好時 (HSY) 2025 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to The Hershey Company third quarter 2025 question-and-Answer Session. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I'd now like to turn the call over to your host, Anoori Naughton, Vice President of Investor Relations for The Hershey Company. Thank you. You may begin.

大家好，歡迎參加好時公司2025年第三季問答環節。（操作說明）提醒各位，本次會議正在錄音。現在，我想把電話交給主持人，好時公司投資人關係副總裁阿諾裡‧諾頓。謝謝。你可以開始了。

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today for The Hershey Company's third quarter 2025 earnings Q&A session. I hope everyone has had the chance to read our press release and listen to our prerecorded management remarks, both of which are available on our website. In addition, we have posted a transcript of the prerecorded remarks. At the conclusion of today's live Q&A session, we will also post a transcript and audio replay of this call.

各位早安。感謝您今天參加好時公司2025年第三季財報問答會。我希望大家都有機會閱讀我們的新聞稿並收聽我們預先錄製的管理層講話，這兩項內容都可以在我們的網站上找到。此外，我們也發布了預先錄製演講的文字稿。在今天的線上問答環節結束後，我們也會發布本次通話的文字稿和音訊回放。

Please note that during today's Q&A session, we may make forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. These statements include expectations and assumptions regarding the company's future operations and financial performance. Actual results could differ materially from those projected. The company undertakes no obligation to update these statements based on subsequent events. A detailed listing of such risks and uncertainties can be found in today's press release and the company's SEC filings.

請注意，在今天的問答環節中，我們可能會發表一些前瞻性聲明，這些聲明會受到各種風險和不確定性的影響。這些聲明包括對公司未來營運和財務表現的預期和假設。實際結果可能與預期結果有重大差異。本公司不承擔根據後續事件更新這些聲明的義務。有關此類風險和不確定性的詳細清單，請參閱今天的新聞稿和公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件。

Finally, please note that we may refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures that we believe provide useful information for investors. This information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information presented in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations for the GAAP results are included in this morning's press release. Joining me today are Hershey's President and CEO, Kirk Tanner; and Hershey's Senior Vice President and CFO, Steve Voskuil. With that, we'll open it for the first question.

最後，請注意，我們可能會提及某些我們認為對投資者有用的非GAAP財務指標。本資訊不應被孤立地看待，也不應被視為替代根據公認會計原則編制的財務資訊。今天早上的新聞稿中包含了 GAAP 結果的調整表。今天與我一同出席的有好時公司總裁兼執行長柯克‧坦納，以及好時公司資深副總裁兼財務長史蒂夫‧沃斯奎爾。那麼，我們現在開始回答第一個問題。

Thank you. Our first question is from Andrew Lazar, Barclays.

謝謝。我們的第一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的安德魯·拉扎爾。

Great, thanks. Good morning everyone and welcome Kirk.

太好了，謝謝。各位早安，歡迎柯克。

Thank you, Andrew. Good morning.

謝謝你，安德魯。早安.

Good Morning. Maybe to start off, I'd love to dig in a little bit deeper on your commentary around 2026. The company is looking for a non-algorithm top and bottom line year. This is consistent with the commentary you provided last quarter. Since then, cocoa costs have moderated significantly, even though Hershey still looks for year over year inflation. The company slightly lowered its tariff estimate and base momentum certainly appears to be continuing, if not accelerating.

早安.首先，我很想更深入探討你對 2026 年的看法。該公司希望實現不依賴演算法的營收和利潤雙雙成長。這與您上個季度提供的評論一致。自那以後，可可成本已大幅下降，儘管好時公司仍關注年比通膨情況。該公司略微下調了關稅預估，而且基本面成長勢頭似乎仍在持續，甚至可能正在加速。

I think in the prepared remarks, you made mention of sort of earnings recovery over time. And in fairness, you still need to see what elasticity looks like as the pricing flows through. So I guess I'm just curious how you sort of balance these various factors as you think through how next year could shape up because as you know, there are some expectations out there for maybe much more significant year over year EPS growth next year.

我認為你在事先準備好的演講稿中提到了盈利會隨著時間的推移而逐漸復甦。公平地說，你仍然需要觀察價格波動過程中彈性究竟如何改變。所以我想知道，您在考慮明年的發展趨勢時，是如何權衡這些不同因素的，因為您也知道，目前市場對明年每股收益同比增長的預期可能要高得多。

Yes. Thank you, Andrew. I think that it's an important topic to get the morning started. Yes, if I think about '26, I look at where we're at right now. So the momentum in the business right now, I'm really delighted with the balanced growth that we're seeing across our portfolio.

是的。謝謝你，安德魯。我認為這是一個適合開啟早晨的重要議題。是的，如果我考慮2026年，我會看看我們現在的位置。因此，就目前業務發展勢頭而言，我對我們投資組合中各個業務板塊的均衡成長感到非常滿意。

So I feel good about that before going into 2026. And I think it's important as you take that momentum into 2026. I think defining what success looks like is really important for us for 2026. And for me, that is looking at where the category is, and how we're growing with or ahead of the category while we build back that margin to its full potential. Now we won't do that just in one year, but we'll do that over a few years.

所以，在進入2026年之前，我對這一點感到樂觀。我認為，保持這種勢頭進入2026年非常重要。我認為，對我們而言，在2026年明確成功的定義至關重要。對我來說，這意味著要觀察品類的發展現狀，以及我們如何在恢復利潤率至其全部潛力的同時，與品類同步成長或超越品類成長。我們不會在一年內完成這項工作，而是在幾年內完成。

But it's really important that we -- one, we grow, and we are doing exceptional at the category level, building back margin. And so what does that do? It puts us on our long-term algorithm. That long-term algorithm in the top -- from a revenue standpoint of 2% to 4%, that is sensible. We think that's where the category is going to be.

但對我們來說，真正重要的是──第一，我們要發展壯大，而且我們在品類層面做得非常出色，正在重建利潤率。那麼這樣做會有什麼作用呢？它使我們走上了長期發展路線。頂部的長期演算法－從收入角度來看，2%到4%是合理的。我們認為這就是該類別未來的發展方向。

Now in a shorter Easter category generally from a historical standpoint, it's been around 2%. So when you think about the top line, that's where we land. Now on EPS, back on algorithm, I would say there is some potential for some upside. But we do all this in '26 with the approach of playing for the long term. So we're going to continue -- we're going to invest in our business. We're going to invest in our brands, while we build back margin and compete at the category level. That is success for us in 2026.

從歷史角度來看，復活節假期較短的時期，通常約為 2%。所以，當你考慮最終結果時，這就是我們的最終結論。現在回到EPS（每股盈餘）和演算法方面，我認為存在一定的上漲潛力。但我們在 2026 年做這一切，都是以著眼長遠的眼光。所以我們會繼續——我們會繼續投資我們的業務。我們將投資我們的品牌，同時重建利潤率，並在品類層面展開競爭。這就是我們2026年的成功標準。

That's really helpful, appreciate that. And then just quickly, I know it may be far too early to really opine on this with any accuracy. But I guess what are you seeing thus far from an elasticity standpoint? I know there's more pricing still to flow through. And I guess what's your expectation for elasticity in the context of your guidance for next year?

這真的很有幫助，非常感謝。然後簡單說一下，我知道現在就此發表任何準確的意見可能還為時過早。但我想問，從彈性角度來看，你目前觀察到了什麼？我知道還有更多價格因素需要落實。那麼，在您對明年業績指引的背景下，您對彈性有何預期呢？

Sure. I'll take that one. I mean it's early days. And so we'll know more the next time we talk. The category continues to be rational. And everything we see so far, nothing gives us concern or is deviating from our expectations. Most of our pricing is reflected, as you said, other competitors' pricing still flowing through. We saw early in the year, other competitors taking prices. We saw premium go up. We saw private label go up.

當然。我選那個。我的意思是，現在下結論還為時過早。這樣，下次我們談話時就會了解更多了。該類別依然是理性的。到目前為止，我們所看到的一切都沒有引起我們的擔憂，也沒有偏離我們的預期。正如您所說，我們的大部分定價都反映了其他競爭對手的定價仍然在影響著我們。今年年初我們就看到其他競爭對手搶佔了價格。我們看到保費漲了。我們看到自有品牌價格上漲。

And so everything that we're seeing as our pricing has come to shelf is lining up within expectations. As you said, next year, that elasticity is a big assumption. And I know we've had some folks who said, well, are you being a bit cautious or conservative in the way you're thinking about that elasticity as we planned at minus one. But we feel like it's an appropriate kind of center cut as we look at the plan for next year. This year, it's been running a bit better with the price increase that we've taken into this year.

因此，我們看到的所有上架商品的價格都符合預期。正如你所說，明年的彈性是一個很大的假設。我知道有些人說，你們在考慮彈性係數時是不是有點過於謹慎或保守了，因為我們計劃將彈性係數設為 -1。但考慮到明年的計劃，我們認為這是一個合適的調整方向。今年，由於我們提高了價格，情況有所改善。

But this year also has a few positives coming along, whether it's long Easter, the merchandising benefits that we had early in the year, the significant innovation benefits. And so when we adjust for those as we think about '26, we think that minus one is the right place to plan from. So -- but we're watching the space closely, nothing at this stage gives us concern.

