The Hershey Company HSY started 2026 on a strong note in salty snacks, with first-quarter results highlighting growth across both acquired and legacy brands. North America Salty Snacks net sales increased 26% year over year to $350.1 million, reflecting continued consumer demand and successful innovation across the portfolio.
The LesserEvil acquisition contributed approximately 20.4 percentage points to segment growth, while organic constant-currency net sales jumped 5.6%, driven by volume growth of more than five points and roughly flat pricing. Growth extended beyond the acquisition. U.S. salty snacks retail takeaway, excluding LesserEvil, rose 9.8% for the 12-week period ended March 29, 2026, while retail sales increased nearly 10%, contributing to an almost 25-basis-point share gain.
Several brands played a meaningful role in the quarter's performance. Dot’s Pretzels posted a 13% year-over-year increase in retail sales, while Reese’s Filled Pretzels added 130 basis points to pretzel category share. Dot’s Snack Mix also gained traction quickly, capturing more than 200 basis points of snack mix market share during the quarter.
LesserEvil remained a standout contributor, with retail sales surging more than 65%, supported by expanded distribution, and strong trial and repeat purchases. The company plans to further support the brand through additional distribution gains, adjacent category expansion and brand-building investments.
Taken together, the quarter's results point to broad-based strength across Hershey's salty snacks portfolio. While LesserEvil provided a meaningful boost, gains in retail takeaway, market share and brand performance indicate that growth is being supported by multiple drivers across the segment.
HSY Stock Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
Shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have risen 7% over the past year against the industry’s decline of 0.1%.
HSY Price Performance Versus Industry
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From a valuation standpoint, Hershey trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 19.62, above the industry’s average of 15.28.
HSY’s Valuation Compared to Industry
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The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Hershey’s current fiscal-year sales and earnings per share suggests year-over-year growth of 5.1% and 33.9%, respectively.
Better Ranked Stocks to Consider
The Chef's Warehouse, Inc. CHEF, a specialty food distributor serving restaurants, hotels and hospitality customers, sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for The Chef's Warehouse’s current financial-year sales and earnings indicates growth of 8.3% and 24.7%, respectively, from the prior-year reported levels. CHEF delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 28.9%, on average.
The Vita Coco Company, Inc. COCO is a leading beverage company best known for its Vita Coco brand, with a portfolio that also includes hydration, energy and protein-based beverages. COCO sports a Zacks Rank #1.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Vita Coco’s current financial-year sales and earnings calls for year-over-year growth of 21.4% and 47.9%, respectively. COCO delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 11.7%, on average.
Darling Ingredients Inc. DAR is a global leader in converting food waste and animal by-products into sustainable ingredients and renewable energy products. DAR currently sports a Zacks Rank #1.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Darling Ingredients’ current fiscal-year sales and earnings suggests a year-over-year increase of 12.3% and 588.2%, respectively. DAR delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 16.1%, on average.
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Vita Coco Company, Inc. (COCO): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).