好時 (HSY) 2026 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to The Hershey Company second quarter 2026 question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

各位好，歡迎參加好時公司（The Hershey Company）2026 年第二季問答環節。(接線員指示) 提醒各位，本次會議正在錄音。

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.

現在我想把電話交給本次會議主持人——好時公司投資人關係副總裁 Anoori Naughton。謝謝。您可以開始了。

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today for The Hershey Company's second quarter 2026 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.

各位早安。感謝各位今天參加好時公司 2026 年第二季財報問答會。希望各位都已閱讀我們的新聞稿並收聽管理團隊預錄的談話內容，兩者皆可在我們網站上取得。

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. 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 financial and operating performance.

此外，我們也已上傳預錄談話內容的逐字稿。在今天的即時問答結束後，我們也會上傳本次電話會議的逐字稿與音訊重播。請注意，在今天的問答環節中，我們可能會做出前瞻性陳述，這些陳述受各種風險與不確定性影響。這些陳述包括對公司未來財務與營運表現的預期與假設。

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.

實際結果可能與預測有重大差異。公司不承擔因後續事件而更新這些陳述的義務。相關風險與不確定性的詳細清單可見於今日新聞稿及公司向美國證券交易委員會（SEC）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 consideration 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.

最後，請注意我們可能會提及某些非 GAAP 財務衡量指標，我們認為這些指標能為投資人提供有用資訊。此資訊不應單獨考量，也不應作為依 GAAP 編製之財務資訊的替代。與 GAAP 結果的調節表已包含在今早的新聞稿中。

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 take the first question.

今天與我一同出席的有：好時總裁暨執行長 Kirk Tanner，以及好時資深副總裁暨財務長 Steve Voskuil。接下來我們開始第一個問題。

Andrew Lazar, Barclays.

Andrew Lazar，巴克萊（Barclays）。

Maybe to start, I'm curious what some of the sort of key puts and takes in the first half and specifically the second quarter were and where you think consumption came in for the quarter relative to shipments as I know there's a lot of noise in the data we all get due to holiday timing and such?

我想先問一下，上半年、特別是第二季，有哪些關鍵的正負因素？另外，您認為本季的消費表現相對於出貨表現如何？因為我們拿到的資料常會受到假期時點等因素影響而出現不少雜訊。

Yes, you bet. I'm happy to take that one. And I'll speak to the first half as Easter creates a lot of noise in Q2, as you said, Andrew. US confection retail consumption of about 3% understated our real demand by about 2 points, primarily due to the non-measured channel growth and the year-over-year concentration of Easter shipments in 2026.

好的，當然。我很樂意回答這題。我也會談上半年，因為如你所說，復活節會讓第二季的數據出現很多雜訊，Andrew。美國糖果零售端消費約 3% 的成長，低估了我們實際需求約 2 個百分點，主要原因是未被衡量通路的成長，以及 2026 年復活節出貨在年對年比較下的集中效應。

There's an additional point of growth reflected the retail inventory replenishment after levels ran low during the April transition to new pack prices. We expect that gap to be narrower as we look ahead to the second half shipments.

另外還有 1 個百分點的成長，反映零售端庫存補貨——因為在 4 月切換到新包裝價格期間，庫存水位曾偏低。展望下半年出貨，我們預期這個差距會縮小。

Okay. You mentioned elasticity is running a bit better than your full year assumption. Underlying consumption is clearly better than what we saw for the quarter in scanner data, as you noted. And it seems for the most part that the headwind in the quarter from maybe some of the overshipping in 1Q was more or less offset by some of the shipping ahead of 3Q holiday activations and plans.

了解。你們提到需求彈性表現比全年假設稍好。如你所說，扣除掃描數據所呈現的情況後，底層消費顯然比本季看到的更好。而且看起來，本季可能因第一季出貨偏多所帶來的逆風，大致被為第三季假期檔期活動與計畫提前出貨所抵消。

So I guess my question is, with the magnitude of the upside versus consensus in the quarter really on both organic sales and EPS, why there would not be more flow-through to the full year guidance? And if it's greater investment behind all the activity you have coming, why would that not result in even better organic for the year, especially as the category overall seems really quite healthy?

所以我的問題是：本季有機銷售與 EPS 都明顯優於市場共識，為什麼全年財測沒有更大幅度地反映（flow-through）？如果是因為你們對接下來的活動加大投資，那為什麼不會讓全年有機成長更好？尤其整體品類看起來相當健康。

Yes. Let me take that one. First of all, we really like our position in the second half to deliver growth, and we think we should look at the business in two ways. One, on a one-year basis, you'll see growth on a two-year basis, you'll see really good growth.

好的。我來回答。首先，我們非常看好自己在下半年帶動成長的布局，我們認為可以用兩個角度來看這個業務。第一，以一年期來看，你會看到成長；以兩年期來看，你會看到非常不錯的成長。

We, of course, encounter tougher comps in the second half, led by the Reese's Oreo innovation that we had last year. That is still performing very well, but it was a very big success that we're overlapping. But we have plans. So we have some big opportunities to build on our second half with our half two innovation and merchandising programs. Things like Hershey, the Creme bars, and we have the big Hershey movie also that has been really supported by customers.

當然，下半年我們會面臨較嚴峻的比較基期，主要是因為去年我們推出的 Reese's Oreo 創新產品。該產品目前仍表現非常好，但去年非常成功，因此今年會形成重疊比較。不過我們已有相應計畫。因此，我們在下半年仍有一些重大機會，透過下半年創新與陳列促銷（merchandising）方案來延續動能。例如 Hershey 的 Creme bars，以及大型的 Hershey 電影合作案，也獲得客戶大力支持。

So we have some exciting programs in place for that. And we have solid visibility into our cost structure. So you should see -- we should see some good growth on a one-year basis, and we should see really good growth on a two-year basis. I think one other thing that I'm encouraged by in the second half is that we have a robust Halloween plan. And so we can see those -- the visibility to that.