但今年也有一些積極的方面，例如復活節假期延長、年初商品銷售帶來的好處以及重大的創新帶來的好處。因此，當我們考慮 2026 年的情況時，我們認為減去 1 年才是正確的規劃起點。所以——但我們正在密切關注事態發展，目前階段沒有任何跡象表明情況令人擔憂。

Thanks so much.

非常感謝。

Max Gumport, BNP Paribas.

馬克斯·古姆波特，法國巴黎銀行。

Great. Just following up on that elasticity response, and I realize it's early, but if you can just focus on the everyday business and give us a bit more color on what you're seeing in these first few weeks, particularly given the comments around double-digit growth across the everyday business over the past five weeks, what you think that means for elasticity? I realize it's early, I realize you're planning on the minus one, but just any incremental color that would be helpful. Thank you.

偉大的。關於彈性方面的回饋，我知道現在還為時過早，但如果您能專注於日常業務，並為我們詳細介紹一下您在最初幾週觀察到的情況，特別是考慮到過去五週日常業務實現了兩位數的增長，您認為這對彈性意味著什麼？我知道現在還早，也知道你打算用減一，但任何遞增的顏色都會有所幫助。謝謝。

Yes. I would just say, again, no concerns on what we're seeing so far. If you look at everyday CMG where the price increases hit, we're up double digits in the last four weeks. So I feel good about what we're seeing so far. But more to play. We'll have more to say the next time we talk.

是的。我只想再次強調，就目前我們看到的情況而言，無需擔憂。如果你查看每日 CMG 的價格上漲情況，你會發現過去四周價格上漲了兩位數。所以，我對目前為止我們所看到的感到滿意。但還有更多精彩內容等著你。我們下次見面時再詳細說。

Great. And then on competition, I think there's been a narrative that some competitors are not following, and you just touched on this. But when I look at the data, it's not as clearly that's the case. I think if you look at your largest branded competitor, while their pricing might not be as high on a year over year basis, it looks like perhaps two are simply moving at different cadences with them moving harder earlier in the process. I think if you go back to where you all were four years ago, it looks like you're actually still just catching up on pricing relative to that period.

偉大的。至於競爭方面，我認為有些競爭對手並沒有遵循某種既定的模式，而你剛才也提到了這一點。但當我查看數據時，情況並非如此簡單。我認為，如果你看看你最大的品牌競爭對手，雖然他們的定價可能沒有你那麼高，但看起來這兩家公司可能只是以不同的節奏行事，他們在流程的早期階段就採取了更積極的行動。我認為，如果回顧你們四年前的情況，就會發現你們在定價方面實際上仍然處於追趕階段。

So with that backdrop, I'm hoping you can provide a bit more color on what you're seeing to be competitive pricing environment right now. Thank you very much.

基於以上背景，我希望您能更詳細地介紹一下您目前所看到的競爭激烈的價格環境。非常感謝。

Yes. Look, I think that's an important point and had the opportunity to look at the competitive landscape and look at our pricing cadence as it relates to -- look, we -- I think we put -- the most important thing for us is we put the consumer first. We look at our business. We do it on the cadence that makes sense for our business and our consumer. And we are working with our customers to make that happen in the most deliberate way so that we can continue to deliver for our consumers.

是的。我認為這一點很重要，我有機會審視競爭格局，並審視我們的定價策略——我們——我認為我們——對我們來說最重要的是把消費者放在第一位。我們審視一下我們的業務。我們按照對我們的業務和消費者都合理的節奏來做這件事。我們正與客戶攜手合作，以最審慎的方式實現這一目標，從而持續為消費者提供服務。

And that, I think, is really important. Now the cadence, yes, is probably a little different from historic purposes. But I look at it from what is the best solution for the category, our consumer and for our business.

我認為這非常重要。是的，現在的節奏可能與歷史記載略有不同。但我從對該品類、我們的消費者和我們公司而言的最佳解決方案的角度來看待這個問題。

And a pretty significant part of our price increase, and you mentioned this, was catching up to what happened earlier that competitors have done. So there was a time in history where everything moved in lockstep. Now I think everyone is more precise, more strategic as the way they execute pricing and it leads to different phasing. But overall, we're not concerned about price gaps across the portfolio.

正如你所提到的，我們價格上漲的很大一部分原因是為了追趕競爭對手之前採取的措施。歷史上曾有一段時間，所有事物都步調一致地發展。現在我認為大家在定價策略上更加精準、更具策略性，這也導致了不同的階段性策略。但總體而言，我們並不擔心產品組合中的價格差距。

Yes. And I would say one thing to look at is this category has been very resilient and rational. I think that's really important when you look across the industry. That gives us the confidence that we're making the right decisions, and we don't have concerns at this time.

是的。我想指出的一點是，這個類別一直非常具有韌性和理性。我認為，縱觀整個產業，這一點非常重要。這讓我們確信我們正在做出正確的決定，目前我們沒有任何擔憂。

Great, thanks very much. I'll leave it there.

太好了，非常感謝。我就說到這兒吧。

Our next question is from David Palmer with Evercore ISI.

我們的下一個問題來自 Evercore ISI 的 David Palmer。

Yeah, good morning. In the prepared remarks, you noted Halloween has been disappointing. I'd love to get some color about how much is -- by what sort of level has it been disappointing? And you've noted Friday, Halloween, warm weather. Have you seen similar headwinds with those types of dynamics to what you're seeing here, or do you -- you're reflecting on this? Do you think there might be something going on with the consumer, the customers in terms of their focus on the seasons, the competitive environment?

早安.在事先準備好的演講稿中，你提到今年的萬聖節令人失望。我很想了解一下具體情況──究竟在多大程度上令人失望？你還提到了星期五、萬聖節和溫暖的天氣。你是否看過類似這種動態下的逆風？還是你正在思考這個問題？你認為消費者、顧客在關注季節變化和競爭環境方面是否存在一些問題？

And then relatedly, you said that you're using this opportunity to analyze the trends and to adjust the product lineup and marketing strategies for future seasons. So just curious about what you're thinking as you reflect on this so far.

另外，您也提到，您正在利用這個機會分析趨勢，並調整未來幾季的產品陣容和行銷策略。所以，我很好奇你目前對這件事有什麼想法。

Yes, David, thank you for the question. I think it's certainly timely. I'd start with -- we're pleased with the strength in the overall business with more balance across our portfolio. And we mentioned our everyday CMG business is growing double digits the past four weeks. So there's certainly some interplay that we typically see.

是的，大衛，謝謝你的提問。我認為這確實非常及時。首先我想說的是──我們對整體業務的強勁表現感到滿意，我們的投資組合也更加均衡了。我們也提到，過去四周，我們的日常 CMG 業務實現了兩位數的成長。所以，我們通常確實能看到一些交互作用。

We'll say the season did get off to a slow start. And I think you have to look at historically when Halloween falls on a Friday, about 1/3 of the business is sold the last week. So I think it's really important. Having said that, yes, there are some opportunities for us. I would say it's not broad-based, but there are some opportunities for us to go to school on the consumer insights, our customer insights so that we can improve on every season, including next year's Halloween.

可以說，這個賽季開局比較慢。我認為，從歷史數據來看，如果萬聖節恰逢星期五，大約三分之一的銷售額會在最後一周售出。所以我認為這非常重要。話雖如此，是的，我們確實有一些機會。我認為這種做法並不普遍，但我們有機會深入了解消費者洞察和客戶洞察，以便我們能夠在每個季度都取得進步，包括明年的萬聖節。

So we will look at pack types, offerings, opening price points, product mix, all that through the lens of the consumer. Yes, I think this is an opportunity for us to go to school and get better with each season.

因此，我們將從消費者的角度來檢視包裝類型、產品供應、初始價格點、產品組合等等。是的，我認為這對我們來說是一個學習和進步的機會，每個賽季我們都能變得更好。

And just a follow-up on, you noted that cocoa is going to be inflationary in '26. Does it feel like retailers are sympathetic to where you are with your pricing and your input inflation? You seem to have hedged very well in '25, maybe somebody didn't out there and their timing of their pricing might be mismatching yours. And so I'm wondering if there could be some noise out there with regard to competitors and other pricing actions that could affect near-term results? And I'll pass it on. Thank you.

另外，您提到可可價格在 2026 年將出現通貨膨脹。零售商是否理解你目前的定價策略和成本上漲問題？看來你在 2025 年的對沖做得非常好，也許有人沒有這樣做，他們的定價時機可能與你的不符。所以我想知道，是否存在一些關於競爭對手和其他定價策略的干擾因素，可能會影響近期的業績？我會把它轉交給別人。謝謝。

Yes. No, thanks, David. I think it's really important one that we have relationships of trust with our customers and building those are critically important to me and our entire organization. We have that customer mindset. And with this pricing, we have worked hand-in-hand with our customers to find solutions to meet consumers where they are.

