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TickerTalks›$HSY
HSHSY

The Hershey Company

Strong FundamentalsStrong FundamentalsRevenue growing 11% YoY at strong marginsStreet coverage with positive forward estimatesQuiet on X (42 mentions/wk)
$HSY·$37B·Food Confectioners·Consumer Defensive
$179.05-1.2%YTD-1.6%1Y-0.5%
Mentions · last 7 days
2026-08-21: 15 posts2026-08-22: 3 posts2026-08-23: 1 posts2026-08-24: 4 posts42+8%
Price updated 3d ago·X counts updated 7d ago
HSHSY
$HSYThe Hershey Company
$179.05-1.25%42 posts+8%
AI analysisFundamentalsVoices on X
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AI verdict & sentimentAI analysisGenerated by AI from underlying data

Top X posts

Today's AI verdict on what's driving $HSY, plus how loud the X conversation is and which way it's leaning.

AI analysis

TickerTalks’ read on the fundamentals and what’s driving the move.

Proven numbersWinding up for a moveAI verdict · as of 2026-08-26

Trading in a tight range and building pressure — a move looks likely soon, but the direction isn't clear yet.

Hershey posted a 57% EPS beat but stock is -3.6% intraday — the coffee-canned SCHD compounder is coiled while Hershey Trust sells.

The Hershey Company is the packaged-food confectioner (chocolate, popcorn, salty snacks) whose Q2 print was a strong double-beat that the tape didn't fully credit. The stock is coiled as fundamentals compound while the Hershey Trust distributes.

  • The Q2 print was decisively strong: revenue $2.79B beat $2.63B est (+6.6%), adjusted EPS $1.90 vs $1.42 est (+34%, +57% YoY), adjusted gross margin 41.6% (+350bps) — that's the shape of a genuine operational turn from cocoa-cost pressure abating; FY26 guide tightened at midpoint, which the market read as neutral.
  • The insider tape is the meaningful counterweight: the Hershey Trust (Milton Hershey School trustee) sold three consecutive 10,000-share tranches for ~$5.6M combined at $186-189 — that's coordinated multi-day insider distribution from the founding trust, which historically caps the near-term upside even when fundamentals inflect.
  • The tape is coiled at moderate levels: at 33% of the 52-week range, 5% above the 50-day and 3% below the 200-day on 1.53x elevated volume with beta 0.10 — a defensive-beta compounder consolidating just above the 50-day on above-average volume with a Q2 beat setup is textbook coiled bullish, and the SCHD 'coffee-canned holding at ~$150 avg' framing captures the long-only support.

The path if this works is the Oct 29 Q3 print delivering another clean beat plus concrete cocoa-cost tailwind commentary, taking the tape past $210. What breaks it is another Hershey Trust distribution wave or a fresh commodity-input reversal — HSY is levered to cocoa and sugar prices, so any commodity headwind hits the multiple.

Agrees with X sentimentThe X bulls have the operating story right — Q2 revenue $2.79B beat $2.63B est (+6.6%), adjusted EPS $1.90 vs $1.42 est (+57% YoY), adjusted gross margin 41.6% (+350bps), FY26 guide tightened at midpoint, coffee-canned SCHD holding at ~$150 avg, 'Americans will still eat chocolate/popcorn in 30 years' thesis — and mechanics support the coiled setup; the Hershey Trust selling is the item the sample underweights.

What to watch: Oct 29 Q3 print (sell-side EPS $2.11) — a clean beat plus concrete cocoa-cost tailwind commentary breaks the coil past $210; another Hershey Trust distribution wave or a fresh commodity-input reversal breaks the tape back to $160.

On the calendar: 2026-10-29 — Q3 earnings

X sentiment

What the X crowd is saying right now — descriptive, summarised from the day’s posts.