因此我們已為此安排了一些令人振奮的方案。同時，我們對成本結構也有相當清晰的能見度。所以你應該會看到——我們應該會在一年期基礎上有不錯的成長，而在兩年期基礎上有非常好的成長。另外一點讓我對下半年感到鼓舞的是，我們有一個很強的萬聖節計畫。因此我們對相關表現也有能見度。

So we're encouraged by what we see with Halloween.

所以我們對萬聖節所看到的情況感到鼓舞。

Yes, I'll just add. We always expected the first half to be weighted to the top line given the laps that Kirk mentioned on the second half. The modest guidance increase reflects the replenishment that was expected to happen more gradually over the course of the year but was largely completed in Q2.

我再補充一下。我們一直預期上半年在營收端會相對偏重，因為如 Kirk 所提到，下半年有較高的比較基期。這次小幅上調指引，反映的是原本預期會在全年較為逐步發生的補貨，但在第二季已大致完成。

And the balance is really just continued prudence for the macro factors, as you said, Andrew, you have it, kind of, working in our favor or at least inside our expectations so far. But yes, we want to be prudent as we get to the back half, still a lot of moving variables. And as Kirk said, we do have some reinvestment planned on the back of that sort of action-packed innovation calendar.

其餘部分主要是基於總體環境因素而持續保持審慎；如你所說，Andrew，目前這些因素對我們而言算是有利，或至少符合我們的預期。但我們確實希望在進入下半年時保持審慎，因為仍有許多變動因素。而且如 Kirk 所說，配合那個行程滿檔的創新日曆，我們也規劃了一些再投資。

Max Gumport, BNP Paribas.

Max Gumport，法國巴黎銀行（BNP Paribas）。

I just wanted to double-click on the second half, specifically with regard to merchandising shipments. So your commentary includes remarks about managing the timing of 3Q merchandising shipments. I just want to make sure that there wasn't any unexpected pull forward of merchandising items into 2Q relative to your initial plans. If you could offer any color on that, please?

我想再深入追問一下下半年，特別是關於陳列促銷（merchandising）出貨。你們的評論提到在管理第三季陳列促銷出貨的時點。我想確認一下，第二季是否有任何陳列促銷品項相對於原先計畫出現非預期的提前拉貨（pull forward）。若能提供一些補充說明，感謝。

Sure. I'd be happy to. So there was a little over 1 point of shipments for Q3 merchandising that happened in Q2. That was just a little bit ahead of our expectations. However, that impact will largely neutralize against the extra shipping day in Q4, which is why we say the gap will be less material in the second half.

當然。我很樂意說明。第二季確實有略高於 1 個百分點、原本屬於第三季陳列促銷的出貨發生在第二季。這比我們的預期稍微提前了一點。不過，這個影響大致會被第四季多出的一個出貨日所抵消，因此我們才會說下半年這個差距的重要性會比較不大。

Great. Very clear. And then looking a bit forward, so at your Investor Day, you provided growth targets for organic sales and adjusted EPS in 2027. Can you provide an update on your visibility to these targets now that we're halfway through '26 and also perhaps comment on the interplay between these two. I'm specifically curious about how dependent your EPS target is on your organic sales outlook.

很好。非常清楚。接著往前看一點，在你們的投資人日上，你們提供了 2027 年有機銷售與調整後 EPS 的成長目標。現在我們已經走到 '26 年的一半，你能否更新一下你們對這些目標的可見度，並且也許評論一下這兩者之間的相互關係。我特別好奇，你們的 EPS 目標在多大程度上取決於你們對有機銷售的展望。

Sure. Yes, great question. So to clarify, the 2% to 4% range that we talked about is our long-term organic net sales growth algorithm for North America Confectionery. Annual growth, of course, is going to vary based on category dynamics, seasonal timing, et cetera.

當然。是的，問得很好。先澄清一下，我們提到的 2% 到 4% 區間，是我們北美糖果業務長期的有機淨銷售成長模型。當然，每年的成長會因品類動態、季節時點等等而有所不同。

For 2027, given the shorter Easter, we would see 2% is sort of the starting point for that segment in the '27 framework. On top of that, of course, we expect Salty and International to be accretive to total growth, and that's what keeps us within the long-term enterprise long-term algorithm. And then keep in mind, when we set the earnings outlook for 2027, that framework was where we started. So the earnings outlook is based on that.

就 2027 年而言，考量到復活節較短，我們會把 2% 視為該事業部在 '27 架構中的起點。在此之上，當然，我們預期鹹食與國際業務會對整體成長帶來增益，這也是讓我們維持在企業長期成長模型區間內的原因。另外請記住，當我們設定 2027 年的獲利展望時，就是以那個架構作為起點。因此，獲利展望是以此為基礎。

If we now kind of say, okay, hey, we're halfway through the year, how do we feel? I would say based on what we know today, we continue to look at that framework that we laid out is achievable. The environment is dynamic for sure, particularly around consumer behavior, competition, commodities, et cetera. But our plan was built with that flexibility and multiple levers to manage through the uncertainty.

如果我們現在說，好，已經走到今年一半了，我們感覺如何？我會說，以我們今天所掌握的資訊來看，我們仍然認為我們所提出的那個架構是可達成的。環境確實是動態的，特別是在消費者行為、競爭、原物料等方面。但我們的計畫在建立時就納入了彈性，並且有多個槓桿可以用來因應不確定性。

So we have good visibility into cocoa deflation next year, even if futures remain around current levels. And of course, we'll provide much more detail as we get closer to issuing '27 guidance formally. But in summary, nothing we see today, commodities or otherwise would cause us to move away from that framework.

因此，即使期貨仍維持在目前水準附近，我們對明年的可可成本下行也有不錯的可見度。當然，等到我們更接近正式發布 '27 指引時，我們會提供更多細節。但總結來說，我們今天看到的情況，不論是原物料或其他因素，都不會讓我們偏離那個架構。

Robert Moskow, TD Cowen.

Robert Moskow，TD Cowen。

Can we dig a little bit deeper into Dot's? You cited some supply chain challenges, I think, at the manufacturing facilities. Can you tell us specifically what happened? And is it an easy fix? Or is there something -- some kind of capital investment that needs to be made to upgrade the facilities?