是的。不用了，謝謝你，大衛。我認為與客戶建立信任關係非常重要，而建立這種關係對我以及我們整個組織都至關重要。我們秉持著以客戶為中心的理念。透過這種定價策略，我們與客戶攜手合作，尋找能滿足消費者需求的解決方案。

I would say from a cocoa standpoint, it's still 70% higher than it was in 2023. So I think that just grounds us all in where cocoa is today. I know there's -- we're optimistic with some of the movement recently. But if you just look back, that's really important to understand. But I'd say with pricing, very plan-full approach.

從可可的角度來看，我認為它仍然比 2023 年高出 70%。所以我認為這讓我們都對可可的現狀有了更清楚的認識。我知道——我們對最近的一些進展感到樂觀。但如果你回顧過去，你會發現理解這一點非常重要。但就定價而言，我認為應該採取非常全面的計劃。

I have a fresh set of eyes on our approach and our communication to customers, our partnership with customers, and I've had the opportunity to talk to a lot of our customers myself. And that is something that's really important that we get that right with our customers. Thank you.

我以全新的視角審視了我們與客戶的溝通方式、我們與客戶的合作關係，我有機會親自與許多客戶交談。這一點對我們的客戶來說非常重要，我們必須確保這一點得到正確對待。謝謝。

Our next question is from Leah Jordan with Goldman Sachs.

下一個問題來自高盛的莉亞喬丹。

Good morning. Thank you for taking my question. I wanted to ask about innovation. It's obviously been working well this year, especially in the back half here. So as we look to '26, could you provide some color on how you're thinking about the pipeline there? What are the key focus areas? And how are you thinking about balancing growth in the core versus innovation into next year, especially as we're going to lap some strength here in the back half?

早安.感謝您回答我的問題。我想問一些關於創新方面的問題。今年顯然效果不錯，尤其是下半年。展望 2026 年，您能否詳細介紹您對那段時間的人才培育計畫有何想法？重點關注領域有哪些？那麼，您打算如何平衡明年核心業務的成長與創新，尤其是在下半年我們將失去一些優勢的情況下？

Yes. I think that's a really good question. Innovation is so important to the category. Consumers are continuously looking for it. The recent innovation that we put out with REESE'S Oreo has been really the top driver of growth from an innovation standpoint in the category.

是的。我覺得這確實是個好問題。創新對這個產業至關重要。消費者一直在尋找它。我們最近與 REESE'S Oreo 合作推出的創新產品，從創新角度來看，確實是該品類成長的主要驅動力。

So something to look at and be excited about. But when I step back from that, I look at our core business even in Q3, where our core business was close to 5% growth without REESE'S Oreo. And that says something about the balance of what we expect. Now we're going to have the benefit of most of next year with REESE Oreo, and we'll continue to build on that momentum and find exciting ways to connect consumers with that innovation. Having said that, we have a robust pipeline in 2026 of innovation and 2027.

所以，這是一件值得關注和興奮的事情。但當我從這個角度來看，即使在第三季度，我們的核心業務在沒有 REESE'S Oreo 的情況下也實現了接近 5% 的成長。這說明我們對事物的期望存在某種平衡。現在，我們將受益於 REESE Oreo 品牌在明年大部分時間的發展，我們將繼續保持這一勢頭，並找到令人興奮的方式將消費者與這項創新聯繫起來。話雖如此，我們在 2026 年和 2027 年都有著強勁的創新計畫。

So we feel like we're building this pipeline of innovation because that's, again, engaging with consumers is important, all while balancing your growth with your core business. I think that is really important. And that's kind of how we see this. We cannot rely just on innovation to drive our business. It's a balance between the two. And if I look at Q3, we have struck that balance with a really good innovation.

因此，我們感覺我們正在建立一條創新之路，因為再次強調，與消費者互動非常重要，同時也要平衡成長與核心業務。我認為這非常重要。我們大致上就是這樣看待這件事的。我們不能僅僅依靠創新來推動業務發展。這是兩者之間的一種平衡。如果我看一下第三季度，我們會發現我們透過一項非常優秀的創新實現了這種平衡。

That's very helpful. Thank you. And maybe just a quick follow-up here. It sounded like there was increased brand investments in the quarter. Maybe you could just talk about where you're making those investments, and what you're seeing in the competitive environment broadly? And do you see a need to make more investments just in the current environment?

那很有幫助。謝謝。這裡或許還需要補充一點。聽起來本季品牌投資增加。或許您可以談談您的投資方向，以及目前在競爭環境中觀察到的情況？您是否認為在當前環境下有必要進行更多投資？

Thank you.

謝謝。

Yes, I think it's important to invest. I think there's a smarter way to invest in brands as well, right? So there's a more efficient way to invest in brands. I think that, obviously, with Halloween and the holidays, we've invested in some digital marketing to drive performance, drive flow-through, et cetera. But will -- and I would say we've had some fun with some innovation with REESE'S Oreo as well. So those investments have given us some momentum and really are on strategy for how we think about our business going forward.

是的，我認為投資很重要。我認為投資品牌還有更明智的方法，對吧？所以還有更有效的品牌投資方式。我認為，很顯然，隨著萬聖節和假日的到來，我們已經投入了一些數位行銷來提升業績、提高轉換率等等。但是，我想說，我們在 REESE'S 奧利奧的創新方面也獲得了一些樂趣。因此，這些投資為我們帶來了發展動力，也真正符合我們未來業務發展的策略方向。

Great, thank you.

太好了，謝謝。

Megan Clapp, Morgan Stanley.

梅根克拉普，摩根士丹利。

Hi, good morning. Welcome, Kirk. Thanks for taking my question. I wanted to come back to the commentary on 2026 and Andrew's question at the beginning. Last quarter, there was a comment on the call that there were multiple paths to EPS being well into the double-digit range in 2026. I think the biggest factors mentioned at the time were what happens with tariffs and cocoa costs. And I understand, Kirk, I think you said there's still upside to the algo. But as you think about some of those puts and takes today, and would you say that anything has changed that would affect that view?

您好，早安。歡迎你，柯克。謝謝您回答我的問題。我想回到 2026 年的評論以及安德魯一開始提出的問題。上個季度，電話會議上有人提到，到 2026 年，EPS 有許多途徑可以達到兩位數。我認為當時提到的最大因素是關稅和可可成本的變化。我明白了，柯克，我想你說過演算法仍然有上漲空間。但當你回想今天這些買賣交易時，你認為有什麼改變會影響你的看法嗎？

Cocoa has obviously come down. Maybe you're a bit more covered for 2026, though at this point? And broadly, any visibility on potential tariff relief as well? Thank you.

可可價格顯然已經下跌了。不過，就目前來看，你或許已經為 2026 年做好了更充分的準備？此外，關於潛在的關稅減免措施，目前還有哪些跡象？謝謝。

Yes. Thanks, Megan. Again, to comment on the potential upside for EPS, I'll let Steve kind of go through the puts and takes that you asked. Thanks for the question, Megan.

是的。謝謝你，梅根。再說一遍，關於 EPS 的潛在上漲空間，我會讓 Steve 來分析你問到的買賣策略。謝謝你的提問，梅根。

Yes. As Kirk said earlier, above algorithm performance is definitely on the table. There's a handful of things that we're going to be watching really closely, especially as we finalize the plan. Consumer demand, of course, the health of the consumer right now, big focus. Right now, we're optimistic on that for next year, but we'll be watching that.

是的。正如柯克之前所說，上述演算法效能絕對是可以考慮的。有一些事情我們會密切關注，尤其是在我們最終確定計劃的時候。當然，消費者需求，以及目前消費者的健康狀況，是關注的重點。目前我們對明年的情況持樂觀態度，但我們會密切關注。

We talked about innovation. I feel really good about our innovation, Oreo continuing, a lot of tentpole events next year. So we think that's going to be a big year for innovation. Elasticity, of course, as we touched on in the question earlier. And then as you said, cocoa and tariff relief.

我們討論了創新。我對我們的創新、奧利奧的持續發展以及明年許多重頭戲都感到非常滿意。所以我們認為這將是創新蓬勃發展的一年。當然，彈性是我們前面在問題中提到的。正如你所說，還有可可和關稅減免。

We're feeling marginally better about cocoa. I think when we talked last time since then, it's moderated a bit, and we're in the process of layering in our hedges according to our program, and we'll have more visibility when we talk next time. But net-net, feeling a bit better from a cocoa standpoint. And tariffs, ongoing changes week to week. I think the first prize we were hoping for a blanket exemption is probably not in the near-term cards, but we've seen significant acceleration on trade deals.

