Core Viewpoint - Hershey's stock has shown resilience with a recent increase, outperforming major indices, and upcoming earnings are anticipated to reveal a significant decline in EPS while revenue is expected to rise slightly [1][2]. Group 1: Stock Performance - Hershey closed at $194.75, marking a +2.21% increase from the previous day, outperforming the S&P 500's loss of 0.43% [1] - Over the last month, Hershey's shares have increased by 4.7%, surpassing the Consumer Staples sector's gain of 4.16% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.89% [1]. Group 2: Earnings Forecast - Hershey's upcoming earnings report is scheduled for February 5, 2026, with an expected EPS of $1.4, indicating a 47.96% decline compared to the same quarter last year [2]. - The consensus estimate for revenue is $2.99 billion, reflecting a 3.62% increase from the same quarter last year [2]. Group 3: Full Year Projections - For the full year, Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $6.01 per share and revenue of $11.6 billion, representing changes of -35.86% and 0% respectively from the prior year [3]. - Recent changes to analyst estimates indicate a positive outlook, with a 1.44% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate over the past month [5]. Group 4: Valuation Metrics - Hershey is currently trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 27.17, which is a premium compared to the industry average Forward P/E of 18.41 [6]. - The Food - Confectionery industry, part of the Consumer Staples sector, holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 1, placing it in the top 1% of over 250 industries [6].

Company Performance - Hershey's stock closed at $162.91, reflecting a -1.21% change from the previous day, underperforming the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.4% [1] - Over the past month, Hershey's shares have declined by 3.23%, compared to a loss of 1.24% in the Consumer Staples sector and a gain of 4.97% in the S&P 500 [1] Upcoming Earnings - Hershey is set to disclose its earnings on July 30, 2025, with projected earnings of $1 per share, indicating a year-over-year decline of 21.26% [2] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is $2.52 billion, representing a 21.35% increase from the previous year [2] Full Year Estimates - For the full year, earnings are projected at $5.88 per share, reflecting a -37.25% change from the previous year, while revenue is estimated at $11.5 billion, showing a +2.64% change [3] - Recent analyst estimate revisions suggest evolving short-term business trends, with positive revisions indicating a favorable business outlook [3][4] Valuation Metrics - Hershey has a Forward P/E ratio of 28.05, which is higher than the industry average of 22.77 [6] - The current PEG ratio for Hershey is 6.09, compared to the average PEG ratio of 4.5 for Food - Confectionery stocks [7] Industry Context - The Food - Confectionery industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector and currently holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 213, placing it in the bottom 14% of over 250 industries [8] - The Zacks Industry Rank indicates that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1 [8]

Group 1 - The core viewpoint is that Hershey (HSY) is well-positioned to continue its earnings-beat streak in the upcoming report, supported by a history of exceeding earnings estimates [1][5] - Hershey has an average surprise of 10.38% over the past two quarters, indicating strong performance relative to expectations [1][5] - The last reported quarter showed earnings of $2.09 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.94 per share by 7.73% [2] Group 2 - The previous quarter's earnings were $2.69 per share against an expectation of $2.38 per share, resulting in a surprise of 13.03% [2] - There has been a favorable change in earnings estimates for Hershey, with a positive Earnings ESP of +11.13%, suggesting analysts are optimistic about its near-term earnings potential [5][8] - The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold) indicates a high likelihood of another earnings beat, with historical data showing nearly 70% success in similar scenarios [6][8]