我們能不能更深入談一下 Dot's？你提到一些供應鏈挑戰，我想是在製造工廠那邊。你能具體說明發生了什麼嗎？這是容易修復的問題嗎？還是需要做某種資本投資來升級這些設施？

Yes. Yes, I'll take that one, and thanks for the question. Yes, the Dot's business is very encouraging, but let me talk a few specifics on this one. We really like what we're seeing from a consumer standpoint, I think, first and foremost, with strong brand health metrics and consumer demand across the portfolio. So we continue to see robust runway for growth with our core brands, and Dot's is leading the way.

是的。是的，這題我來回答，謝謝你的提問。是的，Dot's 的業務非常令人鼓舞，但我來談幾個具體點。我認為首先、也是最重要的，從消費者角度來看，我們非常喜歡目前看到的情況：品牌健康度指標強勁，且整個產品組合的消費者需求都很旺。因此，我們持續看到核心品牌有很強的成長跑道，而 Dot's 正在領跑。

Now we have -- having said that, we have had some growing pains in keeping up with strong demand, particularly the Dot's business and that is largely behind us. We saw this coming, and we had already increased our investment in automation and capacity with capacity coming online in 2027. And so we feel good about that.

話雖如此，面對強勁需求，我們在跟上節奏方面確實經歷了一些成長陣痛，特別是 Dot's 業務，而這部分大致已經過去了。我們早就預見到這點，也已經加大了自動化與產能的投資，相關產能將在 2027 年上線。因此我們對此感到放心。

Automation will start helping us right now. So that's why I say it's largely behind us because we can see the forecast, and we're in pretty good shape. And so I think the tough spot, the growing pains are largely behind us, and we're ahead of that for '27. So I feel like that's where we're at with Dot's. And Dot's continue to be a growth driver for us.

自動化現在就會開始幫助我們。所以我才說這大致已經過去了，因為我們看得到預測，而且目前狀況相當不錯。因此我認為最艱難的階段、那些成長陣痛大致已經過去，而且我們也為 '27 提前做好準備。這就是我們在 Dot's 方面的現況。而 Dot's 仍將持續成為我們的成長動能。

Yes. And I'll just add, at the segment level, obviously, operating margin came in a bit below expectations due to those supply chain challenges. And as a result of that, we have to use more spot freight usage, a little bit higher logistics costs and some limited volume throughput versus what we had planned.

是的。我再補充一下，就事業部層級來看，因為那些供應鏈挑戰，營業利益率確實比預期低了一些。因此我們必須更多使用即期運輸，物流成本略高，且相較於原先規劃，產出量能（throughput）也受到一些限制。

Again, looking ahead, as Kirk said, we expect to see some margin improvement in the second half as we move to capture that demand and also optimize the supply chain while still having a little bit of a tail of elevated freight and logistics costs.

同樣地，展望未來，如 Kirk 所說，我們預期下半年在承接需求、並優化供應鏈的同時，毛利率/利潤率會有所改善，儘管運費與物流成本偏高的尾巴仍會持續一段時間。

Okay. A follow-up. July 4 was like one of these tentpole events that you called out. How did that go? And did these issues on Dot's impacted at all?

好的。追問一下。7 月 4 日是你們點名的其中一個關鍵檔期活動。表現如何？Dot's 的這些問題有造成任何影響嗎？

Or was it executed okay?

還是執行得還不錯？

No, not really. I think that Dot's still has got tremendous opportunities around these, especially these Salty tentpole moments. So you'll see Dot's come to life later this fall with fall football. It was not a massive part of our 4th of July execution in the first place, and now that's an opportunity for our future.

沒有，影響不大。我認為 Dot's 在這些時點上仍有巨大的機會，尤其是這些鹹食的關鍵檔期時刻。所以你會在今年秋天、隨著秋季美式足球賽季看到 Dot's 更加活躍。本來 Dot's 就不是我們 7 月 4 日執行中的主要部分，而這也成為我們未來的機會。

But when you see the balance of the year, you're going to start seeing Dot's in a lot of these Salty moments where consumers are looking for brands like this. So you'll see some more breakthrough through that. So I feel good about where we're going. It didn't impact us that much for 4th of July.

但當你看今年剩下的時間，你會開始在許多鹹食情境中看到 Dot's，因為消費者在這些時刻會尋找像這樣的品牌。所以你會看到更多突破性的表現。因此我對我們的方向感到樂觀。它對 7 月 4 日的影響不大。

Leah Jordan, Goldman Sachs.

Leah Jordan，高盛。

I wanted to follow-up on the cocoa comments. You noted that you could see cost deflation into next year even if they stay at current levels and we've seen it creep up again here recently. Just curious if you could provide more color on your coverage or visibility on your costs into next year at this point?

我想追問一下你們對可可的評論。你提到即使價格維持在目前水準，你們仍可看到成本在明年出現下行，而我們最近也看到價格又有些回升。想請教你能否更具體說明一下，就目前而言，你們對明年成本的覆蓋/可見度到什麼程度？

How we should think about the potential magnitude of deflation we could see? And any views on how you're thinking about cocoa supply? And are you planning any differently as you think about this potential El Niño environment this year?

我們應該如何看待可能出現的通縮幅度？以及你們對可可供給有什麼看法？另外，當你們考量今年可能出現的聖嬰（El Niño）環境時，規劃上是否有任何不同？

Sure. Well, let me take the first part and Kirk and I can tag team on the cocoa supply chain question. So as I said, we've got good visibility into cocoa deflation next year. I don't think we're -- at this point in the year, we're going to get real specific on -- and we will as we get closer to year-end. But right now, we feel good about the deflation we're seeing.

當然。我先回答第一部分，至於可可供應鏈的問題，我和 Kirk 可以接力補充。如我所說，我們對明年可可成本下行有不錯的可見度。我想在一年中的這個時間點，我們還不會講得非常具體——我們會在接近年底時再更明確。但就目前而言，我們對正在看到的成本下行感到樂觀。

We've got a good track record of managing through commodity volatility, again, with our hedging, pricing strategies, resilient categories, the productivity and every -- all the other levers that we routinely use to manage that. So we'll share a lot more detail. I would just say we're in a spot where we'd typically be at this time of the year and with all those levers available to us as we look to '27.