Bullish sentiment7 posts analyzed · as of 2026-08-06

Hershey chatter leans bullish despite the price reaction. Q2 was a strong double-beat: revenue $2.79B beat $2.63B est (+6.6%), adj EPS $1.90 vs $1.42 est (+57% YoY), adj gross margin 41.6% (+350bps). FY26 guide tightened at midpoint. Bulls call it a coffee-canned SCHD holding at ~$150 avg with a "Americans will still eat chocolate/popcorn in 30 years" thesis. Stock -3.63% intraday despite the beats. Aggregate voice: bull.

Read the AI verdict + X sentiment for $HSY

  • One-line verdict on what's driving the move — fundamentals, momentum, both, or an event
  • Next dated catalyst when there is one (earnings, deal closing, activist clock)
  • X crowd read with bullish/bearish call + post volume
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What it does

Plain-English summary of the business — what they sell and how they make money.

Makes and markets Reese's, Kit Kat, and SkinnyPop snack brands sold through US grocery and convenience channels.

Industry overviewAI analysisGenerated by AI from underlying data

Where Food Confectioners sits in its cycle right now — and what that implies for $HSY.

Food Confectioners · Consumer Defensive

Packaged food volume erosion is the ongoing structural tension; private label share gains and consumer trade-down are squeezing branded food margins. GLP-1 weight-loss drug adoption is an emerging structural demand headwind for high-calorie categories.

What this means for $HSY

Partial — consumer discretionary / retail performance tracks consumer spending trends; The Hershey Company, operating with its various subsidiaries, serves as a key ma.

Top industry ETF

$XLPConsumer Staples Select Sector SPDR
+9.9%YTD
+6.5%1Y

Fundamentals & catalyst

Profitability, valuation, and the next earnings event — at a glance, with rule-of-thumb signals.

Key ratios

P/E
33.5How much investors are paying per dollar of profit the company actually earned in the last 12 months. Lower means the stock looks cheaper relative to earnings.~15–25 is typical for the S&P 500; high-growth names trade 30+; hyper-growth or speculative can be 100+ or negative.
ROIC
10.9%What percentage return the business earns on every dollar of capital (equity + debt) deployed in operations. The cleanest measure of business quality.Above ~15% is high-quality; consistently above 25% suggests a real moat. Below the company's cost of capital is value-destroying.
Op margin
14.1%Operating profit (after sales, marketing, R&D, and overhead but before interest and taxes) as a percentage of revenue. The clearest view of how well the underlying business is run.Mature business above 20% is healthy; software businesses can run 30%+; commodity / retail businesses operate in single digits.
FCF yield
5.8%Free cash flow (operating cash flow minus capex) divided by the company's market cap. The cash-on-cash return you'd get owning the whole business at today's price.Above ~5% is attractive; below ~2% means you're paying up for growth. Capital-light businesses (software) run higher than capital-heavy ones (utilities).
P/S
3.1Same idea as P/E but per dollar of revenue. Useful for companies that aren't profitable yet, where P/E is meaningless.Under ~2 is cheap; software / SaaS often runs 8–15; well above 20 implies the market is pricing in very high future growth.
ROE
23.7%Net income as a percentage of shareholders' equity. Similar to ROIC but counts only the equity side.Above 20% is strong, but can be inflated by leverage — a heavily indebted company can show high ROE with weak underlying ROIC.
Gross margin
34.8%Revenue minus the direct cost of producing what was sold, as a percentage of revenue. The first read on whether the product is structurally profitable.Software / SaaS is typically 70%+; consumer goods 30–50%; commodity / hardware businesses can be under 20%.
D/E
1.1Total debt divided by shareholders' equity. Measures how much the business runs on borrowed money versus owner capital.Under 1 is conservative; 1–2 is typical for mature businesses; over 2 is leveraged and more sensitive to interest rates.

