The Hershey Company

Hershey is coming out of the cocoa shock faster than planned: shoppers absorbed the price rises, margins are rebounding, and cocoa turns into a tailwind for 2027. Management is spending that relief on brands and innovation instead of letting it all fall to profit. How much of the 2027 cocoa relief gets spent rather than kept?

• The pricing held, and that is the entire recovery story.

  Prices rose about 10% and shoppers barely changed what they bought, so demand held better than the plan assumed. Profit beat expectations four quarters in a row — less lost volume means the higher prices turn into money. How much of the volume loss sits in seasons versus everyday candy?

• The margin recovery is real and arriving ahead of schedule.

  Gross margin bottomed near 30% under the cocoa squeeze and hit about 45% in Q2 FY2026 — the quarter management calls the inflection, with more to come. The two-year cost squeeze is reversing in reported results, not just in guidance.

• Hershey is losing chocolate share as rivals turn up the heat.

  North America confection sold at lower share than a year earlier, which management blamed on rivals' new products and displays arriving early. Extra in-store promotion is planned for the second half to win that ground back. How much of the share loss came from price gaps rather than rival innovation?