我們在管理大宗商品波動方面有良好的紀錄，透過避險、定價策略、具韌性的品類、提升生產力，以及我們一貫用來管理這些波動的其他所有槓桿。我們之後會分享更多細節。我只想說，從時間點來看，我們目前所處的位置大致符合往年的常態，而且在展望 '27 時，我們仍有上述所有槓桿可用。

Yes. Yes. Let me talk a little bit about what we're seeing in the cocoa supply. So El Niño, you brought that up. El Niño speculation is certainly impacting pricing today and lately.

是的。是的。我先稍微談一下我們在可可供應面看到的情況。所以你提到聖嬰現象（El Niño）。對聖嬰現象的揣測，確實正在影響今天以及近期的價格。

But we do not expect cocoa to remain at current levels long term for a few reasons. If you remember the '23, '24 cycle, this is very different from that.

但基於幾個原因，我們不預期可可長期會維持在目前水準。如果你還記得 '23、'24 的週期，這次和那次非常不同。

And a couple of factors that we're seeing. One, we're coming off historic surpluses -- inventories are healthier. Supply is more diversified and the industry is much more agile. The recent '26 and '27 West African crop data is, I'd say, encouraging after a slow start. So even if some of the origins are impacted by El Niño, we believe the market is already pricing it in.

我們看到的幾個因素是：第一，我們正從歷史性的供給過剩走出來——庫存狀況更健康。供應來源更加多元，產業也更具敏捷性。近期 '26 與 '27 年西非作物數據，我會說在起步偏慢之後，令人鼓舞。因此，即便部分產地受到聖嬰現象影響，我們認為市場已經把這些因素反映在價格之中。

There is plenty of cocoa supply globally. And given that view that there's room for prices to come down, as you can imagine, the hedging strategies we use will allow flexibility to participate in further deflation as the markets normalize.

全球可可供應充足。而基於我們認為價格仍有下行空間的看法，如你所想，我們採用的避險策略將保有彈性，讓我們在市場正常化、進一步通縮時也能參與其中。

That was great color. And then I just wanted to ask about gross margin for this year. You slightly lowered the guide. I think now slightly below 400 basis points versus just 400 basis points before. Maybe you can help us think about the magnitude we should think about there?

這些說明很有幫助。接著我想問一下今年的毛利率。你們把指引稍微下調了。我想現在是略低於 400 個基點，而之前是 400 個基點。你能否幫我們理解一下，這個幅度大概該怎麼看？

Or how do you characterize the word slightly? And I guess, what are you embedding in the guide for higher logistics costs in the back half? And any phasing we should keep in mind for 3Q versus 4Q on gross margin?

或者你會如何界定「稍微」這個詞？另外，你們在指引中對下半年較高的物流成本納入了哪些假設？以及在毛利率方面，3Q 相較 4Q 有沒有什麼時點/節奏需要留意？

Yes. So we still have, as we have pointed out, a significant lift in gross margins in the back half. We continue to see the commodity benefit coming through much more significantly than we did in the first half. And so that remains unchanged. And we're just below 400 basis points.

是的。如同我們先前指出的，下半年毛利率仍會有顯著提升。我們持續看到大宗商品帶來的效益，且其顯著程度遠高於上半年。因此這部分看法不變。而我們的提升幅度會略低於 400 個基點。

We're not materially shy of the 400 basis points kind of use that as the reference point we've used before, previously a little above, I would say now just a little bit below.

我們並沒有在 400 個基點上差很多；我們仍以 400 個基點作為先前使用的參考點——之前我會說略高於 400，而現在則是略低於 400。

And some of that is just, again, some of the Salty components coming through as we work through those challenges. On the other side, productivity is doing really well. And so we're encouraged by what we see. I think we'll have a strong finish on productivity. We just have to work through those optimization components on Salty here over the last quarter.

其中一部分原因仍是 Salty（鹹味品類）的一些組成項目，在我們處理這些挑戰的過程中逐步反映出來。另一方面，生產力表現非常好。因此我們對目前看到的情況感到鼓舞。我認為生產力會在年底有強勁收尾。我們只是需要在最後一季把 Salty 的那些最佳化項目處理完。

Peter Galbo, Bank of America.

Peter Galbo，美國銀行。

Steve, Kirk. I wanted to circle back on the confection piece of it and maybe drill in a bit more on the untracked piece. It's not something we often hear a lot about. And again, if the math is correct, it suggests it was like 200 basis points of growth for the first half.

Steve、Kirk。我想回到糖果（confection）這塊，並更深入問一下未追蹤（untracked）的部分。這不是我們常聽到很多的項目。而且如果我算得沒錯，它似乎在上半年貢獻了大約 200 個基點的成長。

So maybe you can just again, unpack that untracked piece a bit more. I don't know if it was World Cup-driven, people depended on the Times Square Hershey store. Like what exactly is going on in that untracked piece that we all can't see to kind of drive the outperformance?

所以也許你可以再拆解一下這個未追蹤的部分。我不確定是不是世界盃帶動，或是人們依賴時代廣場的好時（Hershey）門市之類的。到底在那個我們看不到的未追蹤部分發生了什麼，能推動這樣的超預期表現？

Yes, happy to take that one. Really, it's not quite that much. The biggest component inside there is foodservice, and we did see a pretty big pickup on the foodservice side. We also have some specialty retail and some other things that fold into that nonmeasured channel, but probably foodservice was the biggest piece. It also includes some compression of Easter shipments inside that number as well.

好的，很樂意回答。其實沒有到那麼多。其中最大的組成是餐飲服務（foodservice），我們確實看到餐飲服務端有相當明顯的回升。另外也包含一些專門零售（specialty retail）以及其他一些歸入該未衡量通路（nonmeasured channel）的項目，但餐飲服務大概是最大的一塊。此外，這個數字裡也包含復活節出貨在時點上的一些壓縮。

So those are the factors. I think those are the biggest ones probably to call out.

