Sifting through countless of stocks in the Food Products industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in The Hershey Company or The Kraft Heinz Company because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how The Hershey Company and The Kraft Heinz Company compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About The Hershey Company and The Kraft Heinz Company

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. The company offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels. It provides its products primarily under the Hershey’s, Reese’s, Kisses, Jolly Rancher, Almond Joy, Brookside, barkTHINS, Cadbury, Good & Plenty, Heath, Kit Kat, Payday, Rolo, Twizzlers, Sour Strips, Whoppers, York, Ice Breakers, Breath Savers, Bubble Yum, Lily’s, SkinnyPop, Pirates Booty, Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels, and ONE Bar brands, as well as under the Pelon Pelo Rico, IO-IO, and Sofit brands. The company markets and sells its products to wholesale distributors, chain grocery stores, mass merchandisers, chain drug stores, vending companies, wholesale clubs, convenience stores, dollar stores, concessionaires, and department stores. It exports its products in approximately 65 countries worldwide. The Hershey Company was founded in 1894 and is based in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

The Kraft Heinz Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets food and beverage products in North America and internationally. Its products include condiments, sauces, dressings, and spreads; cheese, frozen potato products, and other frozen meals; meal kits, frozen snacks, and pickles; dry packaged desserts, refrigerated ready to eat desserts, and other dessert toppings; ready to drink and powdered beverages, and liquid concentrates; American sliced and recipe cheeses; mainstream coffee, coffee pods, and premium coffee; and cold cuts, bacon, and hot dogs. It offers its products under the Kraft, Oscar Mayer, Heinz, Philadelphia, Lunchables, Velveeta, Ore-Ida, Capri Sun, Maxwell House, Kool-Aid, Jell-O, ABC, Master, Quero, Golden Circle, Wattie’s, Pudliszki, and Plasmon brands, as well as Bagel Bites, Claussen, A1, and Cool Whip. It sells its products through its own sales organizations, as well as through independent brokers, agents, and distributors to chain, wholesale, cooperative, and independent grocery accounts; convenience, value, and club stores; pharmacies and drug stores; mass merchants; foodservice distributors; institutions, including hotels, restaurants, bakeries, hospitals, health care facilities, and government agencies; and various e-commerce platforms and retailers. The company has a strategic partnership with the National Football League. The company was formerly known as H.J. Heinz Holding Corporation and changed its name to The Kraft Heinz Company in July 2015. The company was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Latest Food Products and The Hershey Company, The Kraft Heinz Company Stock News

As of April 28, 2026, The Hershey Company had a $38.1 billion market capitalization, compared to the Food Products median of $2.0 million. The Hershey Company’s stock is up 2.9% in 2026, down 0.8% in the previous five trading days and up 15.09% in the past year.

Currently, The Hershey Company’s price-earnings ratio is 43.3. The Hershey Company’s trailing 12-month revenue is $11.7 billion with a 7.6% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 7.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $8.398 per share for the current fiscal year. The Hershey Company currently has a 3.1% dividend yield.

As of April 28, 2026, The Kraft Heinz Company had a $26.6 billion market cap, putting it in the 89th percentile of all stocks. The Kraft Heinz Company’s stock is down 8.1% in 2026, up 1.8% in the previous five trading days and down 23.81% in the past year.

Currently, The Kraft Heinz Company does not have a price-earnings ratio. The Kraft Heinz Company’s trailing 12-month revenue is $24.9 billion with a -23.4% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -3.4%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.037 per share for the current fiscal year. The Kraft Heinz Company currently has a 7.1% dividend yield.

How We Compare The Hershey Company and The Kraft Heinz Company Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at The Hershey Company and The Kraft Heinz Company’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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The Hershey Company and The Kraft Heinz Company Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
The Hershey Company	HSY	A
The Kraft Heinz Company	KHC	D

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

The Hershey Company has a Growth Score of 100, which is Very Strong. The Kraft Heinz Company has a Growth Score of 25, which is Weak.

The Growth Grade Winner: The Hershey Company

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, The Hershey Company has a more attractive growth grade than The Kraft Heinz Company. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, The Hershey Company could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

The Hershey Company and The Kraft Heinz Company’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
The Hershey Company	HSY	C
The Kraft Heinz Company	KHC	D

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

The Hershey Company has a Momentum Score of 44, which is Average. The Kraft Heinz Company has a Momentum Score of 23, which is Weak.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither The Hershey Company or The Kraft Heinz Company has a strong enough Momentum Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if The Hershey Company or The Kraft Heinz Company is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

The Hershey Company and The Kraft Heinz Company’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
The Hershey Company	HSY	A
The Kraft Heinz Company	KHC	C

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

The Hershey Company has a Earnings Estimate Score of 85, which is Very Positive. The Kraft Heinz Company has a Earnings Estimate Score of 54, which is Neutral.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: The Hershey Company

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, The Hershey Company has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than The Kraft Heinz Company. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, The Hershey Company could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other The Hershey Company and The Kraft Heinz Company Grades

In addition to Estimate Revisions, Momentum and Growth, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Quality.

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether The Hershey Company and The Kraft Heinz Company pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, The Hershey Company or The Kraft Heinz Company Stock?

Overall, The Hershey Company stock has a Growth Score of 100, Momentum Score of 44 and Estimate Revisions Score of 85.

The Kraft Heinz Company stock has a Growth Score of 25, Momentum Score of 23 and Estimate Revisions Score of 54.

Comparing The Hershey Company and The Kraft Heinz Company’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.