Hershey Reports 6.6% Q2 Sales Growth, Issues Revenue Guidance

HSY reported second-quarter net sales of $2.79 billion, up 6.6% year over year, with adjusted earnings per share of $1.90 that beat the roughly $1.42 consensus by about 33% .

The growth came almost entirely from pricing rather than volume: Hershey pushed through roughly 12% price increases in the quarter, which more than offset an 8% contraction in overall volumes. That mix, higher prices offsetting a real drop in units sold, is a dynamic worth watching as elevated cocoa costs continue moving through Hershey's business.

On the strength of the quarter, Hershey raised its full-year 2026 guidance, now projecting net sales growth of 4.5%-5.0% (implying revenue of roughly $12.2-$12.3 billion) and adjusted EPS of $8.36-$8.52, both above the ranges it had set earlier in the year . The company also declared its 386th consecutive quarterly common stock dividend, extending a multi-decade streak.

The guidance raise, paired with that long-running dividend streak, points to a company management believes can keep growing profitably even as it works through volume softness. The bigger question for coming quarters is durability: whether Hershey can keep raising prices without further eroding volumes, or whether the 8% unit decline seen this quarter starts to weigh more heavily on results.

Related Stocks

• HSY
• FDS