Hershey Company (The)

The Hershey Company stands as an iconic American confectionery powerhouse with a rich heritage spanning over 130 years. Founded by Milton Hershey in 1894, the company has evolved from a single chocolate operation in rural Pennsylvania into a global leader in chocolate and confectionery products, generating over $11.2 billion in annual revenue. The company's portfolio encompasses more than 90 brand names distributed across approximately 80 countries, including household favorites such as Hershey's, Reese's, Kisses, Kit Kat (in the United States), Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, and Ice Breakers.

In recent years, Hershey has strategically diversified its portfolio beyond traditional chocolate confectionery, making significant investments in the salty snacks category. The company's acquisitions of SkinnyPop, Pirate's Booty, and Dot's Homestyle Pretzels have positioned it as a formidable player in the broader snacking market. This diversification strategy proved prescient, as the salty snacks portfolio grew 1.5 times faster than the previous three years in 2024. The company further expanded this segment with its $750 million acquisition of LesserEvil in 2025, adding organic popcorn and puffs to its better-for-you offerings.

Hershey's business model centers on delivering 'moments of goodness' to consumers while maintaining the legacy of founder Milton Hershey, who revolutionized the chocolate industry by making milk chocolate affordable and accessible to the American middle class. The company operates state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, including the world's largest chocolate manufacturing plant in Hershey, Pennsylvania, where it recently completed a major expansion in 2024. With approximately 20,030 employees worldwide, Hershey maintains a strong corporate culture grounded in values of togetherness, integrity, making a difference, and excellence.

The company faces both opportunities and challenges in the current market environment. While Hershey maintains market leadership in North America with approximately 35.5% of the U.S. chocolate market, it contends with historically high cocoa prices that have pressured margins in 2024 and 2025. Despite these headwinds, the company rejected a nearly $50 billion acquisition offer from Mondelēz International in 2024, with the Hershey Trust Company maintaining its commitment to independent ownership. Looking forward, Hershey continues to invest in innovation, sustainability initiatives like the CocoaLink program supporting farmers in Ghana, and expanding its presence in emerging categories to drive future growth.

As a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of approximately $37 billion, Hershey balances its commercial objectives with a unique governance structure. The Milton Hershey School Trust holds roughly 80% of voting power, ensuring that profits continue to support educational opportunities for underserved children—a philanthropic mission established by Milton Hershey himself in 1918 when he donated his entire fortune to the school he founded.