Hershey's Salty Snacks Sales Surge: Is the 28% Growth Durable?

The Hershey Company HSY reported strong growth in its North America Salty Snacks business during the fourth quarter of 2025, reflecting solid retail demand and continued momentum across the segment’s portfolio of brands.  

HSY’s Salty Snacks Growth Story

Segment sales increased 28% year over year to $357 million in the fourth quarter, backed by contributions from the LesserEvil acquisition (roughly 10%) as well as organic constant currency sales growth of 18.2%. Volume contributed approximately 14% to the organic growth, reflecting strong retail demand, expansion of variety packs and the timing of shipments associated with first-quarter 2026 programming. 

The quarter also benefited from one additional shipping day compared with the prior-year period. Net price realization added roughly 4% to the growth, primarily due to lower promotional investment relative to the prior year. These gains were partially offset by a planned reduction in sales to private label customers.

Retail trends remained favorable. Excluding LesserEvil, Hershey’s U.S. salty snack retail takeaway in the multi-outlet plus convenience channel increased 15.6% in the 12-week period ended Dec. 28, 2025. SkinnyPop ready-to-eat popcorn posted retail sales growth of more than 8%, while Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels delivered retail sales growth exceeding 20% and reinforced its position as the number one pretzel brand. Pirate’s Booty retail sales rose around 3%, driven by increased distribution and in-store programming.

Profitability improved as well. Segment income jumped 38.1% to $75.3 million, while segment margin expanded 160 basis points to 21.1%, supported by higher volume, reduced promotional investment and productivity, despite higher advertising investment and product mix headwinds.

The fourth-quarter results highlight strong momentum in HSY’s North America Salty Snacks business, which is likely to continue, supported by customer expansion, space gains tied to performance and innovation support in the business. Hershey, currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), has seen its shares jump 28.4% in the past three months, outpacing the industry’s growth of 26.4%.

Other Stocks Worth Considering

Mama's Creations, Inc. MAMA manufactures and markets fresh deli-prepared foods in the United States. It sports a Zacks Rank #1 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Mama's Creations’ current financial-year sales and earnings indicates growth of 39.9% and 44.4%, respectively, from the prior-year reported levels. MAMA delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 133.3%, on average. 

The Simply Good Foods Company SMPL, a consumer-packaged food and beverage company, engages in the development, marketing and sale of snacks, meal replacements and other products in North America and internationally. It carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Simply Good Foods’ current fiscal-year earnings implies growth of 1.6% from the year-ago reported figure. SMPL delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 5.5%, on average.

Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. OLLI operates as a retailer of closeout merchandise and excess inventory in the United States. OLLI currently has a Zacks Rank #2. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ollie's Bargain’s fiscal 2025 sales and earnings suggests an increase of 16.7% and 17.7%, respectively, from the previous year’s reported numbers. Ollie's Bargain delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 5.2%, on average.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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