Hormel Foods vs Hershey
Hormel Foods reported revenue of $12.1 billion in fiscal 2025, about the same as Hershey's $11.7 billion in fiscal 2025. Hormel Foods' revenue grew 1.6% in its latest year, and Hershey's grew 4.4%. Hormel Foods had an operating margin of 5.9%, against 12.3% at Hershey. Free cash flow was $534 million at Hormel Foods and $1.8 billion at Hershey. Their fiscal years end in different months (October 26 and December 31), so the periods don't line up exactly.
Side by side
| Hormel Foods | Hershey | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2025, Oct 26, 2025 | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 |
| Revenue | $12.1B | $11.7B |
| Revenue growth | 1.6% | 4.4% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 4.7% | 7.5% |
| Gross margin | 15.6% | 33.5% |
| Operating margin | 5.9% | 12.3% |
| Net margin | 4.0% | 7.5% |
| Free cash flow | $534M | $1.8B |
| Free cash flow margin | 4.4% | 15.6% |
| Return on capital | 5.1% | 11.5% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 2.2x | 2.3x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $633M | $1.1B |
| Change in diluted share count | 0.3% | — |
| Last close | $20.95 | $168.23 |
| P/E at the last close | 33.3× | — |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | bought $201,000, sold $816,702 | bought $445,416, sold $287.8 million |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 of 9 | — |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
Hormel FoodsHershey
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
Hormel FoodsHershey
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
Hormel FoodsHershey
Source: the companies' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR, and the last close. For information only, not investment advice: the figures describe results, not which company is the better investment. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with either company. Full figures on the Hormel Foods and Hershey pages.