HSY vs KHC vs GIS Stock Comparison

Hershey, Kraft Heinz and General Mills Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
HSY Hershey Co
$160.26 -0.7% 1M -8.6% 1Y
Market cap
$32.24B
P/E
18.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$12.26B
Div. yield
3.57%
Snacks and Confectionery Consumer Staples
6 wins
KHC Kraft Heinz Co
$23.89 +1.8% 1M -2.0% 1Y
Market cap
$28.33B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$24.90B
Div. yield
6.70%
Packaged Foods Consumer Staples
3 wins
GIS General Mills Inc
$33.31 -1.5% 1M -28.5% 1Y
Market cap
$17.81B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$18.30B
Div. yield
7.33%
Packaged Foods Consumer Staples
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Hershey leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Hershey 6, Kraft Heinz 3, General Mills 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionHSYKHCGISLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $32.24B $28.33B $17.81B HSY
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 18.0x -8.3x -20.0x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.0x 11.4x 10.4x GIS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.7% -1.6% -4.5% HSY
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.6% -13.6% -4.9% HSY
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 19.5% -5.0% -1.0% HSY
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.4x -7.5x 37.7x KHC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 3.57% 6.70% 7.33% GIS
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -8.6% -2.0% -28.5% KHC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -1.8%/yr -7.8%/yr -11.6%/yr HSY
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.8% 27.5% 30.1% KHC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 66/100 54/100 32/100 HSY

Percentile Scorecard

HSYKHCGIS

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisHSYKHCGIS
Valuation 43 #26 of 45 61 #18 of 45 41 #27 of 45
Growth 68 #14 of 42 49 #22 of 42 2 #41 of 42
Profitability 100 #1 of 40 46 #22 of 40 44 #23 of 40
Financial Health 61 #19 of 47 57 #21 of 47 17 #39 of 47
Shareholder Returns 60 #13 of 31 57 #14 of 31 53 #15 of 31
Overall 66 54 32
  • HSY ranked among 48 companies in Branded Foods
  • KHC ranked among 48 companies in Branded Foods
  • GIS ranked among 48 companies in Branded Foods

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodHSYKHCGISSPY
1 month -0.7%+1.8%-1.5% +0.7%
3 months -9.5%-9.4%-8.5% +3.7%
6 months -13.7%+5.4%-5.7% +7.1%
Year to date -11.9%-1.5%-28.4% +12.8%
1 year -8.6%-2.0%-28.5% +11.9%
3 years -13.8%-24.4%-48.6% +85.2%
3 years, per year -4.8%-8.9%-19.9% +22.8%
5 years -8.6%-33.4%-46.1% +67.6%
5 years, per year -1.8%-7.8%-11.6% +10.9%
10 years +56.5%-72.9%-46.0% +262.0%
10 years, per year +4.6%-12.2%-6.0% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureHSYKHCGISSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.8%27.5%30.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 26.9%28.1%30.8% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.20-0.12-0.38 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.31-0.07-0.95 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -47.6%-52.1%-65.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -32.2%-13.5%-32.0% -1.2%
52-week high $236.28$27.62$49.01 $779.14
52-week low $157.59$21.21$31.66 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleHSYKHCGIS
P/E now vs peer median 18.0xmedian 18.4x -8.3xmedian 18.4x -20.0xmedian 18.4x
P/S now vs peer median 2.6xmedian 0.7x 1.1xmedian 0.7x 1.0xmedian 0.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.9xmedian 12.0x -20.5xmedian 12.0x 88.6xmedian 12.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.2xmedian 13.6x 7.4xmedian 13.6x 11.5xmedian 13.6x
P/B now vs peer median 6.6xmedian 1.6x 0.8xmedian 1.6x 2.4xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median -11.40median 0.55 0.18median 0.55 0.59median 0.55

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsHSYKHCGIS
Revenue $12.26B $24.90B $18.30B
Gross profit $5.14B $8.31B $6.15B
Operating income $2.55B -$3.18B -$206.40M
Net income $1.79B -$3.40B -$893.70M
Free cash flow $2.12B $3.82B $1.55B
EPS (diluted) $7.00 $-2.86 $-1.66
Cash & equivalents $676.69M $2.42B $433.10M
Total debt $5.13B $19.00B $55.73B
Shares (diluted) 256.31M 1.19B 537.90M
Enterprise value $28.97B $14.86B $15.47B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricHSYKHCGIS
P/E 18.0x -8.3x -20.0x
P/FCF 15.2x 7.4x 11.5x
P/Operating cash flow 12.6x 6.1x 8.6x
P/S 2.6x 1.1x 1.0x
P/B 6.6x 0.8x 2.4x
P/Tangible book 13.1x 7.6x 23.6x
EV/EBITDA 11.9x -20.5x 88.6x
EV/EBIT 14.4x -14.1x -150.2x
EV/Revenue 3.0x 1.8x 1.7x
EV/FCF 17.3x 11.7x 20.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 14.3x 9.7x 15.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -11.40 0.18 0.59

