Hershey Company (The) management check
HSY · Consumer Staples · Packaged Foods & Meats · CEO Kirk Tanner (since the last proxy; previously Michele Buck)
Filings as of
3 good · 4 to watch · 0 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Good
Have owners done well?
Beat its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $135, against $98 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Good
Does pay follow performance?
Pay rose and fell with returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.56 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Watch
What does the CEO cost owners?
1.9% of net income$16.8m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $883.0m of net income.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
New CEO since the proxyKirk Tanner filed as President and CEO after the last proxy (which named Michele Buck) and holds 60,245.179 shares, about $10.2m. Their pay will be in the next proxy. Light activity: no buys, $1.1m sold in six months. 4 of 6 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- Watch
Are owners being diluted?
Stock pay 0.6% of revenueStock-based pay was 0.6% of revenue in the latest year.
- Watch
Is leadership stable?
New CEO: Kirk TannerKirk Tanner has filed as CEO since the last proxy. CEO in the pay table: Michele Buck. 12 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Consumer Staples.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 97 | 31 | |
| Pay for performance | 78 | 84 | |
| CEO cost | 27 | 40 | |
| Skin in the game | — | — | 65 |
| Dilution | 96 | 60 | |
| Stable leadership | 65 | 70 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Packaged Foods & Meats, by management score. Hershey Company (The) is 10th of 33 in its sector.
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed March 25, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Michele Buck | $16.8m | $20.6m | $8.3m | $135 | $98 | $883.0m |
| 2024 | — | $11.9m | $315k | $3.9m | $121 | $108 | $2.2bn |
| 2023 | — | $15.7m | $12.7m | $5.6m | $130 | $114 | $1.9bn |
| 2022 | — | $13.6m | $26.0m | $4.2m | $158 | $124 | $1.6bn |
| 2021 | — | $16.1m | $32.2m | $3.3m | $130 | $113 | $1.5bn |
Its other key measures: Net Sales, Adjusted EPS, Free Cash Flow.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Kirk Tanner (President and CEO) held 60,245.179 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Sep 18, 2026, roughly $10.2m at that filing's price.
Light activity: no buys, $1.1m sold in six months. 4 of 6 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- SoldSteven E VoskuilSVP, Chief Financial Officer$966kAug 5, 2026
- SoldJennifer McCalmanVP, Chief Accounting Officer · 10b5-1 plan$128kAug 6, 2026
- SoldCordel Robbin-CokerDirector$22kJul 2, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Sep 2, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 9, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 28, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 14, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 27, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 4, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 8, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 7, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 25, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 15, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 13, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Sep 5, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 8, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $6.1bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 76% of net income, and $323.6m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $9.0bn | $10.4bn | $11.2bn | $11.2bn | $11.7bn |
| Net income | $1.5bn | $1.6bn | $1.9bn | $2.2bn | $883.3m |
| Stock-based pay | $66.7m | $66.0m | $81.0m | $44.4m | $65.5m |
| Buybacks | $457.9m | $389.0m | $264.9m | $494.2m | $0 |
| Dividends | $686.0m | $775.0m | $889.1m | $1.1bn | $1.1bn |
| Diluted shares | — | — | — | — | — |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.