我們對可可的看法略有改善。我認為自從上次我們談話以來，情況有所緩和，我們正在按照計劃逐步完善我們的樹籬，下次談話時情況會更加明朗。但總的來說，從可可的角度來看，感覺好多了。還有關稅，每週都在變動。我認為我們原本希望獲得的全面豁免可能在短期內無法實現，但我們已經看到貿易協議的進展顯著加快。

And so now that cocoa and other commodities we can't make here are part of that third annex as those deals come in, we're optimistic we could see some positivity there. For now, we've modeled $200 million incremental on tariffs and still have in our model cocoa inflation for next year. But I would say that level of inflation is moderating, and we'll know more when we talk next time. So overall, it's not that much different from last quarter other than maybe a little bit more optimism on tariffs and cocoa.

因此，隨著可可和其他我們無法在這裡生產的商品成為第三附件的一部分，隨著這些交易的達成，我們樂觀地認為我們可能會看到一些積極的方面。目前，我們已將 2 億美元的額外關稅納入模型，並且我們的模型中仍然包含了明年的可可通膨。但我認為通膨水平正在放緩，下次見面時我們會了解更多情況。所以總的來說，除了對關稅和可可的樂觀情緒可能略有高漲之外，與上個季度並沒有太大不同。

Awesome, that's super helpful. And then maybe just more near term on the implied 4Q. It does seem like most of the increase in the full year top line guide was driven by what you saw in the third quarter. I think depending on rounding, implied 4Q is maybe a little bit below where the street is modeling, maybe part of that's due to the international shipment timing. But could you just maybe give us what you're expecting for the fourth quarter explicitly and whether the outlook for North America confectionery has just changed at all just given the puts and takes between Halloween and Everyday?

太棒了，這真的很有幫助。然後或許可以多關註一下隱含的第四季業績。看起來全年營收預期成長的大部分是由第三季的業績推動的。我認為，根據四捨五入的計算方式，隱含的第四季業績可能略低於華爾街的預測，部分原因可能是國際貨運時間的問題。但您能否具體說明您對第四季度的預期，以及考慮到萬聖節和日常用品之間的波動，北美糖果市場的前景是否有所改變？

Thanks. Sure. Yes, most of that impact is international shipment timing. From a U.S. CMG standpoint, we see the momentum continuing. As Kirk said, we're directing some additional investment to help Halloween sell-through and performance and also get holiday off to a good start.

謝謝。當然。是的，其中大部分影響因素是國際運輸時間。從美國CMG的角度來看，我們看到這種勢頭仍在繼續。正如柯克所說，我們正在追加一些投資，以幫助萬聖節的銷售和業績，並為假期季節開個好頭。

So that's a little bit of why the EPS doesn't follow the sales on the back half or the guide up on EPS is a little softer than it is on the top line. But we also watch as we always do, the timing of cocoa hedges, which was a favorable for Q3. We're not expecting quite that same level of favorability as we close out the year. So -- but yes, on the top line, that international timing is probably the biggest thing. We expect CMG momentum to continue.

所以，這在一定程度上解釋了為什麼下半年每股盈餘 (EPS) 沒有跟上銷售額的成長，或者說，每股盈餘的預期比營收的預期要低一些。但我們也像往常一樣關注可可避險的時機，這對第三季來說是有利的。我們預期在年底之際，市場對市場的支持度不會達到同樣的水準。所以——但總的來說，國際時效可能是最重要的因素。我們預計CMG的成長動能將持續下去。

Awesome thanks.

太棒了，謝謝。

Tom Palmer, JPMorgan.

湯姆‧帕爾默，摩根大通。

Good morning. Thanks for the questions. I'm going to maybe stick to Halloween for a second. You noted the slower start to Halloween and that when Halloween falls on a Friday, there can be this last week waiting. If we do get 1/3 of your Halloween sales in the last week, would it be more on track with how you're thinking about it, or do you need even more of kind of a disproportionate catch-up when we think about this year? And in particular, I want to make sure like how this relates to kind of what's embedded in guidance? Thank you.

早安.謝謝大家的提問。我可能暫時還是只慶祝萬聖節吧。你注意到萬聖節的開始時間比較慢，而且當萬聖節適逢星期五時，可能會有最後一週的時間可以等待。如果我們能在最後一週拿到你們萬聖節銷售額的三分之一，這是否更符合你們的期待？或者，考慮到今年的情況，你們是否需要更大幅度的追趕？尤其是，我想確認一下這與指導原則中所包含的內容有何關聯？謝謝。

Yes. I think that to get straight to it, I think it still would be somewhat soft. I think that we would walk away saying that Halloween by itself is going to be a little soft in the season. I do think there -- the interplay between our core brands is happening, and we're seeing some of that in the insights that we're looking at. I think that's obvious.

是的。我覺得，直截了當地說，它應該還是會比較軟的。我認為我們最終會得出這樣的結論：單就萬聖節而言，這個季節的氣氛會顯得有些冷清。我確實認為——我們的核心品牌之間正在發生相互作用，而我們在所研究的洞察中也看到了這一點。我覺得這顯而易見。

We also have a big innovation out there, and we have core packs that are performing well. So the interplay between Halloween, the season and our core packages certainly is something we're going to school on, and we can talk about later. But let's see where the week comes in. And then we will share the insights and some of our action plans moving forward. But winning at the season is critically important to us, and we continue to build on our capabilities through insights and the actions that we need to do to move the business forward.

我們也有一項重大創新，而且我們的核心組件表現良好。所以，萬聖節、節慶季節和我們的核心產品組合之間的相互作用，絕對是我們要好好研究一番的課題，以後我們可以再討論。但我們看看本週情況會如何發展。然後我們將分享我們的見解以及一些未來的行動計劃。但贏得賽季對我們來說至關重要，我們將繼續透過洞察力和我們需要採取的行動來提升自身能力，從而推動業務向前發展。

Okay, thank you for that. Okay. And then just, look, I think on the cocoa commentary, I want to clarify, one, at some point next year, your cocoa costs likely turn deflationary even if they're up for the full year. And I'm curious your views on pricing as inflation eases. I don't think you've historically given back pricing, but we are facing kind of unusual levels of both inflation and potentially deflation. So I wanted maybe a clarification on how you're thinking about it this time.

好的，謝謝。好的。然後，你看，關於可可的評論，我想澄清一點，第一，即使全年可可成本上漲，明年某個時候，可可成本也可能出現通縮。我很想知道您對通膨緩解後物價上漲的看法。我認為你們歷史上並沒有放任物價上漲，但我們目前面臨著異常高的通貨膨脹和潛在的通貨緊縮。所以我想請您澄清一下，這次您是怎麼考慮這個問題的。

Thanks. Sure. On the first part of your question, yes, I mean, the expectation right now with where cocoa is, I would hope, as we get deeper into '26, we'd start to see some deflation. Again, we'll have a better picture of that profile when we talk next time. But just based on what we're seeing right now and looking year over year. And again, giving back price, I guess I'll start with a comment from earlier.

謝謝。當然。關於你問題的第一部分，是的，我的意思是，就目前可可的價格而言，我希望隨著我們進入 2026 年，我們會開始看到一些通貨緊縮。下次見面時，我們會對那個情況有更清楚的了解。但僅根據我們目前所看到的以及與往年相比的情況來看。再說回價格，我想我應該先說說我之前說過的話。

We're still seeing cocoa up 70% from where we started the cocoa inflation journey. And so we haven't fully recovered from that. And so -- and again, pricing is not the only lever. We are driving the transformation program. We're driving savings. So we will continue to use every lever at our disposal to do that. But at the same time, we want to make sure that we're investing in our brands and that we're driving good partnership with retailers and making sure we're helping to, again, grow at or above the category. So we're going to have a focus on balanced recovery, as Kirk said earlier.

我們看到可可價格仍然比可可價格上漲了 70%，這是我們開始經歷可可通膨之旅的起點。所以，我們還沒有完全從那件事中恢復過來。因此——而且再次強調——價格並不是唯一的手段。我們正在主導轉型計劃。我們正在努力節省成本。因此，我們將繼續利用一切可用的手段來實現這一目標。但同時，我們希望確保我們對自己的品牌進行投資，並與零售商建立良好的合作關係，確保我們能夠再次幫助產品實現與同類產品持平或更高的成長。所以我們將重點放在均衡復甦上，正如柯克之前所說。

Understood. Thank you.

明白了。謝謝。

Peter Galbo, Bank of America.

Peter Galbo，美國銀行。

Hey, good morning, Kirk and Steven. Thank you for the question. Steve, not to belabor the pricing dynamic point again, but I do think some of the hesitation maybe is stemming from the fact that one of your peers operating in Europe kind of talked about a need maybe to solve some price gap issues. You obviously have a peer that competes both in the U.S. and Europe. So the translation of that dynamic happening in Europe, back to the U.S., is there kind of a future where the same thing happens. So maybe it would be helpful just compare and contrast just the structural factors that might make the US market where you operate different from that pricing standpoint. And I think that would help clarify a bit of the fear that's out there that, hey, there's all this pricing that's coming in the market, but with cocoa coming down, are they really going to be able to kind of hold through?

