Hershey is the largest chocolate producer in North America and one of the leading snack companies in the U.S. Hershey's core business is making and selling packaged confectionery and snack products, organized into three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. The confectionery segment is dominant, built around a small number of iconic brands — Reese's (the largest brand), Hershey's, Kit Kat (licensed from Nestlé in the U.S.), Jolly Rancher, Almond Joy, Twizzlers, and York, among others. Hershey also operates a growing salty snacks portfolio, built largely through acquisitions, including SkinnyPop popcorn, Dot's Homestyle Pretzels, Pirate's Booty, and LesserEvil. The salty snacks segment has been growing faster than confectionery and provides some diversification from cocoa cost pressures. International operations span Mexico, Brazil, India, and Malaysia, and represented roughly 12% of consolidated net sales in 2025. Hershey sells through wholesale distributors, grocery chains, mass merchandisers, drug stores, convenience stores, and club stores; McLane accounted for approximately 27% of consolidated net sales in 2025. Revenue is driven by volume and pricing, with cocoa as the single most important input cost. Cocoa prices surged beginning around 2023, compressing gross margins and forcing mid-teens price increases flowing through in 2026. Hershey hedges cocoa exposure through its Swiss trading subsidiary, providing cost visibility but delaying the benefit of falling spot prices. Near-term priorities include reinvesting in brand advertising, expanding the salty snacks portfolio, and recovering gross margins as cocoa costs are expected to deflate over 2026–2027.