11:10 AM EDT, 07/30/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Hershey (HSY) on Wednesday reported second-quarter results that surpassed Wall Street's estimates, while the chocolate maker warned of a steeper drop in full-year earnings.

Adjusted per-share earnings fell to $1.21 for the quarter ended June 29 from $1.27 a year earlier, but exceeded the FactSet-polled consensus estimate of $0.99. Sales surged 26% year on year to $2.61 billion, ahead of the $2.52 billion projected by analysts.

Hershey shares were up 2.5% intraday Wednesday.

"Investments in our brands and impactful innovation, coupled with effective execution, are driving solid sales and share gains across both our US confection and salty snacking business," Chief Executive Michele Buck said in a statement.

Hershey announced earlier this month the appointment of Kirk Tanner as its next CEO, effective Aug. 18. Tanner most recently served as CEO of Wendy's (WEN).

Hershey now anticipates full-year adjusted EPS of $5.81 to $6, compared with the prior guidance of $6 to $6.18. The company continues to expect 2025 sales to grow at least 2%.

Analysts are looking for non-GAAP EPS to drop to $5.91 from $9.37 and for sales of $11.45 billion, which would be up from $11.2 billion in 2024.

The company is projecting full-year tariff expenses of about $170 million to $180 million. The updated outlook incorporates commodity cost mitigation efforts, it said.

US and Chinese officials wrapped up their two-day trade talks in Sweden on Tuesday without announcing an extension to the temporary suspension of tariffs on each other's goods. US President Donald Trump must sign off on a potential extension of the tariff pause between the two sides, CNBC reported Tuesday, citing US negotiators.

Hershey's North America confectionery sales surged 32% year on year in the second quarter to $2.09 billion, driven by volume gains. North America salty snacks sales rose 8.8% to $315.5 million. International sales increased 4.4%.

"We remain committed to delivering balanced growth and have taken pivotal steps toward mitigating cocoa inflation through strategic pricing, enhanced productivity, and technology enabled efficiency and speed," said Buck.

Price: 190.80, Change: +4.57, Percent Change: +2.45