所以大概就是這些因素。我想以上是最主要、值得點出的幾項。

Okay. And maybe just, Steve, to your commentary in the prepared remarks, you mentioned that 3Q is still expected to kind of be strongest year-over-year earnings growth period. I think that was always the case just given some of the comps. But maybe you can just remind us like what's embedded in the base period of 3Q of last year that still drives that pretty material earnings growth for 3Q specifically.

好的。另外，Steve，關於你在事先準備的發言中提到，3Q 仍預期會是年對年獲利成長最強的期間。我想考量到比較基期，這一直都是如此。但你能否提醒我們一下：去年 3Q 的基期裡包含了哪些因素，使得今年 3Q 特別會出現相當顯著的獲利成長？

Sure. Yes, the biggest factor is 3Q had the highest cocoa cost last year, and I would say the full brunt of tariffs. And so those are the two biggest things we'll be lapping in the third quarter this year. So bigger tailwind in the third quarter than we'll see in the fourth.

當然。是的，最大的因素是去年 3Q 的可可成本最高，而且我會說關稅的影響也在那時完全反映。因此，這兩項就是我們今年第三季將要「跨越」的最大因素。所以第三季的順風會比第四季更強。

Michael Lavery, Piper Sandler.

Michael Lavery，Piper Sandler。

I just wanted to touch on International. You called out in the prepared remarks good momentum there, but there's also some margin pressure. And if we look back at like '22, '23 and '24, full year margins were above double digits. But last six or so quarters, it's run close to flat. Is there a structural change?

我想談一下國際業務。你在事先準備的發言中提到那邊動能不錯，但也有一些毛利壓力。如果回頭看像 '22、'23 和 '24，全年毛利率都在兩位數以上。但過去大約六個季度，表現幾乎持平。這是結構性的改變嗎？

Is that just some investments? And I guess also, can you just elaborate some on what is working with the top line and just give an update on all that?

還是只是一些投資所致？另外，你能否再多談一些哪些因素在推動營收端（top line），並就整體情況給我們一個更新？

Sure. I'm happy to take kind of a start through that. Some real pockets that we're excited about. Brazil, the UK, India, in particular, has -- were probably some of our strongest performing markets through the first part of the year. Demand is running ahead of plan. So I feel good about that.

當然。我很樂意先從這部分開始說明。有一些我們很振奮的亮點市場。巴西、英國、印度，尤其是——大概是我們今年前段表現最強的幾個市場。需求表現超出計畫。所以我對此感覺良好。

Mexico, macro conditions continue to be challenging. But as we look across international in total, there's probably nothing from a competitive standpoint that kind of changes our long-term view that this is a positive opportunity for continued growth.

墨西哥方面，總體環境仍然具挑戰。但就整體國際業務來看，從競爭角度而言，並沒有什麼會改變我們的長期觀點：這仍是一個正向機會，可望持續成長。

On the margin side, in particular, you're seeing the higher cocoa costs flow through with a little bit of a delay in International as well as some higher logistics and freight impacting that segment as well. And then as we turn the year, so the first half is very strong as we kind of move to the second half, we are going to continue to do some optimization work to help long-term profitability in the international business. We'll probably share more about that as we get further towards the end of the year.

在毛利方面，特別是你會看到較高的可可成本在國際業務端也會以稍微延後的方式反映出來，同時較高的物流與運輸成本也在影響該部門。另外，隨著年度推進，上半年表現非常強；當我們進入下半年時，我們將持續進行一些最佳化工作，以提升國際業務的長期獲利能力。我們可能會在接近年底時分享更多相關內容。

But that will be -- but that's expected to be a little bit of a drag on margins in the back half relative to the front half, will ultimately unlock further margin improvement as we look forward. So in total, very excited about that business, strong first half, some real pockets of strength, but also we're making choices to set it up for long-term success.

但那將會——但這預期相較於上半年，會在下半年對利潤率造成些許拖累，不過從長遠來看，將能解鎖進一步的利潤率改善。因此整體而言，我們對這項業務非常振奮，上半年表現強勁，有一些真正的強勢亮點，但同時我們也在做出選擇，為其長期成功奠定基礎。

Yes. I'll just add a few things. When we look at the portfolio in these anchor markets, we like what we're seeing. We like the competitiveness, how we're performing in markets like Mexico, Brazil, Canada, the UK So we like the performance.

是的。我再補充幾點。當我們看這些核心市場的投資組合時，我們喜歡我們所看到的。我們喜歡其競爭力，以及我們在墨西哥、巴西、加拿大、英國等市場的表現，所以我們喜歡這樣的表現。

We're building momentum. There's certainly some opportunities, and we've seen real progress inside the business.

我們正在建立動能。當然存在一些機會，而且我們已在業務內部看到實質進展。

Okay. Great. That's helpful. And just going back to buybacks. It seems to have you've indicated typically it's one of the lower priorities in capital allocation.

好的。很好。這很有幫助。再回到庫藏股回購。看起來你們已表示，通常它在資本配置中的優先順序較後。

You've obviously been investing in the business. It doesn't look like you've got M&A that we're aware of kind of ready to get announced. But is there room for more deployment to buybacks for the second half? How should we think about that?

你們顯然一直在投資業務。看起來也沒有我們所知、已準備好要宣布的併購案。但下半年是否有空間把更多資金用於回購？我們應該如何看待這件事？

So we always want to be good stewards of the shareholders' capital. And so as you said, I would never call it a low priority. It's probably down the pecking order behind the organic investment and smart M&A choices and so forth. And as you've heard, we've got some great organic investments we're making behind the packed innovation calendar, et cetera.

我們一向希望善盡股東資本的受託責任。因此如你所說，我不會把它稱為低優先順序。它大概是在排序上排在有機投資與明智的併購選擇等之後。而且如你所聽到的，我們在密集的創新時程等方面，正進行一些很棒的有機投資。

The M&A pipe, we continue to work in that space, and I want to make sure that we always have capacity. But share buyback puts good tension into the process. And so as we sit here today, I would say we don't have anything in the back half planned for additional share buybacks, but we're going to remain optimistic. And as you saw, we've got some additional authorization, and that just reflects, again, the ability to make sure we're being good stewards of cash, not sitting on it, making sure we're deploying it wisely. So nothing more planned, but we're going to remain optimistic or opportunistic, I should say.

