I’ve made an incredible amount of money writing about stocks. Not from ad revenue, sponsorships, or paid memberships, but by constantly exposing myself to new businesses and learning about companies I would have otherwise overlooked.

Case in point, The Hershey Company ($HSY).

Hershey is a global confectionery giant best known for Hershey’s chocolate bars, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and Jolly Ranchers.

For years, I erroneously believed that this company regularly slashed or suspended its dividend. But while writing yesterday’s Daily Dividend dispatch, I learned that I was wrong. The Hershey Company has paid uninterrupted dividends every year since 1930, issuing 384 consecutive distributions since then.

While the company hasn’t always raised its dividend, more on that in a moment, it is a shareholder-friendly business that could be a terrific buy — at the right price.

Food is a surprisingly risky investment sector. Most food producers operate on thin margins while facing volatile input costs tied to commodities like wheat, corn, beef, or cocoa. And unlike luxury brands, food companies can’t simply raise prices to offset those pressures.

Rolex or Hermès can pass rising costs directly to consumers. Companies like Hershey and Hormel cannot. They operate in price-sensitive categories with a hard ceiling on how much pricing power they can exercise.

This leads to volatile stock performance, as well as the occasional dividend cut or suspension.

Chocolate and candy are boring businesses, so Hershey only grabs headlines when something goes wrong. In 2024, the company found itself in the spotlight as surging cocoa prices crushed profitability.

Poor cocoa harvests sent prices soaring, and Hershey wrestled with the issue throughout 2024 and 2025. The result? A stock that went nowhere from late 2023 through late 2025. Worse, Hershey failed to raise its dividend in 2025, breaking a 15-year dividend growth streak. Shareholders were still paid, but they didn’t receive the increase they were expecting.

Problems are being resolved, however, and Hershey stock is up more than 27% year-to-date. Additionally, the company recently announced a 6% dividend raise.

With a 2.82% starting yield, a 75% payout ratio, and a 5-year compound annual dividend growth rate of 11.68%, Hershey could be a decent dividend stock. However, there are two drawbacks.

First, valuation. Hershey currently trades at roughly 29 times earnings. These are tech-stock multiples for a candy company.

Second, long-term performance. While solid, it hasn’t beaten the market. Hershey delivered a 10-year average annual total return of 12.21%, and an 11.11% annual return over the past 30 years.

Turning $10,000 into $236,304 over three decades from a “no-brainer” blue-chip is still impressive, especially compared to the speculative fads that wiped out trend chasers. But Hershey’s returns are tightly linked to commodity cycles.

This stock is probably fine as a long-term buy-and-hold at its current prices.

But Hershey could be even better as a contrarian play. I’d wait to revisit it when bad news dominates the headlines and shares are trading near multi-year lows.

That’s when Hershey becomes a truly sweet opportunity.

“If I hear bad news about the stock market one more time, I’m gonna be sick.”

We get it. Investors are rattled, costs keep rising, and the world keeps getting weirder.

So, who’s better at handling their money than the uber-rich?

Have 3 long-term investing tips UBS (Swiss bank) shared for shaky times:

The catch? Most alternatives aren’t open to everyday investors

That’s why Masterworks exists: 70,000+ members invest in shares of something that’s appreciated more overall than the S&P 500 over 30 years without moving in lockstep with it.*

Contemporary and post war art by legends like Banksy, Basquiat, and more.

Sounds crazy, but it’s real. One way to help reclaim control this week:

Skip waitlist.

_{*Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Investing involves risk. Reg A disclosures: masterworks.com/cd}

Disclaimer: This article is for entertainment purposes only. It is not financial advice, always do your own research.