Growth

14 metrics
MetricHSYKHCGIS
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.7% -1.6% -4.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.2% -2.8% -3.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 18.6% -4.3% -6.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 0.8% -1.1% -3.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 31.5% 54.1% -104.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -1.0% -39.1% -27.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 31.9% 35.5% -130.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -2.1% -45.4% -33.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 32.8% 35.6% -130.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -1.6% -46.1% -33.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 11.9% 5.0% -23.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 3.2% 12.3% -9.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 15.3% 9.2% -26.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.3% 18.8% -8.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricHSYKHCGIS
Gross margin 41.9% 33.4% 33.6%
EBITDA margin 25.2% -8.7% 1.9%
Operating margin 20.8% -12.8% -1.1%
Pretax margin 18.9% -14.7% -3.8%
Net margin 14.6% -13.6% -4.9%
FCF margin 17.3% 15.3% 8.5%
Operating cash flow margin 20.9% 18.6% 11.3%
Return on equity 38.0% -8.7% -12.0%
Return on assets 12.9% -4.4% -3.0%
Return on invested capital 19.5% -5.0% -1.0%
Return on capital employed 23.5% -4.6% -0.9%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.3x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x -1.4x -2.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% 0.4% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricHSYKHCGIS
Debt / assets 36.9% 26.0% 45.0%
Debt / equity 1.1x 0.5x 1.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.4x -7.5x 37.7x
Debt / FCF 2.4x 5.0x 8.8x
Liabilities / assets 64.9% 50.6% 75.3%
Equity / assets 35.1% 49.4% 24.7%
Interest coverage – -4.7x –
Current ratio 1.2x 1.1x 0.7x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.6x 0.3x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.3x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 4.31 0.49 1.92

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricHSYKHCGIS
Dividend yield 3.6% 6.7% 7.3%
Net buyback yield 1.3% 0.1% –
Shareholder yield 4.9% 6.8% 7.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) 63.0% – -147.1%
Payout ratio (FCF) 53.3% – 85.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) 4.3% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 9.6% – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusHSYKHCGIS
Forward P/E 18.0xFY2026 11.4xFY2026 10.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.92FY2026 $2.10FY2026 $3.19FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +41.4%FY2026 -19.2%FY2026 -10.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +18.0% -7.1% -4.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $12.55BFY2026 $23.68BFY2026 $18.94BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +7.4%FY2026 -5.1%FY2026 +2.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.1% -1.2% -11.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersHSYKHCGIS
Held by institutions 64.3% 90.1% 87.2%
Institutions holding 1,414 1,115 1,333
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.5% +7.1% +3.7%
Institutions buying 662 625 726
Institutions selling 507 312 427
Buyers to sellers 1.31 2.00 1.70

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

HSYKHCGIS
HSY 1.00 0.43 0.47
KHC 0.43 1.00 0.72
GIS 0.47 0.72 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, HSY, KHC and GIS?

Hershey (HSY) is the largest by market capitalisation: Hershey (HSY) $32.24B, Kraft Heinz (KHC) $28.33B, General Mills (GIS) $17.81B.

Which company is growing faster?

Hershey (HSY) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Hershey (HSY) +6.7%, Kraft Heinz (KHC) -1.6%, General Mills (GIS) -4.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Hershey (HSY) has the highest net margin (Hershey (HSY) 14.6%, Kraft Heinz (KHC) -13.6%, General Mills (GIS) -4.9%). On return on invested capital, Hershey (HSY) leads (Hershey (HSY) 19.5%, Kraft Heinz (KHC) -5.0%, General Mills (GIS) -1.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Kraft Heinz (KHC) returned the most: Hershey (HSY) -8.6%, Kraft Heinz (KHC) -2.0%, General Mills (GIS) -28.5%. Over five years, Hershey (HSY) compounded fastest (Hershey (HSY) -1.8%/yr, Kraft Heinz (KHC) -7.8%/yr, General Mills (GIS) -11.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

General Mills (GIS) has the highest dividend yield: Hershey (HSY) 3.57%, Kraft Heinz (KHC) 6.70%, General Mills (GIS) 7.33%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Kraft Heinz (KHC) has been the steadiest (Hershey (HSY) 27.8%, Kraft Heinz (KHC) 27.5%, General Mills (GIS) 30.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, HSY, KHC and GIS?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Hershey (HSY) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.