併購管線方面，我們仍持續在這個領域推進，我也想確保我們始終保有產能與資金彈性。但股票回購能為流程帶來良性的約束與張力。因此就目前而言，我會說我們下半年沒有規劃額外的股票回購，但我們會保持樂觀。而且如你所見，我們也取得了額外的授權，這再次反映出我們要確保善盡現金管理責任，不把現金閒置，並確保以明智方式部署。所以沒有更多既定計畫，但我們會保持樂觀——或者說，保持伺機而動。

Chris Carey, Wells Fargo.

Chris Carey，富國銀行。

Steve, I wanted to just ask a question about the medium-term targets that you've laid out at the recent Investor Day and in light of the recent rise in cocoa prices. I think there's a dynamic where the year-to-date cocoa prices will have allowed you to be quite well hedged for 2027. That in mind, 2028 prices that are you've been tracking around where 2027 are.

Steve，我想就你們在近期投資人日所提出的中期目標提個問題，並結合近期可可價格上漲的情況來看。我認為存在一種動態：今年迄今的可可價格，應該讓你們在2027年的避險部位相當充足。在此背景下，你們追蹤的2028年價格大致與2027年相近。

And certainly, your medium-term outlook implies maybe like a low double-digit growth rate from where guidance is today. I realize that can move around based on where 2027 and 2028 land, but certainly strong earnings growth over the next several years into 2028.

而且，你們的中期展望意味著，從目前指引水準起算，可能是類似低雙位數的成長率。我知道這會隨著2027與2028的落點而變動，但顯然在未來幾年一路到2028，獲利成長會很強勁。

And I guess my question is, how much of that path into your 2028 aspirations will be dependent on you needing to see cocoa deflation maybe material relative to where your 2026 cocoa coverage is rather than a thing that you can control yourselves or potential longer-dated hedging that you could do earlier than normal to give you the sort of visibility to achieve those targets?

我想問的是：你們通往2028目標的這條路徑，有多少會取決於你們需要看到可可價格出現通縮——也就是相對於你們2026年的可可覆蓋/避險水位而言要有實質回落——而不是你們自身可控的事項？或者你們是否能比以往更早進行更長天期的避險，以便獲得達成這些目標所需的能見度？

Sure. 2028 is a long time away. So we'll have some work to do to try fine-tune the outlook there. But philosophically, we have good visibility into deflation for cocoa for 2027. Certainly, we'd love to see it have a multiyear run where we could capture that.

當然。2028還很久。因此我們還需要做一些工作，來把那個展望再精細化。但從理念上說，我們對2027年可可通縮有不錯的能見度。當然，我們也希望它能有多年的走勢，讓我們可以把握那樣的機會。

At the same time, we're not sitting still basing the whole business around cocoa, right? We want to continue to drive meaningful top line growth. We want to restore volume over time. We want to bring the best innovations to the category, be the best partner for retailers.

同時，我們不會停在原地、把整個業務都建立在可可之上，對吧？我們希望持續推動有意義的營收成長。我們希望隨時間恢復銷量。我們希望為品類帶來最好的創新，成為零售商最好的合作夥伴。

And we want to be smart between the lines, driving ongoing productivity savings, particularly off the back of our technology and capacity investments. So I would say, as I look to the future, continuing to grow the business and have margin improvement is not solely resting on cocoa deflation by itself. Certainly, that's going to be a help for 2027. It's in the plan. You can ask me when the football season fell.

而且我們希望在細節上做得聰明，持續推動生產力節省，尤其是依託我們的技術與產能投資所帶來的效益。所以我會說，展望未來，持續成長並改善利潤率並不僅僅依賴可可通縮本身。當然，這會對2027年有所幫助。這已納入計畫之中。你可以在美式足球賽季開始時再問我。

Okay. The second around margins in the snacking business. You've seen an increase in freight and logistics costs. That's part of the slightly lower gross margin outlook for the year. Can you give us a sense of how you're viewing margins in your snacking business in the back half of this year and perhaps more medium term given some of the dynamics you're dealing with right now?

好的。第二個問題是關於零食業務的利潤率。你們看到運輸與物流成本上升。這也是今年毛利率展望略為下調的一部分原因。你能否談談你們如何看待今年下半年零食業務的利潤率，以及在目前這些動態之下，或許更中期的看法？

Yes. We've got some margin pressure in the snacking business in the back half, really principally around those factors as we get further into fully optimizing the supply chain off the back of the investments that Kirk mentioned earlier, we do expect modest margin improvement as we go through the second half.

是的。我們在下半年零食業務確實有一些利潤率壓力，主要就是來自這些因素；隨著我們在Kirk先前提到的投資基礎上，進一步把供應鏈完全最佳化，我們確實預期在下半年會有溫和的利潤率改善。

So we're expecting improvement, but we'll be in better shape as we get to 2027, and I'd say we've got the supply chain more fully optimized. Until then, we're going to still have, like I said, at least a tail of elevated freight and logistics, mostly because we're going to the spot market to maintain service while we optimize internally.

所以我們預期會改善，但到2027年、我會說供應鏈更全面最佳化時，我們的狀況會更好。在那之前，我們仍會如我所說，至少還會有一段較高的運輸與物流成本尾巴，主要是因為在我們內部最佳化的同時，為了維持服務水準，我們會轉向現貨市場。

David Palmer, Evercore ISI.

David Palmer，Evercore ISI。

Just -- first of all, thanks for the comments on 2027 and including that 2% confection sales growth target. I would imagine that will be a focus area for people, if you -- as confidence grows, you could do that, then that would be reflected in the stock.

首先，謝謝你們對2027年的評論，並且納入了糖果銷售成長2%的目標。我想這會是大家關注的焦點；如果——隨著信心提升，你們能做到這點，那就會反映在股價上。

So -- maybe that's worth double-clicking about what you think will be needed to achieve that in terms of market share? How much is market share stabilization a priority and a necessity to do that type of growth? Just how are you thinking about that? And then how, if any way, are you adjusting to what you've been seeing so far this year?

