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Stock Comparison · Structural lead, mixed market

Hormel Foods vs The Hershey Company: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

The Hershey Company holds the cleaner structural position, with growth as the main driver and stability adding further support. Hormel Foods does not offset that deficit through any equally strong structural edge elsewhere. Both sides have seen trend damage — neither carries a clear market edge right now. With both trends damaged, the structural comparison carries most of the weight here.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Both peer scores are relative to the S&P 500 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-07-05

Most of the visible separation comes from growth. The Hershey Company leads by 21 points on the overall comparison score.

Trajectory Similarity
0.75
Similar
Peer-set rank: #47
within Hormel Foods Corporation's functional peer set

This pair is matched through long-term financial trajectory similarity within the selected peer universe.

The pair sits on a clearly comparable long-term path, though it is not a near-twin match.

The clearest structural overlap shows up in capital structure and revenue stability.

Similarity drivers
capital structurerevenue stability
How to read the score
0.85–1.00 · Very similar0.70–0.84 · Similar0.55–0.69 · Moderately similarbelow 0.55 · Loose match
Peer-Relative Score
HRL
Hormel Foods Corporation
44
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500
vs
HSY
The Hershey Company
65
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

The largest gaps do not all point in the same direction.

Dimension spread: HRL vs HSY Profitability 50 64 Stability 41 63 Valuation 58 55 Growth 18 85 HRL HSY
Gap Ranking
#1 Growth +67
#2 Stability +22
#3 Profitability +14
#4 Valuation +3
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for HRL and HSY Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer HRLHSY Relative valuation Structural strength

The price setup looks more supportive for The Hershey Company, but Hormel Foods Corporation still has the stronger structure.

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where HRL and HSY each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY HRL Lower · above norm 0th 50th 100th 33 pct gap HSY Neutral · above norm 0th 50th 100th 16th 49th
Today HRL sits in the lower portion of its own 5-year history (16th percentile), while HSY sits higher in its own history (49th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, HRL is at a historically more favourable entry position than HSY. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger — peer-relative analysis is a separate question addressed above.

Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Growth
On growth, The Hershey Company ranks near the top of the group; Hormel Foods Corporation sits in the weaker half.
Stability
On stability, the edge still sits with The Hershey Company, even though both profiles look solid.
Growth — Dominant Gap
HRL
18
HSY
85
Gap+67in favour of HSY

One company is still expanding while the other is contracting, which creates a very wide growth split.

What else supports the lead

Stability still reinforces the same direction, which makes the lead look broader across the profile.

What this means for the comparison

Growth is the clearest driver, and stability also supports The Hershey Company's broader structural position.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the HRL vs HSY comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

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Similar growth-driven comparisons

Explore how HRL and HSY each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.