Hershey Stock Eyes Rebound After Reaffirming 2026 Outlook, Flags Longer-Term Recovery

• Hershey reaffirmed its net sales growth forecast in the range of 4% to 5% for the year 
• HSY said it expects to deliver earnings recovery by 2027
• On Stocktwits, message volume around HSY spiked 600% over the last 24 hours.

Shares of Hershey Company (HSY) edged marginally higher in early premarket trading on Wednesday, following two consecutive sessions in the red, after the company stood by its full-year guidance announced in February, where it expects adjusted earnings per share growth in the range of 30% to 35%.

In February, the producer of Kit Kat and Reese's said in its fourth-quarter earnings report that it expects diluted adjusted earnings per share for 2026 in the range of $8.20 to $8.52, as sales growth and gross margin recovery will more than offset growing investments and higher interest expense.

For 2025, HSY reported earnings per share of $6.31, beating estimates of $6 per share, according to Koyfin.

At its investor day, HSY also reaffirmed its net sales growth forecast of 4% to 5%. For 2025, the company reported consolidated net sales of $11.69 billion, beating estimates of $11.57 billion, according to Koyfin data.

HSY also said that it expects to deliver earnings recovery by 2027. For 2028, the company added that it expects to focus on unit, occasion, and volume growth in balance with revenue, “delivering organic revenue at 2% to 4% and EPS 6% to 8%”.

Analyst Sees Pressures Building Across Industry from Middle East Conflict

On Monday, Deutsche Bank said it sees "legitimate and widespread pressures building" across much of the packaged goods industry, due to the conflict in the Middle East, according to The Fly. Deutsche Bank added that the stocks underperformed last month due to concerns about cost inflation, potential demand destruction from trade, and adverse currency moves. The firm maintained its hold rating on HSY but lowered its price target to $200 from $212.

How did Retail Traders React to HSY?

On Stocktwits, sentiment around HSY remained in the ‘bullish’ territory from a week ago, amid ‘extremely high’ message volumes. Engagement on the platform also surged: HSY stock’s message volumes spiked 600% over the last 24 hours.

One bullish user said $HSY never thought this was going to be one my best pick ups of last year at 150$ ...”

Year-to-date, HSY stock is up about 15%.

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