所以——也許值得更深入探討一下，你認為要達成這點，在市占率方面需要什麼？市占率的穩定在多大程度上是優先事項、也是達成那種成長所必需的？你們是如何思考的？另外，你們是否、以及如何因應今年迄今所看到的情況而做出調整？

David, I'll take that one. Yes, I think that's a really important question because I think it drives this disciplined approach to the balance that we're driving in the business. And we remain confident we can make progress on both margin and share over time.

David，這題我來回答。是的，我認為這是個非常重要的問題，因為我覺得它驅動了我們在業務中所推動的、對平衡的紀律性做法。而且我們仍然有信心，隨著時間推進，我們能在利潤率與市占率兩方面都取得進展。

So this year, I would just say we are on track to deliver our top line, our margin and our EPS expectations. Now the market is hypercompetitive. And the competition in this category really drives the resiliency and the durability of growth. And we're seeing a lot of innovation growth this year. And we're building an innovation pipeline.

所以今年，我只想說我們正按計畫達成我們對營收、利潤率以及每股盈餘（EPS）的預期。目前市場競爭極為激烈。而這個品類的競爭確實推動了成長的韌性與持久性。我們今年也看到大量由創新帶動的成長。同時我們正在建立一個創新產品管線。

We have a big innovation planned for the second half. We talked a little bit about it in our comments.

我們在下半年規劃了一項重大的創新。我們在評論中也稍微提到了一些。

And we have a pipeline in '27 and '28 that we have reviewed already that gives us confidence that we're going to build that share momentum. What I like about margin recovery and share performance is it's in the right places. Innovation that drives growth and profitability is a great way to grow the category and grow the business. That's why we have confidence that we can make meaningful progress on both margin and share performance.

而且我們已經檢視過在 2027 年與 2028 年的產品管線，這讓我們有信心能夠建立市占動能。我喜歡利潤率回升與市占表現的一點是：它們發生在正確的位置。能同時帶動成長與獲利的創新，是推動品類成長與企業成長的絕佳方式。這也是為什麼我們有信心能在利潤率與市占表現兩方面都取得實質進展。

I wonder on this topic of innovation versus perhaps these activations or tentpoles, that you've been doing this year. Has anything surprised you or in terms of the response on the tentpole stuff? And then how would you characterize sort of the give-and-takes, the year-over-year comparables of your intensity of tentpoles and innovation in '27 versus what we're seeing in '26? And I'll pass it on.

我想就「創新」相對於你們今年在做的這些行銷啟動（activations）或「主題檔期／關鍵節點」（tentpoles）這個話題請教一下。在這些主題檔期的反應上，有沒有任何讓你意外的地方？另外，你會如何描述 2027 年相較於我們在 2026 年看到的主題檔期與創新投入強度，在年對年可比基期上的取捨與變化？我就先把問題交出去。

Yes. No, that's a really good question. If you think about how we look at the business, we look at our core everyday business, our performance around seasons, we've added this dynamic with tentpoles, and it's really raised our execution on some key things. I would tell you, I would look to the summer execution with the celebration of the $250 million in our s'mores performance, it was exceptional. It gets better every year and the bar gets higher.

是的。不，這真的是個很好的問題。如果你想想我們如何看待這門生意，我們會看核心的日常業務、我們在各季節的表現；我們又加入了主題檔期這個動態，這確實提升了我們在一些關鍵事項上的執行力。我會說，我會看今年夏季的執行——我們慶祝 s'mores 業務達到 2.5 億美元的表現，這次的執行非常出色。它每年都在變得更好，而標準也越來越高。

And it's something that we're famous for, but we could take it even further. We added innovation in the space with, I don't know if you guys are making s'mores, but she got to get on board, especially with the Caramel, that is growing our business, plus the execution around the tentpole is good.

這也是我們聞名的事情之一，但我們還可以做得更進一步。我們也在這個領域加入了創新——我不知道你們是否會做 s'mores，但你真的得跟上，尤其是焦糖口味，這正在帶動我們的業務成長，再加上主題檔期的執行也做得很好。

I expect us to get even better at these tentpole moments. I think about fall football. We like them because they fit nicely in between the seasons. But we look at the business just like that. We look at how we're performing on our everyday business, our immediate consumption business.

我預期我們在這些主題檔期時刻會做得更好。我想到秋季的美式足球。我們喜歡這些檔期，因為它們剛好很適合夾在季節之間。但我們就是用這樣的方式來看待這門生意。我們會看我們在日常業務、即時消費（immediate consumption）業務上的表現。

Our seasons were incredibly disciplined around seasons, and that's why if you think about the first half, we gained share across seasons.

我們在季節性操作上非常自律，因此如果你回顧上半年，我們在各個季節都提升了市占。

We like what we see in the second half with the holiday season and Halloween. So we'll still stay focused on that because that's a huge part of the business and then supplement the growth with the tentpoles. And I can tell you, we're getting better at those as time goes on.

我們也喜歡下半年在節慶季與萬聖節所看到的情況。所以我們仍會持續聚焦在那裡，因為那是業務中非常重要的一部分，然後再用主題檔期來補充成長。我可以告訴你，隨著時間推進，我們在這方面做得越來越好。

Alexia Howard, Bernstein.

Alexia Howard，Bernstein。

Can I ask about the outlook for volume recovery in the North American confectionery segment? Obviously, price growth is going to slow. Would you expect a fairly rapid improvement in the volume trends as we move into the back half and out into 2027?

我可以問一下北美糖果（confectionery）部門的銷量復甦展望嗎？顯然，價格成長將會放緩。你是否預期，隨著我們進入下半年並延伸到 2027 年，銷量趨勢會相當快速地改善？

Yes. Let me take that one. Look, as commodity inflation eases and pricing elasticities normalize, we expect volume trends to improve over time. I'd tell you in Q4, we still have some high single-digit pricing that's tied into the seasonal actions that we've taken.

