What changed in this filing

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Item 1. Business

2025-02-18 compared with 2024-02-20 · 25 added, 33 removed, 166 unchanged (26% of the section changed)

19 unchanged sentences

Financial and other information regarding our segments is provided in our Management’s Discussion and Analysis and Note 13 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Business Acquisitions and Divestitures

Business Acquisitions

On November 8, 2024, we completed the acquisition of the Sour Strips brand from Actual Candy, LLC.

Sour Strips is

an emerging sour candy brand and is available in a wide range of food distribution channels in the United States.

On May 31, 2023, we completed the acquisition of certain assets that provide additional manufacturing capacity from Weaver Popcorn Manufacturing, Inc.

(“Weaver”), a leader in the production and co-packing of microwave popcorn and ready-to-eat popcorn, and former co-manufacturer of the Company’s SkinnyPop brand.

In December 2021, we completed the acquisition of Pretzels Inc.

(“Pretzels”), previously a privately held company that manufactures and sells pretzels and other salty snacks for other branded products and private labels in the United States.

Pretzels is an industry leader in the pretzel category with a product portfolio that includes filled, gluten free and seasoned pretzels, as well as extruded snacks that complements Hershey’s snacks portfolio.

Based in Bluffton, Indiana, Pretzels operates three manufacturing locations in Indiana and Kansas.

Pretzels provides Hershey deep pretzel category and product expertise and the manufacturing capabilities to support brand growth and future pretzel innovation.

Additionally in December 2021, we completed the acquisition of Dot’s Pretzels, LLC (“Dot’s”), previously a privately held company that produces and sells pretzels and other snack food products to retailers and distributors in the United States, with Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels snacks as its primary product, which complements Hershey’s snacks portfolio.

In June 2021, we completed the acquisition of Lily’s Sweets, LLC (“Lily’s”), previously a privately held company that sells a line of sugar-free and low-sugar confectionery foods to retailers and distributors in the United States and

The Hershey Company | 2023 Form 10-K | Page 2

Lily’s products include dark and milk chocolate style bars, baking chips, peanut butter cups and other confection products that complement Hershey’s confectionery and confectionery-based portfolio.

In January 2021, we completed the divestiture of Lotte Shanghai Foods Co., Ltd.

(“LSFC”), which was previously included within the International segment results in our consolidated financial statements.

Total proceeds from the divestiture and the impact on our consolidated financial statements were immaterial.

Products and Brands

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and pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings and beverages.

• Within our North America Confectionery segment, our product portfolio includes a wide variety of chocolate offerings marketed and sold under the renowned brands of Hershey’s , Reese’s and Kisses , along with other popular chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery brands such as Jolly Rancher , Almond Joy , Brookside, barkTHINS , Cadbury, Good & Plenty , Heath , Kit Kat ® , Payday , Rolo ® , Twizzlers , Whoppers and York .

The Hershey Company | 2024 Form 10-K | Page 2

Our protein bar products include ONE bar and our gum and mint products include Ice Breakers mints and chewing gum, Breath Savers mints and Bubble Yum bubble gum.

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Environmental Considerations

Beyond ordinary operating and capital expenditures that we make to comply with government regulations, including environmental laws and regulations, we have made a number of voluntary commitments to drive long-term growth and business resilience and reduce our environmental impacts, including efforts to eliminate commodity-driven deforestation and reduce greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions across our own operations and supply chain.

Our climate change related investments and expenditures primarily focus on achieving a 50% absolute reduction in our Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions and a 25% absolute reduction in our Scope 3 GHG emissions by 2030 (compared to a 2018 baseline), as well as having 100% of plastic packaging be recyclable, reusable or compostable and eliminating 25 million pounds of packaging by 2030.

All of our climate-related investments are in progress or on track as outlined in our Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) Report.

The annual operating and capital expenditures associated with these ordinary course payments and additional climate change commitments are not material with respect to our results of operations, capital expenditures or competitive position.

Beyond ordinary operating and capital expenditures that we make to comply with government regulations, including environmental laws and regulations, Hershey has made several voluntary commitments to drive long-term growth and business resilience and reduce our environmental impacts, including efforts to eliminate commodity-driven deforestation and reduce greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions across our own operations and supply chain.

Our climate change related investments and expenditures primarily focus on our Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions, Forest Land and Agriculture (“FLAG”) emissions and non-FLAG emissions consistent with global environmental standards.

The annual operating and capital expenditures associated with ordinary course payments and additional climate change commitments are not material with respect to our results of operations, capital expenditures or competitive position.

Sustainability

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Our Shared Goodness Promise, which guides how we empower the remarkable people who make and sell our brands, interact with farming communities that grow our ingredients, deliver on our commitments to consumers, customers, and external stakeholders, protect the environment and support children and youth.

To learn more about our ESG-related goals, progress and initiatives, as well as review our annual ESG Report and accompanying suite of ESG reporting frameworks, policies, and disclosures, access the Sustainability section of our website at:

To learn more about our Sustainability-related goals, progress and initiatives, as well as review our annual ESG Report and accompanying suite of Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) reporting frameworks, policies, and disclosures, access the Sustainability section of our website at:

https://www.thehersheycompany.com/en_us/sustainability.html .

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Collective bargaining agreements covered approximately 6,525 employees, or approximately 33% of the Company’s employees worldwide.

During 2024, agreements are expected to be negotiated for certain employees at five facilities, four of which are outside of the United States, comprising approximately 72% of total employees under collective bargaining agreements.

