for 4% to 5% sales growth and a 30% to 35% jump in adjusted EPS, with the forecast factoring in food-stamp changes, healthier-snacking shifts, and consumer strain linked to the Middle East conflict.