Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Reports Bullish Q4 CY2025

Chocolate company Hershey (NYSE:HSY) reported Q4 CY2025 results beating Wall Street’s revenue expectations, with sales up 7% year on year to $3.09 billion. Its non-GAAP profit of $1.71 per share was 21.8% above analysts’ consensus estimates.

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"As we enter 2026, we have strong conviction in the momentum of our business," said Kirk Tanner, The Hershey Company President and Chief Executive Officer.

Company Overview

Best known for its milk chocolate bar and Hershey's Kisses, Hershey (NYSE:HSY) is an iconic company known for its chocolate products.

Revenue Growth

A company’s long-term performance is an indicator of its overall quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but many enduring ones grow for years.

With $11.69 billion in revenue over the past 12 months, Hershey is one of the larger consumer staples companies and benefits from a well-known brand that influences purchasing decisions. However, its scale is a double-edged sword because it’s harder to find incremental growth when your existing brands have penetrated most of the market. To accelerate sales, Hershey likely needs to optimize its pricing or lean into new products and international expansion.

As you can see below, Hershey grew its sales at a sluggish 3.9% compounded annual growth rate over the last three years as consumers bought less of its products. We’ll explore what this means in the "Volume Growth" section.

This quarter, Hershey reported year-on-year revenue growth of 7%, and its $3.09 billion of revenue exceeded Wall Street’s estimates by 3.8%.

Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 2.6% over the next 12 months, similar to its three-year rate. This projection is underwhelming and suggests its products will see some demand headwinds.

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Volume Growth

Revenue growth can be broken down into changes in price and volume (the number of units sold). While both are important, volume is the lifeblood of a successful staples business as there’s a ceiling to what consumers will pay for everyday goods; they can always trade down to non-branded products if the branded versions are too expensive.

Hershey’s average quarterly sales volumes have shrunk by 1.2% over the last two years. This decrease isn’t ideal because the quantity demanded for consumer staples products is typically stable.

In Hershey’s Q4 2025, sales volumes dropped 3% year on year. This result represents a further deceleration from its historical levels, showing the business is struggling to move its products.

Key Takeaways from Hershey’s Q4 Results

We were impressed by Hershey’s optimistic full-year EPS guidance, which blew past analysts’ expectations. We were also glad its organic revenue in the quarter outperformed Wall Street’s estimates, leading to an EPS beat. Zooming out, we think this was a solid print. The stock traded up 3.5% to $213 immediately after reporting.

Sure, Hershey had a solid quarter, but if we look at the bigger picture, is this stock a buy? When making that decision, it’s important to consider its valuation, business qualities, as well as what has happened in the latest quarter. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).