July 30 (Reuters) – Hershey exceeded Wall Street expectations for second-quarter sales and profit on Thursday as higher prices and steady demand for its Reese’s chocolates and Dot’s Pretzels helped offset a cautious spending environment.
Hershey has spent the past year raising prices to counter elevated cocoa costs, leaving investors closely focused on the resilience of demand for its chocolate products.
Sales in North America Confectionery, the company’s largest business, rose 4.2% year-on-year during the reported quarter, while North America Salty Snacks sales increased 22.9%.
The results follow a stronger-than-expected quarter from rival and Cadbury parent Mondelez earlier this week.
Hershey now expects 2026 adjusted earnings per share in the range of $8.36 to $8.52, the midpoint of which is below analysts’ expectation of $8.48 per share.
The company posted an overall net sales increase of 6.6% to $2.79 billion in the quarter ended June 28, above analysts’ expectation of a 0.7% rise to $2.63 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
It reported adjusted profit of $1.90 per share, handily beating an expectation of $1.42 per share.
(Reporting by Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)