Past earnings

QuarterReportedActualEstimateSurprise
Q2 2026Jul 30, 2026$1.90$1.43+32.9%
Q1 2026Apr 30, 2026$2.35$2.04+15.2%
Q4 2025Feb 5, 2026$1.71$1.40+22.1%
Q3 2025Oct 30, 2025$1.30$1.07+21.5%
Next earningsThu, Oct 29·consensus EPS $2.11

Quarterly trend

QuarterRevenueYoYGrossOpEPSFCF
Q1 FY26$3.1B+10.6%39.4%20.6%$2.19$354.2M
Q4 FY25$3.1B+7.0%37.0%14.4%$1.62$714.9M
Q3 FY25$3.2B+6.5%31.6%12.9%$1.36$1.1B
Q2 FY25$2.6B+26.0%30.5%7.4%$0.31$-46.5M

Forward consensus

5-year forecast · up to 16 analysts
FYRevenueRangeEPSRangeAnalysts
FY26$12.3B$12.2B – $12.3B$8.47$8.32 – $8.6011
FY27$12.6B$12.5B – $12.8B$9.91$9.43 – $10.3716
FY28$12.9B$12.6B – $13.1B$10.65$10.07 – $11.3413
FY29$13.1B$13.0B – $13.3B$11.16$11.01 – $11.2912
FY30$13.7B$13.6B – $13.8B$12.00$11.85 – $12.156

Setup & momentum

Volume, range, and moving-average position — the technical setup driving short-term moves.

Right now

Vol vs 30dToday's traded share volume divided by the average over the prior 30 trading days. ≥3× signals unusual interest; below 1× is quiet.0.7×Today's traded share volume divided by the average over the prior 30 trading days. ≥3× signals unusual interest; below 1× is quiet.
52w rangeWhere the latest close sits between the 52-week low (0%) and high (100%). Above 80% is extended; below 30% is basing or in a downtrend.25%Where the latest close sits between the 52-week low (0%) and high (100%). Above 80% is extended; below 30% is basing or in a downtrend.
vs 50d MALatest close vs the 50-day simple moving average. Positive = short-term trend is up.+1.4%Latest close vs the 50-day simple moving average. Positive = short-term trend is up.
vs 200d MALatest close vs the 200-day simple moving average. Positive = long-term trend is up.-5.8%Latest close vs the 200-day simple moving average. Positive = long-term trend is up.

Float & profile

FloatMid float · 199.0M shFree-float shares — the slice of issued stock actually available to trade. Lower buckets squeeze harder on a catalyst.Traded today0.5% of floatToday's volume as a percent of the free float. Above 5% on a single day is unusually high turnover for the available share count.β0.105-year weekly beta vs the S&P 500. Above 1.5 means the stock typically moves more than the index; below 0.8 moves less.

Insider activity

Recent open-market buys and sells by officers and directors — flagged when multiple insiders cluster.

Recent transactions

SellAug 26Trust Co Hershey10% owner10.0K sh$1.9MSellAug 25Trust Co Hershey10% owner10.0K sh$1.9MSellAug 24Trust Co Hershey10% owner10.0K sh$1.9MSellAug 21Trust Co Hershey10% owner10.0K sh$1.9MSellAug 20Trust Co Hershey10% owner10.0K sh$1.9MSellAug 19Trust Co Hershey10% owner10.0K sh$1.9MSellAug 18Trust Co Hershey10% owner10.0K sh$1.8MSellAug 17Trust Co Hershey10% owner10.0K sh$1.8MSellAug 14Trust Co Hershey10% owner10.0K sh$1.8MSellAug 13Trust Co Hershey10% owner10.0K sh$1.9M
1–10 of 88
+ 17 other (16 awards · 1 inkind) in window

See when $HSY insiders are putting their own money in

  • Real-time open-market buys and sells from Form 4 filings
  • Cluster-buy detection when multiple insiders pile in at once
  • 30 / 60 / 180-day windows so you can spot building conviction
Free, forever. No credit card.

SEC filings

Material 8-K, 13D, S-3, and 424B5 events from the last 180 days — the filings that actually move the price.