嘿，早上好，柯克和史蒂文。謝謝你的提問。史蒂夫，我不想再贅述定價動態的問題，但我認為你們的猶豫可能部分源於你們一位在歐洲運營的同行談到可能需要解決一些價格差距問題。顯然，你的競爭對手既在美國也有在歐洲開展業務。因此，歐洲發生的這種動態如果傳遞到美國，未來是否也會出現同樣的事情？所以，或許比較分析一下可能導致你所在美國市場在定價上與其他市場不同的結構性因素會很有幫助。我認為這有助於消除一些擔憂，即：嘿，市場上出現了各種價格上漲，但隨著可可價格下跌，他們真的能夠挺過去嗎？

Yes, you bet. So I do think it's two different markets, and I think we have to be careful kind of taking the assumptions from one and applying them to another. The U.S. category, CMG has been very resilient. It's been very rational.

當然。所以我認為這是兩個不同的市場，我們應該謹慎對待，不要把一個市場的假設應用到另一個市場。美國市場中的CMG類別表現非常穩健。一直以來都非常理性。

And we just aren't seeing today any major price gaps that are causing us concern. Obviously, we're watching consumer health. We're partnering closely with retailers to make sure that the category stays healthy and growing, and we want to be part of that with our innovation and brand investment, et cetera. But it is a different situation here than what you're seeing in Europe. And that rationality here, I guess we have no reason to believe that's not going to continue based on everything we're seeing even in the market right now.

目前我們還沒有看到任何令人擔憂的重大價格差距。顯然，我們關注的是消費者健康。我們正與零售商緊密合作，以確保該品類保持健康成長，我們希望透過創新和品牌投資等方式參與其中。但這裡的情況與你在歐洲看到的情況不同。而這種理性，我想，根據我們目前在市場上看到的一切，我們沒有理由相信它不會繼續下去。

Great. Super helpful and clear. And maybe as a follow-up, Steve, I actually wanted to ask on international. I know you had the shipment favorability dynamic, but it was actually a loss-making quarter in that business. So I guess just applying that forward, right, if you don't have the favorability on shipments in Q4, like should we be expecting, I don't know, the next couple of quarters that you might still be playing catch-up to get back to profitability, or how we should think about that segment specifically? Thanks very much.

偉大的。非常有幫助，講解也很清晰。史蒂夫，或許我可以再追問國際方面的問題。我知道你們的貨運情況有利，但實際上，這個業務季度虧損了。所以我想，如果第四季度的出貨量沒有好轉，那麼我們是否應該預期，我不知道，接下來的幾個季度你們可能還在努力追趕才能恢復盈利，或者我們應該如何具體地考慮這個細分市場？非常感謝。

Yes, it's a great question. We don't always have time to talk about international. I think, yes, we're -- I mean, it's a challenging market because a lot of our business in international is cocoa driven, and even cocoa intense in some markets where the percent of cocoa is part of the advertising. And so it feels more of the brunt from cocoa. It will also eventually feel more of the recovery when we get to the other side.

是的，這是一個很好的問題。我們並非總有時間談論國際事務。我認為，是的，我們——我的意思是，這是一個充滿挑戰的市場，因為我們在國際上的許多業務都是由可可驅動的，甚至在某些市場，可可含量非常高，可可的百分比是廣告宣傳的一部分。因此，它感覺承受了更多可可的衝擊。當我們到達彼岸時，最終也會感受到更多的恢復跡象。

We've been more aggressive on pricing in international, but because we're a smaller player in some of those markets and our products are positioned in a more premium way, the elasticity impacts are also more severe than what we model here in the U.S. That said, we're optimistic on the business. And in fact, we're growing share in all but one probably of our core markets right now. We feel good about that. We've had a great result in Brazil.

我們在國際市場上的定價策略更加激進，但由於我們在某些​​市場規模較小，而且我們的產品定位更高端，因此價格彈性影響也比我們在美國模擬的情況更為嚴重。儘管如此，我們對業務前景依然樂觀。事實上，除了一個核心市場外，我們目前在所有核心市場中的份額都在成長。我們對此感到很滿意。我們在巴西取得了非常好的成績。

And yes, profitability isn't there right now, but we still are optimistic about the market and our ability to grow and eventually return to profitability. So despite the numbers, we're optimistic on the future, but we have to work through the cocoa challenges there a little bit more intensely than we do here in the US.

是的，目前還沒有獲利，但我們仍然對市場和我們的成長能力以及最終恢復獲利的能力持樂觀態度。所以儘管數字如此，我們對未來依然樂觀，但我們必須比在美國更努力地解決那裡的可可挑戰。

Great, thanks guys.

太好了，謝謝各位。

Jim Salera, Stephens Inc.

吉姆·薩萊拉，史蒂芬斯公司

Good morning, Kirk Steve, thanks for taking our question. I wanted to maybe shift gears a little bit and ask on salty snacks, given the strong performance you guys saw there. I think you mentioned in the prepared remarks, you did 14% year over year increase in consumption, saw share gains in salty, particularly driven by volume, which is in pretty stark contrast to a category that's been anemic kind of at best this year.

早安，Kirk Steve，感謝您回答我們的問題。鑑於你們在鹹味零食方面表現出色，我想稍微轉換一下話題，問問大家對鹹味零食的看法。我想您在準備好的發言稿中提到，你們的消費量同比增長了 14%，鹹味食品的市場份額有所增長，這主要得益於銷量的增長，這與今年該品類整體疲軟的局面形成了鮮明的對比。

Can you just walk us through what are kind of the driving factors there? And maybe any commentary on 4Q about how we should think about that business kind of closing out the year and anything we should be aware of maybe on the innovation side?

能給我們詳細介紹一下其中的主要驅動因素嗎？或許可以就第四季發表一些評論，談談我們該如何看待該業務在年底的收官階段，以及在創新方面我們應該注意的事項？

Yes, Jim, thank you for the question. Look, our salty business, I'm really excited about this. We continue to build capabilities with our salty team and our salty business. And I look at where we are in the category with our brands, and how important that is. So with SkinnyPop leading in the popcorn category, it, of course, went through a refresh.

是的，吉姆，謝謝你的提問。聽著，我們這門生意，我真的非常興奮。我們將繼續與我們充滿活力的團隊和充滿活力的業務共同提升能力。我會檢視我們品牌在品類中的地位，以及這有多重要。因此，SkinnyPop 在爆米花領域處於領先地位，它當然也進行了一次更新。

It's got a new look, and it's delivering against growth. It's also -- we're working on portion control and multipack is working. So we see a lot there. But again, it's grounded in permissible snacking, premium snacking, and that makes a difference. When I look at our pretzel business in Dot's, Dot's really has made an impact on Pretzels.

它煥然一新，並且實現了成長。另外，我們正在努力控制份量，多包裝也行之有效。所以我們看到了很多東西。但話說回來，它的基礎是允許的零食、優質零食，而這才是關鍵。當我審視我們在 Dot's 的椒鹽捲餅業務時，我發現 Dot's 確實對椒鹽捲餅行業產生了影響。

Now Dot's is the leader in the Pretzels category. For a young brand, that's pretty impressive. It's hitting on a lot of marks with consumers. It is definitely in the right place in the category, and it's helping the category grow. And then I think we still have a lot of opportunity with Pirate's Booty.

現在，Dot's 已成為椒鹽脆餅類別的領導者。對於一個年輕的品牌來說，這相當令人印象深刻。它非常符合消費者的喜好。它在這個品類中絕對佔據了正確的位置，並且正在幫助這個品類發展壯大。而且我認為我們仍然有很多機會發展海盜戰利品項目。

It's in Puffs. Puffs is the third largest part of the category, and we're just scratching the surface. So it's over a $4.5 billion category. We have an opportunity to play in that with a mom preferred loved brand. So the collection of brands that we have in the right places with permissible snacking allow us to grow ahead of the category.

它在泡芙裡。泡芙是該類別中第三大組成部分，而我們目前所了解的只是冰山一角。所以這是一個超過45億美元的類別。我們有機會與一位媽媽們喜愛的品牌合作，共同參與其中。因此，我們擁有的這些品牌組合，它們在合適的地點銷售允許食用的零食，使我們能夠領先於該品類發展。

We'll continue to build on that momentum. We'll continue to look to our salty business to scale that and build our capabilities. But having a lot of experience in this area, I'm really optimistic of where we can take the salty business.

我們將繼續保持這股勢頭。我們將繼續依靠鹹味食品業務來擴大規模並提升自身能力。但我在這個領域有很多經驗，所以我對我們能把鹹味生意發展到什麼程度感到非常樂觀。

Great. And maybe just any commentary you could provide on innovation and to the extent that you can maybe point us in a direction for 4Q, I mean, should we expect kind of continuation of where we're at now, acceleration? Just any thoughts around that to close out the year.

偉大的。您能否就創新發表一些評論，並為我們指明第四季的發展方向？我的意思是，我們是否應該期待目前的發展動能延續，甚至加速成長？在年末之際，大家有什麼想法嗎？

Yes. Yes. Yes, we see the same -- the momentum moving forward into 2026. We have some innovation on Dot's that I'm really excited about. We also have innovation on SkinnyPop in that -- across the portfolio.

