The Hershey Company vs Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.: Strategic Comparison

This in-depth comparison examines The Hershey Company and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. across revenue, market value, business model, competitive positioning, and long-term growth strategy. Whether you are researching The Hershey Company on its own, evaluating Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., or weighing the two companies side by side, the breakdown below highlights where each company leads and where the gap between The Hershey Company and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is widest.

On the headline numbers, The Hershey Company reports annual revenue of $11.7B against ~$236.9B for Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., while their respective market capitalizations stand at $34.1B and $1.33T. The Hershey Company is headquartered in United States and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. in South Korea, and those different home markets shape how each company competes.

The Hershey Company: The Hershey Company is the largest U.S. confectionery maker and is headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania, the town Milton Hershey built around his factory. Unlike Mars, Mondelez or Nestle, it earns most of its revenue in North America and focuses on confection and snacks. It had 19,595 employees at the end of 2025 (17,550 full-time and 2,045 part-time). Its brands include Reese's, Hershey's, Kisses, Kit Kat (U.S.), Twizzlers, Jolly Rancher, Ice Breakers, SkinnyPop, Dot's, Pirate's Booty and LesserEvil.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.: Samsung Electronics, based in Suwon, is the flagship company of the Samsung Group and South Korea's most valuable listed company. It is the world's largest memory chipmaker and one of the two largest smartphone vendors. Its market value passed $1 trillion in May 2026 and was about $1.33 trillion in late September 2026, after its shares more than tripled in a year on AI memory demand. The company is led by co-CEOs Jun Young-hyun (semiconductors) and TM Roh (devices), with Jay Y. Lee as Executive Chairman.

The Hershey Company and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. pursue distinct approaches to generating revenue, and understanding how each company operates is the foundation of any fair comparison between The Hershey Company and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd..

The Hershey Company business model: Hershey is a branded consumer packaged goods manufacturer. It buys cocoa, sugar, dairy, peanuts and packaging, converts them into branded chocolate, candy and snacks in its own plants, and sells them wholesale to retailers such as Walmart, grocery chains, convenience stores, dollar stores and club stores. Profit comes from brand-driven pricing power, high-velocity impulse placement at checkout, and four major seasons (Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween and the holidays). It reports three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks and International.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. business model: Samsung earns money from two groups of businesses. Device Solutions (DS) makes and sells memory (DRAM, HBM, NAND), System LSI chips such as Exynos processors and ISOCELL image sensors, and contract foundry manufacturing. In Q2 2026, DS produced ~$90.5 billion (KRW 127.5 trillion) of the company's ~$122 billion (KRW 171.5 trillion) revenue and ~$63.3 billion (KRW 89.2 trillion) of its ~$63.5 billion (KRW 89.5 trillion) operating profit. Device eXperience (DX) sells Galaxy phones, tablets, wearables, TVs, monitors and home appliances, plus network equipment. Separately consolidated subsidiaries add OLED panels from Samsung Display, sold to Apple and other phone makers, and automotive and audio electronics from Harman.

The durability of a company's moat often decides long-term winners. Here is how the competitive advantages of The Hershey Company stack up against those of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd..

The Hershey Company competitive advantage: Hershey's advantage is a portfolio of category-leading U.S. brands, led by Reese's, plus scale in retail merchandising and seasonal candy. The company describes itself as No. 1 in U.S. confection and No. 2 in U.S. snacking. Its exclusive U.S. license for Kit Kat and the Hershey Trust's voting control also give it unusual stability against takeovers and short-term activist pressure.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. competitive advantage: Samsung's edge is manufacturing scale and breadth. It is the largest memory producer and one of only three major DRAM makers, alongside SK hynix and Micron. That lets it capture pricing upswings like the 2026 AI-driven shortage. It also owns component businesses (memory, OLED through Samsung Display, image sensors) that sell to rivals as well as to its own Galaxy devices, so it earns money even when competitors' products win.

Future prospects matter as much as current results. The growth strategies below explain how The Hershey Company and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. each plan to expand from here.

The Hershey Company growth strategy: Under Kirk Tanner, Hershey's ONE Hershey strategy aims to lead U.S. snacking across sweet and salty occasions. The salty push began with Amplify Snack Brands (SkinnyPop) in 2018, followed by Pirate's Booty (2018), Dot's Homestyle Pretzels and Pretzels Inc. (2021), and LesserEvil, closed in November 2025 for a reported $750 million. On the sweet side it is betting on innovation, seasonal formats, Reese's line extensions, better-for-you brands such as Lily's and ONE protein bars, and more spending on merchandising.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. growth strategy: Samsung's growth plan centers on AI memory: ramping HBM4 for Nvidia and AMD accelerators, developing HBM4E, and adding DRAM capacity at Pyeongtaek. In foundry it is pursuing 2nm gate-all-around production and building its Taylor, Texas fab to win customers from TSMC. On the device side it relies on Galaxy AI features, foldables and premium TVs to defend share against Apple and Chinese brands.

A closer look at the financial trajectory of The Hershey Company and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. rounds out the comparison.

The Hershey Company: Hershey's net sales grew from $7.44 billion in 2016 to $11.69 billion in 2025, with the biggest jumps in 2021 (+10.1%) and 2022 (+16.1%) as pricing and acquisitions kicked in. Net income peaked at $2.22 billion in 2024, then fell to $883.3 million in 2025 when record cocoa prices flowed through costs; fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted gross margin dropped 650 basis points to 38.3%. 2026 is a recovery year: first-half net sales rose 8.7% to $5.89 billion, and after the second quarter Hershey guided to 4.5%-5% net sales growth and adjusted EPS of $8.36-$8.52, up 32.5%-35%.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.: Samsung's earnings follow the memory cycle. Revenue fell from ~$215 billion (KRW 302.2 trillion) in 2022 to ~$184 billion (KRW 258.9 trillion) in 2023 during a chip downturn, then recovered to ~$214 billion (KRW 300.9 trillion) in 2024 and ~$237 billion (KRW 333.6 trillion) in 2025, when net income reached about $31.5 billion (KRW 44.3 trillion). In 2026, AI server demand created a memory shortage. Q1 operating profit of ~$40.6 billion (KRW 57.2 trillion) exceeded the full-year 2025 total, and Q2 reached ~$63.5 billion (KRW 89.5 trillion) on ~$122 billion (KRW 171.5 trillion) revenue. Higher memory costs also squeezed Samsung's own devices: the MX and Networks unit lost ~$497 million (KRW 0.7 trillion) in Q2 2026 on ~$23.6 billion (KRW 33.2 trillion) revenue.