North American confectionery and snacks
The Hershey Company
Hershey sells chocolate, non-chocolate confectionery and salty snacks through distributors and large retail channels. It spends on cocoa and other ingredients, outsourced manufacturing supply and key brand licenses, while broadening its portfolio through snack-brand acquisitions.
Business categories Food & Beverage Brands · Consumer Brands & Commerce · primary
HSY Updated Sep 24, 2026 5 AI consumers· 3 recurring
Per the valuechain.wiki graph, The Hershey Company is directly linked to 3 companies (2 supply, 1 revenue relationships) and reaches 8 companies within two hops; the links are backed by 7 dated sources, 2 of them primary filings (as of 2026-09-24).
Financials & Segments
- Total revenue · FY2025 total revenue of $11,692,576,000 (SEC 10-K XBRL)
- Segments · North America Confectionery · North America Salty Snacks · International
Revenue from
- McLane Company, Inc. High confidence· Revenue share 27% · FY2025 · Share of consolidated net sales made to McLane Company
McLane is Hershey's largest customer. It accounted for approximately 27% of Hershey's consolidated net sales in 2025. - Walmart Inc High confidence
Hershey identifies McLane as the primary distributor of its products to Walmart. Hershey does not separately disclose the sales attributable to Walmart.
Pays to
- Nestlé S.A. High confidence
Hershey manufactures and sells Kit Kat and Rolo in the United States under a license from a Nestlé entity. It exceeded the minimum unit-volume requirement in 2025, but does not disclose payments. - Barry Callebaut AG High confidence
Barry Callebaut manufactures and supplies liquid chocolate and finished products to Hershey's North American business under a long-term agreement. Contract value and volume are not disclosed.Mentions KO The Korea Economic Daily Published Jul 23, 2025: Hershey raises chocolate prices as cocoa costs surgeMentions EN International Cocoa Organization Published Feb 28, 2025: Cocoa Market Report, February 2025Confirms EN SEC EDGAR Published Feb 17, 2023: Amended and Restated Master Supply Agreement between The Hershey Company and Barry Callebaut AGConfirms EN Barry Callebaut Published Sep 2, 2021: Hershey and Barry Callebaut extend strategic supply agreement - Packaging Corporation of America High confidence
The Hershey Company listed PCA among its global Tier 1 pulp and paper packaging suppliers for 2024 but did not disclose the customer-specific purchase amount.Confirms EN The Hershey Company Published Nov 25, 2025: 2024 Pulp & Paper Packaging Traceability - Supplier and Mill List
Investments
- LesserEvil, LLC High confidence· Amount $815M · 2025-11-18 · Preliminary total purchase consideration for the LesserEvil acquisition
Hershey acquired organic popcorn and puffed-snack maker LesserEvil in November 2025. The preliminary purchase consideration allocated to net assets was $815.15 million.Confirms EN The Hershey Company Published Nov 19, 2025: Hershey Completes Acquisition of LesserEvil, Expanding Consumer Choice
Value-chain ripple (2 tiers)
Following node-to-node links up to 2 tiers; each firm is shown once, at its nearest tier.
| Company | Chain | '21 | '22 | '23 | '24 | '25 | YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UnitedHealth Group Incorporated | lead2 | +45.2 | +6.9 | +0.8 | -2.4 | -33.1 | +21.9 |
| Walmart Inc | lead1 | +2 | -0.5 | +12.9 | +74 | +24.5 | +0.6 |
| The Hershey Company | node | +29.6 | +21.9 | -17.9 | -6.5 | +11 | -2.7 |
| Packaging Corporation of America | benef1 | +1.5 | -2.6 | +31.9 | +41.7 | -6.1 | +13.9 |
| Nestlé S.A. | benef1 | +22.1 | -4.2 | -9.3 | -18.8 | -1.8 | +11 |
| International Flavors & Fragrances | benef2 | +41.5 | -28.3 | -19.5 | +6.3 | -18.4 | +27.5 |
| Starbucks Corp | benef2 | +11.1 | -13.2 | -1.2 | -2.5 | -5.3 | +26.3 |
| Mettler-Toledo International Inc. | benef2 | +48.9 | -14.8 | -16.1 | +0.9 | +13.9 | -3.5 |
| CMS Energy Corporation | benef2 | +9.7 | +0.2 | -5.2 | +18.6 | +8.1 | -4.1 |
YTD as of 2026-09-04 · source: Yahoo Finance
The Hershey Company operates across North American confectionery and snacks. It is -2.7% in 2026. Demand side (avg -3.2%), the stock (-2.7%) and supply side (avg +11%) are moving in step. Propagation has completed a lap, so the next leg depends on individual results more than chain direction. Among connected nodes the furthest ahead is Nestlé S.A. (+11%) and the furthest behind is Walmart Inc (-3.2%). If chain logic explains the gap, the laggard is the next propagation candidate; if not, the link itself deserves a second look. It spends on cocoa and other ingredients, outsourced manufacturing supply and key brand licenses, while broadening its portfolio through snack-brand acquisitions.
Analysis generated from returns as of 2026-09-04← All companiesMarkdown · JSON · Customers · Suppliers · Ripple