Hershey's Q3 Earnings Sour As Sales Dip And Outlook Darkens; CEO Pledges Aggressive Turnaround Amid High Cocoa Costs

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) shares are trading lower in the premarket session on Thursday.

The company reported third-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $2.34, missing the street view of $2.56. Quarterly sales of $2.987 billion (down 1.4%) missed the analyst consensus of $3.077 billion.

Organic net sales dropped 1.0%, as higher prices were offset by lower volume across segments and reduced inventory in North America Salty Snacks ahead of the ERP system rollout in the fourth quarter of 2023.

“While year-to-date results have been affected by historically high cocoa prices and a challenging consumer environment, we are laser-focused on controlling what we can and are acting with immediacy to ...