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Michele Buck, Hershey's chairman and CEO, a 20-year Hershey veteran who took the top job in 2017, told the board she would retire by June 30, 2026. A board committee began an external and internal search for her successor.

Hershey closed 2024 with fourth-quarter net sales up 8.7% to $2.89 billion and adjusted EPS up 33% to $2.69, then warned that surging cocoa prices would cut 2025 adjusted earnings per share by about a third on sales growth of at least 2%.

Hershey sold $2 billion of bonds in four $500 million tranches due 2028 to 2035 at coupons of 4.55% to 5.10%, to repay $600 million of notes maturing in 2025 and some commercial paper.

Hershey signed a merger agreement for LesserEvil, the maker of organic popcorn, puffs and curls cooked in coconut and avocado oil, to add a better-for-you brand beside SkinnyPop, Dot's Pretzels and Pirate's Booty. Hershey paid $769 million in cash at closing; The Wall Street Journal had put the deal at about $750 million.

Hershey's first new factory in its hometown in more than 30 years, a 250,000-square-foot plant that makes the chocolate for Reese's, Kit Kat, Symphony and Special Dark, opened with Governor Josh Shapiro. It is Hershey's first fully integrated digital plant and brings more than 125 jobs.

Hershey's first-quarter net sales fell 13.8% to $2.81 billion and adjusted EPS 32% to $2.09 as it lapped last year's pre-ERP stock build and a later Easter; it held its 2025 outlook and put Q2 tariff costs at $15-20 million.

Hershey said it will take FD&C certified colors - the synthetic dyes in Twizzlers, Jolly Rancher and Shaq-A-Licious gummies - out of its US products by the end of 2027, blaming a patchwork of state dye laws as HHS pressed food makers to drop them.

Hershey hired Kirk Tanner, Wendy's CEO and a PepsiCo veteran of more than 30 years, who ran its $28 billion North American beverage business, as its next CEO from August 18, 2025. Wendy's named its CFO interim CEO the same morning.

Hershey told retailers it would raise prices on many chocolate products by a low double-digit percentage, blaming the unprecedented cost of cocoa rather than tariffs. Halloween packs were spared, and it said 75% of its candy would still cost under $4.

Hershey's second-quarter net sales jumped 26% to $2.61 billion on Easter timing and early Halloween shipments, but it cut its 2025 earnings outlook to a 36-38% adjusted EPS decline after putting full-year tariff costs at $170-180 million.

Former Wendy's and PepsiCo executive Kirk Tanner became Hershey's President and CEO and joined its board, while Michele Buck stepped down. Maria Kraus, who also chairs the Hershey Trust, replaced Buck as chairman.

Hershey and Mondelez's two-way mash-up of America's No. 1 candy and No. 1 cookie opened for presale on The Hershey's Store, reaching stores nationwide in September; the cup became Reese's top innovation of 2025.

Under new CEO Kirk Tanner, Hershey's third-quarter net sales rose 6.5% to $3.18 billion on about 6 points of price, while adjusted EPS fell 44% to $1.30 on cocoa and tariff costs; it raised its 2025 sales outlook to about 3%.

An executive order took cocoa and other farm goods out of President Trump's reciprocal tariffs, backdated to November 13. Hershey, which had asked the White House for the exemption, said cocoa is not grown in the US and supports more than 10,000 American jobs.

Hershey closed its acquisition of organic popcorn and puffs maker LesserEvil, paying $769 million in cash up front with up to $200 million more if earnings targets are met. The brand joins SkinnyPop and Dot's Pretzels and lifted Hershey's salty snacks sales by about 22% in the second quarter of 2026.

Hershey ended a cocoa- and tariff-hit 2025 with full-year net income down 60% to $883 million on sales up 4.4% to $11.7 billion, then guided 2026 to 4-5% sales growth and a 30-35% rebound in adjusted earnings per share.

Hershey lifted its quarterly dividend to $1.452 a share from $1.370, its first increase after holding the payout flat through the cocoa and tariff squeeze of 2025, alongside a forecast of a 30-35% earnings rebound in 2026.

After Brad Reese, grandson of the cup's inventor, accused Hershey of swapping milk chocolate for cheaper compound coatings, CEO Kirk Tanner said the company will return to classic milk and dark chocolate recipes by 2027.

Hershey's first-quarter net sales rose 10.6% to $3.10 billion on about 10 points of price and the LesserEvil deal, and adjusted EPS rose 12% to $2.35 as reported profit nearly doubled; it reaffirmed its 2026 outlook.

Hershey's second-quarter adjusted EPS rose 57% to $1.90 and net sales 6.6% to $2.79 billion as 12 points of price outweighed an 8-point volume drop, and it narrowed its 2026 outlook upward to 32.5-35% adjusted EPS growth.

Hershey promoted Dave Hulays, its SVP Finance, at Hershey since 2012 after 15 years at P&G, to CFO with immediate effect. Steve Voskuil, CFO for seven years, moved to strategic projects ahead of retiring in early 2027.

Hershey's third-quarter 2026 results, the first test of its narrowed outlook for 4.5-5% sales growth and a 32.5-35% rebound in adjusted earnings per share as cocoa costs ease.

Hershey's Advancing Agility & Automation Initiative, which cut jobs and automated processes from 2024, is due to finish at the end of 2026 at a cost of $200-250 million. It is expected to leave about $400 million of annual savings.

From 2027 Hershey says mini Reese's cups and shapes and the Fast Break bar will be coated in real milk chocolate instead of compound coating, the change promised after Brad Reese's recipe complaint.

The day by which Hershey has committed to stop making US products with FD&C certified colors, moving candies like Twizzlers and Jolly Rancher to colors from spirulina, carrots, radishes and beets.