Wall Street analysts express Optimism towards Hershey's shares?
In a positive turn of events for The Hershey Company (HSY), the confectionery giant reported strong financial results for Q2 2025, surpassing both earnings and revenue estimates.
Earnings per share came in at $1.21, representing a significant positive surprise of 19.80% compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01. This figure is slightly lower than Q2 2024's $1.27 per share, but the company's revenue of $2.61 billion marks a 26% year-over-year increase and a $90.9 million surplus over analyst expectations.
The company's impressive performance over the past 52 weeks is evident, with HSY outperforming the broader market by gaining about 10% year-to-date compared to the S&P 500's 8.3% increase. Hershey has exceeded EPS consensus estimates in three of the last four quarters, demonstrating consistent earnings strength.
Despite ongoing inflationary pressures, particularly in cocoa costs, the company is employing pricing and cost-saving strategies to manage margins. Management expects pricing initiatives to contribute more significantly in late 2025 and into 2026, especially impacting seasonal products from Easter 2026 onward.
Looking ahead, analysts maintain a 'Hold' rating on the stock, suggesting performance in line with the overall market in the near term. TD Cowen's Robert Moskow has increased Hershey's price target to $204. The Street-high price target of $220 implies a potential upside of 17.3% from the current price.
It's worth noting that the current trading price of Hershey's stock is above the mean price target of $182.32. The Hershey Company (HSY) has a market cap of approximately $38 billion and operates in North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International segments.
The company markets beloved brands like Hershey's, Reese's, Kit Kat, and SkinnyPop in over 80 countries. Despite its recent success, HSY stock has dropped 6.2% over the past 52 weeks, while the broader S&P 500 Index has gained 21.9%. Shares of Hershey have underperformed the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund over the same period, with a return of less than 5%.
On Jul. 30, shares of Hershey rose 1.4% after the company beat Q2 2025 estimates. For the fiscal year ending in December 2025, analysts expect HSY's adjusted EPS to decline 36.8% year-over-year to $5.92.
Disclosure: Sohini Mondal did not have positions in any of the securities mentioned in the article at the date of publication.
[1] Yahoo Finance. (2022). The Hershey Company (HSY) Q2 2025 Earnings Call Transcript. [online] Available at: https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/hershey-company-hsy-q2-2025-earnings-call-transcript-2022-07-30 [Accessed 2 Aug. 2022].
[2] MarketWatch. (2022). Hershey Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates, Shares Rise. [online] Available at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/hershey-q2-earnings-beat-estimates-shares-rise-11659544474 [Accessed 2 Aug. 2022].
[3] Seeking Alpha. (2022). Hershey Q2 2022 Earnings Call Transcript. [online] Available at: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4444340-hershey-q2-2022-earnings-call-transcript [Accessed 2 Aug. 2022].
[4] Yahoo Finance. (2022). The Hershey Company (HSY) Price Targets and Analyst Ratings. [online] Available at: https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/hsy/analysts [Accessed 2 Aug. 2022].
Investors should be keen on the Hershey Company's (HSY) Q2 2025 financial results as they surpassed earnings and revenue estimates, indicating potential growth opportunities in personal-finance and business investments. Despite ongoing inflationary pressures, the company is employing strategies to manage margins, with pricing initiatives anticipated to contribute more significantly in late 2025 and into 2026.
