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• The Coca-Cola of chocolate and candy.
• Like PepsiCo's Frito-Lay, but for both sweet and savory snacks.

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• Confectionery Products: This category includes a wide range of chocolate and non-chocolate candies, as well as gum and mint refreshment products.
• Pantry Items: Hershey offers various baking ingredients, dessert toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups for home use.
• Snack Items: The company provides a diverse selection of snacks, such as spreads, meat snacks, bars, mixes, popcorn, and protein bars.

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The Hershey Company (HSY) primarily sells its products to other companies rather than directly to individuals. Its major customers are large retailers and distributors that then sell to consumers. Based on the company's description, key types of customers include:

• Walmart Inc. (WMT) - A leading mass merchandiser and grocery retailer.
• Target Corporation (TGT) - Another major mass merchandiser and general merchandise retailer.
• The Kroger Co. (KR) - One of the largest grocery retailers in the United States.
• CVS Health Corporation (CVS) - A prominent chain drug store operator.
• Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) - A major wholesale club.
• Dollar General Corporation (DG) - A leading dollar store chain.

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Barry Callebaut (BARN.SW)

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Kirk Tanner
President and Chief Executive Officer

Kirk Tanner joined The Hershey Company as President and CEO in August 2025. He brings over 30 years of experience in the food and beverage industry, driving strategic growth for iconic brands. Before joining Hershey, Tanner served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Wendy's. Prior to Wendy's, he spent three decades at PepsiCo, Inc., where he was Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo Beverages North America, overseeing a $25 billion business that included brands such as Gatorade, Mountain Dew, and Celsius. His career at PepsiCo encompassed numerous leadership roles across various sectors and regions, including President and Chief Operating Officer, North America Beverages, and President, Global Foodservice. Tanner holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Utah.

Steve Voskuil
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer

Steve Voskuil joined Hershey in May 2019 and oversees the company's global finance organization, including financial planning and analysis, accounting and reporting, tax, treasury, internal audit, and investor relations. Before his tenure at Hershey, Voskuil was the Chief Financial Officer at Avanos Medical, a global medical device company, a position he held since 2014. Avanos Medical was previously Halyard Health, Inc., where Voskuil served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for four years and led its successful spinoff from Kimberly-Clark. This experience involved a significant corporate transaction. He also spent over two decades as a finance executive at Kimberly-Clark, gaining extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions. Voskuil earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a Master of Science in management from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Rohit Grover
President, International

Rohit Grover is responsible for leading Hershey's international business, including its scale markets, focused emerging markets, and export priorities. Grover has held various senior management roles within The Hershey Company since joining in 1999. Most recently, he served as Vice President and General Manager, Greater China, where he was instrumental in a major turnaround and restructuring of that business. His previous roles include General Manager of Hershey Canada and General Manager of Southeast Asia, and he also spearheaded Hershey's entry into the Middle East region. Grover began his career in marketing at Colgate Palmolive and MTV in India. He holds a Master of Business Administration in Finance and Marketing from the University of Miami and has attended executive programs at the University of Chicago and Harvard Business School.

Jason Reiman
Senior Vice President, Chief Supply Chain Officer

Jason Reiman oversees all global supply chain-related strategies and activities for Hershey, encompassing procurement, manufacturing, quality and regulatory, engineering, logistics, supply chain planning, and network strategy and optimization. A veteran of Hershey for over 20 years, Reiman has held senior executive roles leading all aspects of the supply chain across the company's U.S. and international businesses. Before joining Hershey in 1996, he worked as a supply chain consultant with Manugistics, Inc. Reiman holds a bachelor's degree in business logistics from Penn State University. He serves on the board of directors of the World Cocoa Foundation.

Andrew Archambault
President, U.S. Confection

Andrew Archambault serves as President of Hershey's U.S. Confection business, where he is responsible for leading brand and commercial strategies and execution, P&L oversight, and building the future portfolio to advance the company's vision. He brings nearly three decades of experience leading iconic consumer brands, with deep expertise in business transformation, team development, and customer relationships.