是的。是的。是的，我們看到了同樣的趨勢——這種勢頭將延續到 2026 年。Dot 有一些創新之處，我對此感到非常興奮。我們SkinnyPop在這方面也有創新——貫穿整個產品組合。

We've looked at multiple areas across kind of all three brands actually. And there is a pipeline of innovation across our portfolio. So yes, more to come on the launches of the innovation. But yes, we have a pipeline that will drive growth and delivery. And there's some exciting things across Dot's, SkinnyPop and Pirate's Booty.

實際上，我們已經考察了這三個品牌的多個領域。我們的產品組合中蘊藏著一系列創新項目。是的，關於這項創新技術的發布，後續將有更多消息。是的，我們擁有能夠推動成長和交付的管道。Dot's、SkinnyPop 和 Pirate's Booty 都推出了一些令人興奮的產品。

I appreciate the color. I'll hop back on you too.

我喜歡這個顏色。我也會盡快回覆你。

Robert Moskow, TD Cowen.

Robert Moskow，TD Cowen。

Hi, thanks for the question and welcome, Kirk. Two questions. One is, Steve, when you're giving the factors that might determine whether there's double-digit potential, you mentioned several. But is it fair to say that elasticity is probably the most -- the biggest and most determining factor? And since it's hard to predict, would you consider providing a wider range than normal for 2026 guidance to take that into account? And then I had a quick follow-up.

你好，感謝你的提問，歡迎你，柯克。兩個問題。史蒂夫，你提到了一些可能決定球員是否有兩位數潛力的因素。但可以說彈性可能是最重要、最具決定性的因素嗎？由於難以預測，您是否考慮在 2026 年的指導下提供比平常更寬的範圍，以考慮到這一點？然後我又快速地跟進了一次。

Sure. Yes. Great question. I would say elasticity probably is the biggest -- I mean, obviously, cocoa is huge as well. But elasticity is one we'll be watching very closely. From what we see now, like we talked about earlier, not concerned, but we'll be watching it closely. On the range, it's an interesting point. I think that's something we'll give some thought to between now and the time here and giving guidance, depending on what we'll see. I think we will see more on elasticity. We'll have a better view of cocoa by that point. Maybe tariffs, maybe not, but it's a good point, something we'll probably think about.

當然。是的。問得好。我認為彈性可能是最大的因素——當然，可可的影響力也很大。但彈性是我們將密切關注的一個面向。就目前的情況來看，就像我們之前討論的那樣，我們並不擔心，但我們會密切關注事態發展。從靶場的角度來看，這是一個有趣的觀點。我認為這是我們從現在到那時需要認真考慮的問題，我們會根據實際情況給予指導意見。我認為我們會看到更多關於彈性方面的內容。到那時，我們對可可就會有更清楚的認知。或許會涉及關稅，或許不會，但這是一個很好的問題，我們可能會考慮一下。

Okay, thanks. And in doing a deeper dive into these price gaps that emerged, what we really found was some pretty sizable ones in king size in the convenience channel after you raised price between you and your biggest competitor. But I think your competitor raised prices since then. So is it fair to say that, that gap does exist, but it's just kind of temporary and will close soon?

好的，謝謝。在深入研究這些出現的價格差距後，我們發現，在你提價之後，便利商店通路的特大號商品與你最大的競爭對手之間存在著相當大的價格差距。但我認為你的競爭對手此後提高了價格。所以，是否可以這樣說：這種差距確實存在，但只是暫時的，很快就會消失？

Yes. I would say I don't want to get down to pack type by pack type retailer sort of detail. But like I say, we have all of that. We've seen what you're talking about on king size. We look at every packing of retailer.

是的。我想說，我不想深入到每種包裝類型、每種零售商的具體細節。但就像我說的，我們擁有這一切。我們已經了解了您所說的特大號床的情況。我們會查看零售商的每一個包裝。

Right now, there are some gaps in places. Some of those gaps are closing. Some of those gaps may hang around for a while. But as we look at them in the aggregate, there's nothing that's concerning us at this stage. Recall, there is this sort of give and take, and we talked about it before about the cadence of the follow can take a little while. Sometimes we choose to take a little while to follow. And so this is part of the category, which is still rational. It just doesn't fall in a perfect cadence all the time.

目前，某些地方仍存在一些缺口。有些差距正在縮小。有些差距可能會持續一段時間。但從整體來看，目前沒有什麼值得我們擔心的。回想一下，這其中存在著一種互動和接受，我們之前也討論過，跟進的節奏可能需要一些時間。有時我們會選擇花點時間仔細觀察。所以，這屬於理性範疇。它不可能一直保持完美的節奏。

Great. Thank you.

偉大的。謝謝。

Alexia Howard, Bernstein.

Alexia Howard，Bernstein。

Good morning everyone and thank you for the question and welcome, Kirk. Can I ask about the C-store channel? I think Rob mentioned it. It seems as though you were having some trouble with that earlier in the year. It seemed to be in recovery, I think, over the last few months. Is that still going fairly strongly at this point? And then I have a follow-up.

大家早安，感謝大家的提問，歡迎柯克。請問一下便利商店通路的狀況？我想羅布有提到這件事。看來你年初的時候在這方面遇到了一些問題。我認為，在過去的幾個月裡，它似乎正在恢復。目前來看，這種勢頭依然強勁嗎？然後我還有一個後續問題。

Yes. Thank you. I appreciate the question. I'm really passionate about the convenience channel. I just had the opportunity to be at NACS in Chicago and talk to a lot of our customers.

是的。謝謝。感謝您的提問。我對便利通路充滿熱情。我剛剛有機會參加了在芝加哥舉行的 NACS 會議，並與我們的許多客戶進行了交流。

Look, I think about the performance of the category in convenience right now and CMG is performing at a plus 6. So pretty healthy cadence in CMG right now. I think there are still some opportunities for us to get stronger. And we are hyper focused on IC and our ability to execute, and we've rolled out these gold standard merchandising plans. We've built this innovation pipeline.

你看，我目前在考慮便利商店品類的表現，CMG 的表現為 +6。目前 CMG 的發展節奏相當健康。我認為我們還有一些機會可以變得更強大。我們高度重視內部控制和執行能力，並推出了這些黃金標準的商品銷售計畫。我們已經建構了這個創新管道。

We're building on tentpole moments, all with the lens of delivering for our convenience customers. So there is a level of intensity that we're putting against the convenience channel because we know it is a priority. We know IC is a real priority for us as it's a big brand builder and an area where we can continue to grow our brand. So we're going to show up strong. We like the momentum that we have.

我們正在打造一些具有里程碑意義的項目，所有這一切都以服務便利型客戶為出發點。因此，我們正在加強打擊便利管道，因為我們知道便利管道是優先事項。我們知道 IC 對我們來說非常重要，因為它是一個重要的品牌建立者，也是我們可以繼續發展品牌的領域。所以我們要展現強大的實力。我們很滿意目前的發展動能。

We still think there's opportunity for us to get better, and we'll do all that with the partnership with our convenience customers.

我們仍然認為我們有機會做得更好，而我們將透過與便利商店客戶的合作來實現這一切。

Thank you. And as a follow-up, there's been a lot of questions on innovation. Are you able to put any numbers around that in terms of percentage of sales from new products introduced either over the last year or last three years? And how that's ramped over time because it seemed as though innovation dropped off in the years immediately after the pandemic. Thank you, and I'll pass it on.

謝謝。作為後續，還有很多關於創新方面的問題。您能否提供一些具體數據，例如過去一年或過去三年中推出的新產品銷售額佔總銷售額的百分比？隨著時間的推移，這種情況是如何加劇的，因為在疫情爆發後的幾年裡，創新似乎有所停滯。謝謝，我會轉達的。

Yes. innovation is such an important lever for sure. But I think being consistent with innovation is also important in balance with your core business. I'd tell you one thing that I really liked about this last innovation that we launched with REESE'S Oreo, especially in convenience as we're talking about that channel is. We co-merchandised it with our core brands, and we saw our core brands elevate with innovation.

沒錯，創新無疑是一項非常重要的槓桿。但我認為，在維持核心業務平衡的同時，持續創新也很重要。我想告訴你，我非常喜歡我們與 REESE'S Oreo 合作推出的最新創新的一點，尤其是在我們談論便利性這個管道時。我們將它與我們的核心品牌進行聯合銷售，我們看到我們的核心品牌透過創新得到了提升。

And I think that is just a testament to the execution that we have in the marketplace, not just highlighting our innovation, but bringing our core along with it, I think, is a really good thing for us to do. It's a fundamental that we believe in. And so that, I think, takes the total portfolio into account. I think innovation is critical. Consumers are looking for it. But if it can help build your core brands as well, I think you're in a much better place.

