General Mills vs Hershey
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put General Mills and Hershey side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- General Mills is the larger business, with $18.4B of revenue in fiscal 2026 against $11.7B for Hershey, about 1.6 times as much.
- Hershey grew revenue faster (4.4%, against −5.5%).
- Hershey kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (12.3% operating margin, against 4.8%).
- Hershey turned more of its sales into free cash flow (15.6% FCF margin, against 8.8%).
- Hershey earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (11.5%, against 2.0%).
Who comes out ahead
Of the 9 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
General Mills
GIS
1/9
Gross margin
Hershey
HSY
8/9
Revenue growth5-year growthOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityNet debt / EBITDA
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | GIS FY26 | HSY FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $18.1B | — |
| Revenue | $18.4B | $11.7B |
| Free cash flow | $1.6B | $1.8B |
| Net income | −$87.6M | $883M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | −5.5% | 4.4% |
| 5-year growth | 0.3% | 7.5% |
| Share count change | −3.6% | — |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 33.6% | 33.6% |
| Operating margin | 4.8% | 12.3% |
| Net margin | −0.5% | 7.6% |
| FCF margin | 8.8% | 15.6% |
| Return on capital | 2.0% | 11.5% |
| Return on equity | −1.1% | 18.9% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $13.1B | $4.5B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 9.1x | 2.3x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $1.8B | $1.1B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | — | — |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 | — |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.