Health score, competitive moat, risk signals, and key metrics at a glance.
The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. The company offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels. It provides its products primarily under the Hershey's, Reese's, Kisses, Jolly Rancher, Almond Joy, Brookside, barkTHINS, Cadbury, Good & Plenty, Heath, Kit Kat, Payday, Rolo, Twizzlers, Sour Strips, Whoppers, York, Ice Breakers, Breath Savers, Bubble Yum, Lily's, SkinnyPop, Pirates Booty, Dot's Homestyle Pretzels, and ONE Bar brands, as well as under the Pelon Pelo Rico, IO-IO, and Sofit brands. The company markets and sells its products to wholesale distributors, chain grocery stores, mass merchandisers, chain drug stores, vending companies, wholesale clubs, convenience stores, dollar stores, concessionaires, and department stores. It exports its products in approximately 65 countries worldwide. The Hershey Company was founded in 1894 and is based in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Competitive analysis based on 67 quarters of fundamental data
Operating margins are positive at ~17.0% on average, but show some variability — pricing power may be sensitive to market conditions.
Consistently high ROE averaging 34.5% suggests a durable competitive advantage and efficient capital allocation.
Free cash flow is consistently positive and growing — a hallmark of a capital-light business that can self-fund growth.
Revenue shows resilience with 5 of 7 quarters posting growth — demand is generally stable but has seen some soft patches.
Data-driven red flags and warnings across 67 quarters
Operating margins dropped 30.0% over recent quarters — a sharp decline suggesting serious cost or pricing challenges.
FCF covers net income by 1.4x on average — earnings are well-supported by cash generation.
D/E ratio is 1.0 — conservative capital structure with low financial risk.
Revenue is stable or growing over recent quarters — demand appears durable.
Free cash flow is consistently positive — the business self-funds without external capital reliance.
Share count is stable — no significant dilution or buyback activity.
as of March 2026
Revenue, EBITDA, operating income, net income, EPS, and shares
Gross, EBITDA, operating, and net margin trends
P/E, P/S, P/B, EV/EBITDA, FCF yield, and earnings yield
Total assets, cash, debt, book value, and leverage
Operating cash flow, free cash flow, FCF margin, and earnings quality