During 2025, agreements are expected to be negotiated for certain employees at seven facilities, none of which are within the United States, comprising approximately 69% of total employees under collective bargaining agreements.

We believe our efforts in managing our workforce have been effective, as evidenced by a strong culture and a good relationship between the Company and our employees.

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These continuous touchpoints allow for real-time feedback and action from the Company.

These surveys are further

These surveys are further supplemented with quarterly and informative enterprise summits and team “Ask Me Anything” meetings, which, in conjunction with the continuous listening surveys, generate stronger employee engagement with the Company’s strategy, initiatives and leadership.

The Hershey Company | 2024 Form 10-K | Page 6

supplemented with quarterly and informative enterprise and team town halls, which, in conjunction with the continuous listening surveys, generate stronger employee engagement with the Company’s strategy, initiatives and leadership.

• Talent Acquisition, Development and Training .

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Additionally, we co-created a culture of development with the enthusiastic support of our employees.

Through individual development plans, learning opportunities, feedback and coaching, employees can build careers at The Hershey Company, as evidenced by the fact that the majority of our ten executive officers were promoted from within the organization (see Information about Our Executive Officers ).

Through individual development plans, learning opportunities, feedback and coaching, employees can build careers at The Hershey Company, as evidenced by the fact that the majority of our executive officers were promoted from within the organization (see Information about Our Executive Officers ).

• Compensation, Benefits and Wellness .

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This offers the benefits of flexibility and in-person collaboration, while maintaining productivity and overall job satisfaction.

• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion .

Our diverse and inclusive culture makes the difference across all areas of the business around the world.

• Togetherness .

We believe our business is stronger when we practice our Company value of Togetherness.

Our people-focused programs help advance innovation, business growth and create a strong company culture that is fair, which enables us to delight consumers with beloved snacking brands.

Our gender representation includes women occupying many of the top positions in the Company, including Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, Chief Accounting Officer and President, Salty Snacks, and approximately 50% representation across the Company.

Additionally, five of our 11 Board members are women (45% representation).

In 2023, we maintained fair and equitable pay achievements, including 1:1 aggregate people of color pay equity (2021) and 1:1 aggregate gender pay (2020) for salaried employees in the United States.

Further, our eight employee-led Business Resource Groups, which include Abilities First, Black Heritage, Asian and Pacific Islander, GenH (Generations), Latino, Prism (LGBTQ), Veteran’s and Women’s, play a critical role in attracting diverse talent, providing mentoring and career development opportunities, delivering commercial business insights and connecting people to the Company and the communities where we do business.

In 2023, the Company was ranked #3 on DiversityInc’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity and was ranked as a top 50 company on Forbes Top Companies for Women.

Additionally, the Company also ranked as a top 30 company on Wall Street Journal’s Top 250 Best-Managed Companies of 2023, and was recognized as a Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion based on our Disability Equality Index score.

Additionally, four of our 10 Board members are women (40% representation).

In 2024, we maintained fair and equitable pay achievements, including aggregate salary U.S.

gender pay equity and aggregate U.S.

salary people of color pay equity.

Further, our eight employee-led Business Resource Groups, which include Abilities First, Black Heritage, Asian and Pacific Islander, GenH (Generations), Latino, Prism (LGBTQ), Veterans and Women’s, are open to all and play a critical role in providing mentoring and career development opportunities for all, delivering commercial business insights, and connecting people to the Company and the communities where we do business.

In 2024, the Company was recognized among the World’s Most Ethical Companies as rated by Ethisphere, achieved global Great Place to Work certifications, and was recognized as a Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion based on our Disability Equality Index score.

• Community and Social Impact .

Our philanthropy and volunteerism efforts reflect how we live out the Company’s value of Making More Moments of Goodness, from supporting causes our employees care about to investing in the long-term success of the communities where we live and work.

Our philanthropy and volunteerism efforts reflect how we live out the Company’s value of making a difference and our purpose of Making More Moments of Goodness, from supporting causes our employees care about to investing in the long-term success of the communities where we live and work.

We work closely with counterparts in each of our plant and office locations across the United States and globally to identify local community needs and craft tailored approaches to provide support.

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From time to time, we implement business realignment activities to support key strategic initiatives designed to maintain long-term growth.

Further to such goal, we completed our International Optimization Program in 2023, an initiative which began in the fourth quarter of 2020 and was designed to increase our operating effectiveness and efficiency, to reduce our costs and/or to generate savings that can be reinvested in other areas of our business.

In February 2024, the Board of Directors approved the Advancing Agility & Automation Initiative, which is a multi-year productivity program to improve supply chain and manufacturing-related spend, optimize selling, general and administrative expenses, leverage new technology and business models to further simplify and automate processes, and generate long-term savings.

Further to such goal, in February 2024, the Board of Directors approved the Advancing Agility & Automation Initiative, which is a multi-year productivity program to improve supply chain and manufacturing-related spend, optimize selling, general and administrative expenses, leverage new technology and business models to further simplify and automate processes, and generate long-term savings.

In 2023, we completed our International Optimization Program, an initiative which began in the fourth quarter of 2020 and was designed to increase our operating effectiveness and efficiency, to reduce our costs and/or to generate savings that can be reinvested in other areas of our business.

Costs associated with business realignment activities are classified in our Consolidated Statements of Income as described in Note 9 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

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Compared sentence by sentence after normalising whitespace, quotation marks, case and digits, so re-formatting and restated figures do not read as changed language. Wording changes appear as one removal and one addition. The current filing and the prior one are authoritative.

What changed 10-K

Item 1. Business