Recent material filings

3New insider — initial holdingsJul 173
AI summary

Heather Hoytink, President of the U.S. segment at Hershey Company, filed a Form 3 initial ownership statement upon becoming a Section 16 reporting person, disclosing zero securities beneficially owned at the time. Standard initial Section 16(a) disclosure for a newly designated officer.

3New insider — initial holdingsJul 63
AI summary

Joseph Ryangho Park, newly appointed Director of The Hershey Company (HSY), filed a Form 3 on July 6, 2026 (effective June 29, 2026) disclosing ownership of 0 shares beneficially owned. Routine administrative filing for a new board member.

3New insider — initial holdingsJun 303
AI summary

Mitchell Andrew Arends was appointed SVP & Chief Supply Chain Officer at The Hershey Company effective June 22, 2026, and reports 0 common shares owned. Routine initial Section 16 officer disclosure for a new C-suite appointment at the large-cap confectionery company.

8-KOfficer or director changeJun 98-K — Item 5.02: Officer or director change
AI summary

The Hershey Company's Board appointed Joe Park, EVP and Chief Digital and Information Officer at State Farm (previously Chief Digital and Technology Officer at Yum! Brands), to its Board of Directors effective June 29, 2026. Park will serve on the Audit and Finance and Risk Management Committees and is classified as independent under NYSE standards. Routine board addition — Park's digital and AI background (Byte by Yum!) adds technology transformation expertise to Hershey's oversight.

8-KOfficer or director changeMay 288-K — Item 5.02: Officer or director change · Item 7.01: Press release / Reg FD
AI summary

The Hershey Company announced on May 28, 2026 that Jason Reiman, Senior Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer, will retire in Q2 2027, stepping down from his current operational role on June 22, 2026 while remaining as SVP of Supply Chain Modernization through the transition period. A replacement has not yet been named. Hershey also released a Regulation FD presentation slide deck alongside the officer change announcement. The retirement is planned and orderly, representing a manageable leadership transition for one of the company's key operational functions.

3New insider — initial holdingsMay 133
AI summary

Form filed by More than One Reporting Person Table I - Non-De filed a Form 3 (initial ownership statement) for HSY on 2026-05-13, initiating required Section 16 reporting. Role: of Reporting Person. Form 3 is a mandatory administrative filing upon first becoming an insider or 10%+ holder; it does not reflect a purchase or sale event.

8-KShareholder voteMay 88-K — Item 5.07: Shareholder vote
AI summary

HSY held its Annual Meeting of stockholders around 2026-05-08 (8-K Item 5.07). Stockholders elected 10 directors to the board. A non-binding say-on-pay vote on executive compensation was conducted. Independent auditor ratification was approved. Routine governance event — monitor for unusually high withhold votes as an activist signal.

8-KOfficer or director changeApr 148-K — Item 5.02: Officer or director change
AI summary

HSY disclosed a personnel change (8-K Item 5.02, dated 2026-04-14). An executive departure and a new appointment are both reported. President, US of The Hershey Company. Personnel changes are generally administrative; materiality depends on seniority and circumstances.

+ 11 other (3 13Gs · 2 10-Qs · 2 earnings 8-Ks · 2 proxys) in window

Recent news

Latest headlines from major outlets, sourced and timestamped — context for whatever just moved.

1 Stat That Makes Hershey Stock Hard to Ignore Heading Into Fallfool.com·1d agoBeacon Pointe Advisors LLC Makes New $13.42 Million Investment in Hershey Company (The) $HSYdefenseworld.net·2d agoCan Hershey's Q2 Margin Rebound Extend as Pricing Pressures Volume?zacks.com·5d agoIs Hershey Stock a Buy as Earnings Rebound but Valuation Stays High?zacks.com·5d ago17,590 Shares in Hershey Company (The) $HSY Purchased by Bank of Nova Scotiadefenseworld.net·5d ago

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TickerTalks is a research tool, not financial advice. We surface social-attention data; we do not make stock recommendations. Past attention is not predictive of future price movements.

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