我認為這證明了我們在市場上的執行力，不僅突出了我們的創新，而且還將我們的核心優勢融入其中，我認為這對我們來說真的是一件好事。這是我們堅信的基本原則。我認為，這樣就把整個投資組合都考慮進去了。我認為創新至關重要。消費者正在尋找它。但如果它還能幫助你打造核心品牌，我認為你就處於更有利的地位了。

Thank you, I'll pass it on.

謝謝，我會轉達的。

Scott Marks with Jefferies.

Scott Marks，任職於 Jefferies 公司。

Hey, good morning. Thanks so much for taking our questions. You've made some comments today about monitoring the consumer health. And I think we've heard from some of your peers about more broadly just weakening U.S. consumer sentiment. So just wondering if you can share with us your thoughts around what exactly you're seeing with the consumer, and how you're thinking about that as we head into the holidays and 2026?

嘿，早安。非常感謝您回答我們的問題。您今天就消費者健康監測發表了一些評論。而且我認為我們也從你們的一些同行那裡了解到，美國消費者信心普遍疲軟。所以，我想問您能否和我們分享一下您對消費者現狀的看法，以及您對即將到來的假期季節和2026年有何展望？

Yes. I think that's an important topic, and I've had the opportunity to talk to a lot of our customers as well. I think the consumer certainly is continuing to be challenged. It's a challenging consumer market, and there's a lot of headlines that have been talked about driving that concern. But I would say, our category remains resilient.

是的。我認為這是一個重要的主題，我也有機會和很多客戶交流過。我認為消費者無疑正持續面臨挑戰。這是一個充滿挑戰的消費市場，有許多新聞報導加劇了這種擔憂。但我認為，我們這個領域依然具有韌性。

I think that's an important thing to think about. So the impact of consumers, how that interacts with the category and how it's reacting to our business. I think those are the dynamics we look at. But I would say, in large part, the other consumer is certainly under pressure. Our category is showing up resilient, I think really importantly.

我認為這是一個值得思考的重要問題。因此，消費者的影響，以及他們如何與品類互動，以及他們如何對我們的業務做出反應，都至關重要。我認為這就是我們要關注的動態因素。但我認為，在很大程度上，另一部分消費者肯定面臨壓力。我認為，我們這個行業展現了很強的韌性，這一點非常重要。

And then as we look into '26, we see the category running at historic levels with those pressures. So I feel really confident about where we're at in light of a challenged consumer.

然後，當我們展望 2026 年時，我們看到在這些壓力下，該類別的運作達到了歷史水平。鑑於消費者面臨諸多挑戰，我對我們目前的處境感到非常有信心。

Appreciate that. And then just a follow-up question. We've also started to hear from some of your peers about expected headwinds from changes to the SNAP program, both policy changes, which could be more structural and then maybe more temporary government shutdown-related issues. Just wondering if you can share with us some context around how you're thinking about potential SNAP headwinds for the business? Thanks.

謝謝。然後還有一個後續問題。我們也開始從你們的一些同行那裡了解到，SNAP 計劃的改變可能會帶來一些不利影響，包括政策變化（可能更具結構性）以及與政府停擺相關的暫時性問題。我想了解一下您是如何看待 SNAP 政策可能對公司業務造成的不利影響的？謝謝。

Yes. I think it's an important one. Again, a live discussion that we've had with our customers and understanding the impact overall of SNAP. If you just take a step back and look at SNAP, about 2% of SNAP dollars are in the category, the CMG category specifically. Right now, we've seen -- I would say we haven't seen a large impact, but it's early days.

是的。我認為這是一個重要的問題。再次強調，我們與客戶進行了現場討論，並了解了 SNAP 的整體影響。如果你退後一步，看看 SNAP，你會發現大約 2% 的 SNAP 資金屬於該類別，具體來說是 CMG 類別。目前來看——應該說還沒有看到太大的影響，但現在下結論還為時過早。

I think if you look into '26 with the dynamics between the state and the federal government on SNAP, we expect it to be a minimal impact right now on the category. But it's something that we're continuously watching and trying to understand. I think it comes down to the behaviors of consumers that are in the SNAP program, and how they choose to spend those dollars, but we will stay close. But I would say in '26, it will have a minimal impact to the business from what we're seeing right now.

我認為，如果你從州政府和聯邦政府在 SNAP 方面的動態來看 2026 年的情況，我們預計它目前對該類別的影響微乎其微。但我們會持續關注並試圖了解此事。我認為關鍵在於參與 SNAP 計劃的消費者的行為，以及他們如何選擇使用這些錢，但我們會密切關注。但我認為，就目前的情況來看，2026 年它對業務的影響將微乎其微。

Appreciate it, pass it on thanks.

謝謝，請轉達。

Michael Lavery, Piper Sandler.

麥可·拉弗里，派珀·桑德勒。

Thank you. Good morning and thanks for the question. Just wanted to come back to cocoa and you said that you could get some benefit if costs fall further, but it sounds like you're maybe also a bit decently committed, and that you're focused with your hedges on visibility and less volatility. Maybe could you just give a sense of how wide a range is still ahead of you? You're forecasting it to be inflationary. That might moderate a bit, but would you be positioned such that it wouldn't be deflationary, or just maybe give us a sense of how wide a range of possibilities are still in front of you?

謝謝。早安，謝謝你的提問。我只是想回到可可的話題，你說如果成本進一步下降，你可能會從中獲利，但聽起來你可能也相當投入，並且你的對沖策略側重於可見性和降低波動性。您能否大致說明一下，您面前還有多大的範圍？你預測它會導致通貨膨脹。這可能會有所緩和，但您能否採取不會造成通貨緊縮的立場，或者能否讓我們了解一下您面前還有多少種可能性？

Sure. Yes, I'd be happy to. So the fundamental hedging program, as you said, Michael, hasn't really changed. We're hedged, I would say, to the normal level we would be at this time of the year, given that we still believe cocoa does have some room to fall based on the fundamentals that we've talked about in the past. And so right now, we see it on a full year basis, we see it inflationary, but there is a possibility of deflation.

當然。是的，我很樂意。所以，正如你所說，邁克爾，基本的對沖策略並沒有真正改變。我認為，鑑於我們仍然相信可可價格基於我們過去討論過的基本面還有下跌空間，我們的對沖水平與往年這個時候的正常水平相當。所以目前來看，從全年來看，經濟呈現通膨態勢，但有通貨緊縮的可能性。

And the way we've structured our program, as many do, we have a mix of some things that are price fixed and some things that allow downside participation. And so between the unhedged portion looking forward and downside participation, there is potential if we continue to see some fall in cocoa that we could see some deflationary, but it just a lot depends on timing and the magnitude.

和許多公司一樣，我們的專案結構是將一些價格固定的專案和一些允許參與下行風險的專案結合起來。因此，在未對沖部分和下行參與之間，如果我們繼續看到可可價格下跌，可能會出現通貨緊縮，但這很大程度上取決於時機和幅度。

Okay. That's helpful. And you've said in the past that around 75% of your portfolio is less than $4, I guess, how does that look after this latest pricing? And then is that sort of the key threshold? We hear $3 from some other snack peers as maybe a key focus point as well.

好的。那很有幫助。你之前說過，你投資組合中約有 75% 的資產價值低於 4 美元，那麼在最近的價格波動之後，情況如何？那麼，這是否就是關鍵的門檻呢？我們也聽到其他一些零食同行將 3 美元作為重點關注點。

Any sense of maybe kind of where you are sitting today relative to maybe either one of those thresholds?

您覺得自己目前所處的位置，相對於這兩個門檻中的哪一個，大概處於什麼位置？

Yes. I think that 75% of our units are below $4. I think that's -- it's an important to understand where consumers are with price points and with the offerings that we have. But I would say that, that's largely the case today.

是的。我認為我們75%的產品價格低於4美元。我認為，了解消費者對價格點和我們所提供的產品/服務的接受程度非常重要。但我認為，目前這種情況基本上是如此。

Okay great thanks so much.

好的，非常感謝。

Chris Carey, Wells Fargo.

克里斯凱裡，富國銀行。

Hey, good morning, everybody.

嘿，大家早安。

Good morning, Chris.

早上好，克里斯。

We are late in the call. So I'm just going to ask a couple of clarifying questions, if I could. Just on this conversation around algorithm for next year, kind of similar commentary despite the lower cocoa. Is it fair to say that if cocoa had not come down, you probably would have to take even more pricing into next year, and now you're basically not in that situation anymore. And then -- yes, go ahead.

我們通話遲到了。所以，如果可以的話，我想問幾個澄清問題。就明年演算法相關的討論而言，儘管可可含量較低，但評論卻有些類似。如果可可價格沒有下跌，那麼明年你可能不得不承擔更高的價格，但現在你基本上已經擺脫了這種困境。然後——好的，繼續。

I was going to say no. I don't think at this point, we're not focused on pricing. We've got the price increase we've just announced rolling through. But we continue to work all the other levers as well, whether cocoa goes up, down or sideways in terms of productivity, driving our transformation savings, continuous improvement, et cetera. So right now, we're focused on driving -- continuing the momentum in the business and making sure that we have the good execution on the pricing that's already in the market and focused on a balanced approach to driving the business for the long term.

