Hershey Sweetens Earnings with Blockbuster Easter & Halloween Sales—But Tariffs Threaten the Sugar High

Chocolate giant Hershey rides seasonal demand wave—then braces for regulatory hangover.

Candy crush

Strong Easter basket sales and early Halloween orders delivered a sugar rush to Hershey's Q2 earnings. Street analysts lick their chops as confectionery demand proves recession-proof—again.

Bitter aftertaste

Looming tariffs on imported cocoa and sugar could turn this victory lap sour. Hershey joins other consumer staples scrambling to hedge against trade war fallout—because nothing says 'stable growth sector' like panic-buying commodity futures.

The takeaway

Even candy empires aren't immune to macroeconomic headwinds. Hershey's hedging strategy now matters as much as their chocolate recipe—welcome to 2025's 'investing is just guessing which supply chain won't collapse' economy.

Key Takeaways

• Hershey beat profit and sales forecasts on Easter and pre-Halloween demand.
• The chocolate, candy, and snack maker's volume was up 21%
• Hershey sees full-year tariff costs of $170 million to $180 million, and lowered its earnings outlook.

Hershey (HSY) shares advanced Wednesday when the snack giant posted better-than-expected results as customers loaded up on treats during the Easter holiday and ahead of Halloween. However, it lowered its outlook on tariff costs.

The Maker of Kisses chocolate, Good & Plenty candy, and SkinnyPop popcorn reported second-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.21 on revenue that jumped 26% year-over-year to $2.61 billion. Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha had expected $1.03 and $2.54 billion, respectively.

The company noted that volume increased by 21 percentage points, which was driven by "planned inventory decreases within the North America Confectionery and International segments after our ERP system implementation in the second quarter of 2024, the timing of the Easter season in 2025 versus 2024, and earlier shipment of Halloween seasonal orders versus the prior year." ERP, or Enterprise Resource Planning system, is software to manage business processes. 

Adjusted gross margin of 38% was down 510 basis points from 2024, as Hershey dealt with soaring chocolate costs. However, the decline was partially offset by price hikes. 

CEO Michele Buck said the company was pleased with the results and momentum, and it has taken "pivotal steps toward mitigating cocoa inflation through strategic pricing, enhanced productivity, and technology enabled efficiency and speed."

Hershey anticipates full-year tariff expenses to be $170 million to $180 million, and reduced its full-year adjusted EPS guidance growth from down mid-30% to down 36% to 38%. 

Shares of Hershey ROSE 4% soon after the opening bell to trade at their highest level since last December.

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