Hershey vs Smithfield Foods
Smithfield Foods is the larger business, with $15.53bn of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $11.69bn for Hershey (1.3 times as much). Smithfield Foods grew faster (9.8% against 4.4%). Hershey kept more of each dollar of sales as profit: a net margin of 7.6% against 6.4%. Smithfield Foods carries less debt relative to equity (29.5% against 116.5%).
| Latest fiscal year | HersheyHSY, 2025 | Smithfield FoodsSFD, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $11.69bn | $15.53bn |
| Revenue growth | 4.4% | 9.8% |
| Net income | $883m | $987m |
| Operating margin | 12.3% | 8.3% |
| Net margin | 7.6% | 6.4% |
| Return on equity | 18.9% | 15.6% |
| Free cash flow | $1.82bn | $718m |
| Cash | $926m | $1.54bn |
| Total debt | $5.40bn | $2.00bn |
| Debt to equity | 116.5% | 29.5% |
| Dividend per share | — | $1.00 |
| Dividend yield | 4.5% | 5.4% |
| Share buybacks | $0 | — |
| Employees | — | 32,000 |
| Market value | $24.58bn | $7.22bn |
| Price vs our value range | Below our value range | Below our value range |
| Moat score | 87 (Strong) | 43 (Weak) |
| Insider trades, 12 months | 3 buys, 794 sales | 0 buys, 3 sales |