Pins matching tag:LesserEvil

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 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'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.