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The most significant risk is the volatility and elevated cost of key commodities, particularly cocoa. Sky-high cocoa prices have led to a substantial increase in production costs, pressuring operating margins and significantly impacting net income. This commodity inflation is considered a "structural cost shock" that is projected to contract the company's adjusted gross profit margin by a massive 650 to 700 basis points and contribute to a mid-30% range decline in adjusted earnings per share for the full year 2025.

Another crucial risk is the stagnation of sales volumes and evolving consumer preferences. While The Hershey Company has implemented price increases to offset higher costs, its revenue growth has primarily been driven by these price hikes rather than an increase in the quantity of products sold. Sales volumes have reportedly shrunk, and the company faces "growth headwinds" and "top-line stagnation risk." Additionally, a shift in consumer preferences towards healthier options presents a challenge for the traditional confectionery business.

Finally, the company operates in highly competitive markets, which poses a continuous risk to maintaining demand and market share. The competitive landscape means The Hershey Company must consistently offer products that appeal to consumers, and there is a risk that market demand for both new and existing products could decline.

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The emergence of lab-grown cocoa and chocolate alternatives, presenting a potential fundamental disruption to traditional cocoa sourcing and chocolate manufacturing.

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Addressable Markets for The Hershey Company (HSY)

• Confectionery Products (Chocolate and Non-Chocolate)
  • The global confectionery market size was estimated at USD 284.23 billion in 2025.
  • In North America, the confectionery market was valued at USD 74.55 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 101.8 billion by 2030.
  • In the United States, total confectionery sales (including chocolate, non-chocolate candy, and gum) reached USD 55 billion in 2025.
    • Within the U.S. confectionery market, chocolate sales accounted for USD 28.4 billion in 2025.
    • Non-chocolate candy sales in the U.S. were USD 22.5 billion in 2025.
• Gum and Mint Refreshment Products
  • In the United States, gum sales accounted for USD 4.1 billion in 2025.
• Pantry Items (e.g., Baking Ingredients, Spreads, Syrups)
  • The U.S. baking ingredients market is projected to reach USD 5,491.4 million (approximately USD 5.49 billion) in 2025, growing to USD 17,991.6 million by 2035.
  • The demand for sweet spreads in the USA is projected to be USD 5.9 billion in 2025.
• Snack Items (e.g., Meat Snacks, Bars, Popcorn)
  • The U.S. salty snacks market sales are forecasted to reach USD 31.6 billion in 2026.
  • The U.S. meat snacks market size reached USD 4.55 billion in 2025 and is anticipated to grow to USD 8.46 billion by 2035.
  • The North America snack bar market size reached USD 14.85 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow to approximately USD 32.66 billion by 2035.

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Share Repurchases

• A $500 million share repurchase authorization approved in May 2021 was completed by March 31, 2024.
• An additional $500 million share repurchase authorization was approved in December 2023, which commenced after the completion of the earlier program.
• Significant quarterly repurchases include $493.86 million in Q1 2024 and $25.05 million in Q4 2023.

Share Issuance

• Hershey's shares outstanding experienced slight declines, with a 0.05% decrease in 2025, a 1% decrease in 2024, and a 0.5% decrease in 2023, indicating that share repurchases have generally outweighed any new issuances.

Outbound Investments

• In April 2025, Hershey acquired LesserEvil, an organic snack manufacturer, for $750 million to expand its snacking portfolio.
• Hershey acquired Sour Strips in November 2024 for an undisclosed amount.
• In November 2021, the company acquired Dot's Homestyle Pretzels and its co-packer, Pretzel Inc., for $1.2 billion, significantly bolstering its salty snacks segment.

Capital Expenditures

• Capital expenditures were $771.1 million in 2023 and $605.9 million in 2024.
• Projected capital expenditures are between $425 million and $450 million for 2025, and $425 million to $475 million for 2026.
• These expenditures are primarily focused on expanding core confection capacity, enhancing digital infrastructure, including a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, and the Advancing Agility & Automation Initiative to improve supply chain efficiency.