Hershey vs Pilgrim's Pride
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Hershey and Pilgrim's Pride side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Pilgrim's Pride is the larger business, with $18.5B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $11.7B for Hershey, about 1.6 times as much.
- Hershey grew revenue faster (4.4%, against 3.5%).
- Hershey kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (12.3% operating margin, against 8.7%).
- Hershey turned more of its sales into free cash flow (15.6% FCF margin, against 3.5%).
- Pilgrim's Pride earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (20.1%, against 11.5%).
Who comes out ahead
Of the 9 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Hershey
HSY
5/9
Revenue growthGross marginOperating marginNet marginFCF margin
Pilgrim's Pride
PPC
4/9
5-year growthReturn on capitalReturn on equityNet debt / EBITDA
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | HSY FY25 | PPC FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | — | $6.5B |
| Revenue | $11.7B | $18.5B |
| Free cash flow | $1.8B | $653M |
| Net income | $883M | $1.1B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 4.4% | 3.5% |
| 5-year growth | 7.5% | 8.9% |
| Share count change | — | 0.3% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 33.6% | 12.8% |
| Operating margin | 12.3% | 8.7% |
| Net margin | 7.6% | 5.9% |
| FCF margin | 15.6% | 3.5% |
| Return on capital | 11.5% | 20.1% |
| Return on equity | 18.9% | 27.3% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $4.5B | $2.5B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 2.3x | 1.2x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $1.1B | $2.0B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | — | 11.9x |
| Piotroski F-score | — | 4 |
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.