Hershey Q1 sales beat estimates on price hikes, acquisition

The Hershey

30/04/2026 11:57

Overview

U.S. confectionery maker's Q1 sales rose 10.6%, beating analyst expectations

Adjusted EPS for Q1 increased 12.4%, beating analyst expectations

Company reaffirmed its 2026 full-year sales and earnings outlook

Outlook

Hershey reaffirms 2026 net sales growth guidance of 4% to 5%

Company expects 2026 organic net sales growth of 2.5% to 3.5%

Hershey projects 2026 adjusted EPS of $8.20 to $8.52

Result Drivers

PRICE INCREASES - Net price realization was the main driver of sales growth, contributing about 10 percentage points to organic constant currency net sales, offsetting volume declines due to price elasticity

ACQUISITION IMPACT - The LesserEvil acquisition contributed 2 percentage points to total company net sales growth and about 20 points to North America Salty Snacks segment growth

COST PRESSURES - Higher commodity and tariff-related costs weighed on adjusted gross margin and segment profits, particularly in International and Salty Snacks

Company press release: ID:nPn3nZSMWa

Key Details

Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
Q1 Sales
Beat
$3.10 bln
$3.03 bln (18 Analysts)
Q1 Adjusted EPS
Beat
$2.35
$2.04 (20 Analysts)
Q1 EPS
$2.13
Q1 Net Income
$435.10 mln


Analyst Coverage

The current average analyst rating on the shares is "hold" and the breakdown of recommendations is 7 "strong buy" or "buy", 18 "hold" and 1 "sell" or "strong sell"

The average consensus recommendation for the food processing peer group is "hold"

Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Hershey Co is $226.00, about 19.5% above its April 29 closing price of $189.16

The stock recently traded at 21 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 26 three months ago

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)