我本來想說不。我認為目前我們還沒有把重點放在定價上。我們剛剛宣布的價格上漲措施正在逐步實施。但無論可可產量是上升、下降或保持穩定，我們都會繼續運用所有其他槓桿，推動轉型節約、持續改善等等。所以現在，我們專注於推動業務發展——保持業務勢頭，確保我們能夠很好地執行市場上已有的定價策略，並專注於採取平衡的方法來推動業務的長期發展。

Great. I guess, is it fair to say that if cocoa did not fall, you would have to assess whether additional pricing would be needed? And then just a quick -- so just a quick clarification there. And then I think the tax rate came up. Obviously, there's been a sort of reorientation of tax rate.

偉大的。我想，如果可可價格沒有下跌，是否可以這樣說：您需要評估是否需要採取額外的定價措施？然後，我還要快速地——所以，我需要快速地澄清一下。然後我想，接下來就提到了稅率。顯然，稅率已經發生了某種程度的調整。

Can you just give a sense of what's going on there and medium-term tax planning and opportunity? Thanks.

您能否簡要介紹一下那裡的情況，以及中期稅務規劃和機會？謝謝。

Sure. So just back to the first question. In '26, we would not anticipate taking more pricing even if cocoa remained at prior levels. Now long term, again, we have to manage over a long window. So to be on algorithm, we would continue to look at pricing as a long-term lever, but not for '26.

當然。回到第一個問題。2026 年，即使可可價格保持在先前的水平，我們也不預期價格會進一步上漲。從長遠來看，我們又必須進行長期管理。因此，為了採用演算法，我們將繼續把定價視為長期槓桿，但不會針對 2026 年。

Hopefully, that helps. Again, cocoa, we're still executing and making sure the price increases that we've announced flow through. The -- on tax rate, yes, happy to talk about it. It's been a bit of a change this year. In fact, it's probably been a topic every quarter.

希望這能有所幫助。再說一遍，可可，我們仍在執行並確保我們宣布的價格上漲能夠落實到位。關於稅率，是的，我很樂意談論這個問題。今年發生了一些變化。事實上，這大概是每季都會討論的話題。

And we have a couple of things that are happening, a couple of which are unusual to this year and one that we're still working through for next year. But on one hand, we have three things hitting the tax rate. One, some adjustments in reserves based on some legacy positions and legacy litigation. We didn't have any of that in the third quarter. But you'll recall in a couple of earlier quarters, we talked a little bit about having some reserve adjustments.

我們有幾件事正在發生，其中幾件是今年不尋常的，還有一件是我們仍在為明年做準備的事情。但一方面，有三件事會影響稅率。第一，根據一些歷史遺留問題和歷史遺留訴訟，對儲備金進行了一些調整。第三節比賽中我們沒有出現這種情況。但您可能還記得，在之前的幾個季度裡，我們曾談到一些準備金調整的問題。

The second piece is related to some procurement strategies. So earlier in this year, as we looked at different sourcing alternatives for cocoa, which we pursued, drove great ROI, but had some less tax efficiency than our normal procurement strategies. And then finally, the tax credit strategies, which we've talked about. In the current environment, we just haven't found as many attractive tax credit investment opportunities. Again, we've got ROI thresholds, quality thresholds.

第二部分與一些採購策略有關。今年早些時候，我們檢視了可可的不同採購替代方案，這些方案帶來了很高的投資報酬率，但在稅收效率方面不如我們正常的採購策略。最後，我們來談談之前討論過的稅收抵免策略。在當前環境下，我們還沒有找到那麼多有吸引力的稅收抵免投資機會。同樣，我們有投資回報率閾值和品質閾值。

And with the movement in the investment universe for those, they just haven't been as attractive given our threshold. So those are the three things that have been impacting tax rate for this year. We'll give more guidance on next year's tax rate and some of the factors there when we get to guidance later.

鑑於投資領域的現狀，考慮到我們的門檻，這些投資的吸引力已經不如以前了。以上就是今年影響稅率的三件事。我們將在稍後發布指導意見時，對明年的稅率及相關因素提供更多指引。

Hey, Chris, I just wanted to share my point of view on '26 and the pricing questions that you asked. Look, I think if you go back to what we talked about, what '26 looks like from a success standpoint, certainly getting back on algorithm. We talked about the potential for EPS. But I think it's really important to get this message across. We retain the flexibility to invest in our business.

嘿，克里斯，我只是想分享一下我對 '26 以及你提出的定價問題的看法。你看，我認為如果你回到我們之前討論的內容，從成功的角度來看，2026 年會是什麼樣子，當然是重新回到演算法上。我們討論了每股收益的潛力。但我認為把這個訊息傳達出去非常重要。我們保留了對業務進行投資的彈性。

We're playing this for the long haul. We have a lot of energy and enthusiasm in the business right now. We want to keep that momentum. There's also a lot of great new ideas to drive growth and health for the business over the long term while we recover our margin that we've gone backwards on. So I think that balance, I think, is what I would leave you with is we still have that flexibility.

我們是著眼長遠。我們現在對業務充滿熱情和活力。我們希望保持這種勢頭。我們還有很多很棒的新想法，可以推動業務的長期成長和健康發展，同時我們也在努力恢復已經下滑的利潤率。所以我認為，這種平衡，我想留給大家的印像是，我們仍然擁有這種彈性。

We're enthusiastic about what we see with momentum, but also the opportunities we have to invest in for the future. So certainly a balance of how we build the business.

我們對目前的發展動能感到興奮，同時也對未來投資的機會感到興奮。所以，我們如何建立業務，當然需要找到一個平衡點。

Thanks guys.

謝謝各位。

I appreciate it.

謝謝。

John Baumgartner, Mizuho Securities.

John Baumgartner，瑞穗證券。

Good morning. Thanks for the question. Maybe just sticking with convenience stores, Kirk, just bigger picture, I'd like to hear your observations of the retail landscape for competitive merchandising and promo, just having seen it in your seat across multiple categories over the years, how promo/merch has evolved given the rise of smaller brands, healthy snacks, non-CMG categories.

早安.謝謝你的提問。柯克，或許我們應該只關注便利商店，從更宏觀的角度來看，我想聽聽你對零售業競爭格局和促銷策略的看法。多年來，你一直在多個品類中觀察，隨著小品牌、健康零食和非CMG品類的興起，促銷/商品策略發生了怎樣的變化。

Just how has competition changed for that high visibility merchandising? How do you see confectionery positioned today to compete? And are there any changes you think Hershey can make in terms of either existing spend levels or types of promotion?

在高曝光率商品銷售領域，競爭格局究竟發生了哪些變化？您認為如今糖果產業在競爭中處於什麼地位？您認為好時公司在現有消費水準或促銷類型方面可以做出哪些改變？

Yes, I think that's the right question, and I think it is changing. I think, John, you've asked a good question in convenience, if you spend time with the retailers, you'll see certainly, new solutions to drive the customer performance from their standpoint. We've seen a lot of new merchandising strategies, a lot of new ways to deliver value for consumers across multiple categories in convenience. I think it's really important that we play a growth driver role inside the store, and that is delivered across our core innovation, and how we deliver value in multiple transactions and things that consumers are doing. I think that there's also new tools that are exciting.

是的，我認為這是個好問題，而且我認為情況正在改變。約翰，我認為你提出了一個關於便利性的好問題。如果你花時間與零售商交流，你一定會看到，從他們的角度出發，有許多新的解決方案可以提升顧客體驗。我們看到了許多新的商品銷售策略，很多在便利商店各個品類中為消費者創造價值的新方法。我認為，在門市中發揮成長驅動作用至關重要，而這體現在我們核心的創新，以及我們如何在消費者進行的多種交易和活動中創造價值。我認為還有一些令人興奮的新工具。

So there's loyalty and tools that retailers are using that we're participating in that drive personalization and loyalty. So there's so many new fascinating ways to grow the business. And again, I'm super passionate about this channel and our opportunities to build brand and build momentum. And it will be a focus point for us moving forward.

因此，零售商正在使用一些忠誠度工具，我們也參與其中，這些工具旨在推動個人化和客戶忠誠度。所以，發展業務有很多令人興奮的新方法。再次強調，我對這個頻道以及我們打造品牌和發展動能的機會充滿熱情。這將是我們未來工作的重點。

Thanks sir.

謝謝您，先生。

Thanks John.

謝謝你，約翰。

Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. I'd like to hand the floor back over to Anoori Naughton for any closing comments.

謝謝。目前沒有其他問題了。我想把發言權交還給阿諾裡·諾頓，讓她做最後的總結發言。

Thank you, everyone, for joining us this morning. We look forward to our follow-up calls this afternoon. Thanks.

謝謝大家今天早上收看我們的節目。我們期待今天下午的後續電話。謝謝。

This concludes today conference. You can disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

今天的會議到此結束。現在可以斷開線路了。感謝您的參與。