是的。我來回答這題。你看，隨著大宗商品通膨趨緩、定價彈性回歸正常，我們預期銷量趨勢會隨時間逐步改善。我會說在第四季，我們仍有一些與我們採取的季節性措施相關的高個位數漲價。

But we look at the coming year, and we expect early signs of improvement coming across, especially our Hershey brand portfolio. We have a lot of activity in Q4 with the Hershey movie. So we see that recovering early Jolly Rancher, our premium brands, including Cadbury. We see some momentum. That momentum will continue through 2027.

但我們看向明年，我們預期會看到改善的早期跡象，特別是在我們的 Hershey 品牌組合上。我們在第四季會有很多活動，包括 Hershey 電影。因此我們看到 Jolly Rancher 會在較早期復甦，我們的高端品牌（包含 Cadbury）也會復甦。我們看到一些動能。這股動能將延續到 2027 年。

Great. And then as a follow-up on continuing with pricing. Salty snacks, you had pricing slightly down this quarter because of the investment in trade promotion, I believe. Is that expected to continue into the back half of the year?

很好。接著追問一下，關於持續定價。鹹味零食（Salty snacks）這一季的定價略為下降，我相信是因為在通路促銷（trade promotion）上的投資。這種情況預期會延續到今年下半年嗎？

I think from a Salty perspective, we're going to see balance. Of course, we constantly look at pricing as an equation, certainly strategic pricing, understanding inflationary pressures on the business and being competitive and being right with consumers.

我認為從鹹味品類的角度來看，我們會看到一個平衡。當然，我們會持續把定價視為一個方程式來評估，包含策略性定價、理解通膨對業務的壓力，同時保持競爭力並對消費者而言是合理的。

So I'd say it's a balanced approach. That's how we take a disciplined approach across all of our businesses. But I think there's not going to be any big surprises from a Salty pricing standpoint in the second half of this year.

所以我會說這是一種平衡的做法。這也是我們在所有業務上採取的自律方式。但我認為就今年下半年鹹味品類的定價而言，不會有任何重大的意外。

Peter Grom, UBS.

Peter Grom，UBS。

So I wanted to follow-up on an earlier question around '27. And I think you noted the framework still holds based on where things stand today. You have good visibility on cocoa deflation. But you also touched on kind of the external volatility that has picked up this year. And I guess I would imagine that when you provided annual guidance two years out back in March that you probably embedded more flexibility than usual.

我想跟進先前關於 2027 年的問題。我想你提到，以目前的情況來看，那個框架仍然成立。你們對可可價格通縮有很好的能見度。但你也提到今年外部波動性有所上升。我想像你們在 3 月提供兩年後的年度指引時，可能比平常納入了更多彈性。

So just curious, given how the environment has evolved, has that level of cushion shifted at all? Or is it really unchanged?

所以我只是好奇，考量環境的演變，那個緩衝空間的程度有任何改變嗎？還是其實沒有變？

It's definitely been volatile. But I would say is next year more volatile than this year or last year, it's hard to say. But to your point, when we built that outlook, we take account of all the levers that we have inside the P&L to manage across. So that's levers on sales, pricing and volume, but also levers in the rest of the P&L as well as how we think about investments, reinvestment, productivity and so forth.

確實一直很波動。但我會說，明年是否比今年或去年更波動，很難講。不過如你所說，當我們建立那個展望時，我們會把損益表（P&L）內部可用來管理的所有槓桿都納入考量。這些槓桿包括銷售端的槓桿、定價與銷量，但也包括損益表其他部分的槓桿，以及我們如何看待投資、再投資、生產力提升等等。

And again, picking up productivity a little bit is a place where we've been able to overdeliver for a number of years and making smart investments in technology and capabilities that will bear increasing impacts as we go forward. So notwithstanding what will no doubt be a very volatile 2027, we still feel that the framework that we articulated earlier this year is still the right starting point for the year.

而且再說一次，稍微提高生產力是一個我們多年來都能超額達成的領域；同時在科技與能力上的明智投資，將在未來帶來愈來愈大的影響。因此，儘管 2027 年無疑會非常波動，我們仍認為我們今年稍早所闡述的框架，仍是該年度正確的起點。

And then you noted that SNAP impacts have been pretty modest, and I think reductions have been better recently than they were earlier in the year. So can you maybe just speak to that specifically and maybe what's embedded in the outlook from here?

另外你提到 SNAP 的影響相當有限，而且我想近期的減少幅度比今年稍早更好。所以你能否更具體談談這點，以及從現在起在展望中納入了哪些假設？

Yes. Let me take that one. We've been staying very close, obviously, to this one. The SNAP waivers versus the outlook, I'd say it is really -- it's slightly better. I said it's what we planned.

是的。我來回答這題。我們顯然一直非常密切地關注這件事。就 SNAP 豁免相較於原先展望而言，我會說確實——略微好一些。我說過，這就是我們原本的規劃。

I thought we did a really good job planning for the impact of SNAP, and we've been very close to it. Where the difference comes in is the early adopting states had a little bit higher of an impact than the recent states, notably Texas and Florida. So they've been on the lower end.

我認為我們在規劃 SNAP 影響方面做得非常好，而且我們一直緊盯著它。差異主要來自於較早採用的州，其影響程度比近期採用的州稍高一些，特別是德州和佛州。所以它們的影響落在較低端。

So the balance of that has been where we've seen a little bit of upside. But overall, I would say it's in line with what we planned. And that -- for me, running this business, it feels like that's the right approach, being able to understand the macro and plan for it accordingly. And so that gives us the confidence moving forward that we can have a good eye on these macro impacts.

因此，這之間的平衡讓我們看到了一點點上行空間。但整體而言，我會說與我們的規劃一致。而且——對我來說，經營這個業務，這感覺是正確的方法：能理解總體環境並據此規劃。因此，這也讓我們對未來更有信心，能夠很好地掌握這些宏觀因素的影響。

Scott Marks, Jefferies.

Scott Marks，Jefferies。

I wanted to ask about the cadence or phasing of the top line in the back half. It sounds like there's a lot of moving pieces between lapping the Reese's Oreo innovation, some of the new innovations coming out like cream bars as well as the recent pieces with cookie, Hershey movie, recovery from some of these Salty supply challenges. So just wondering if you can give us an idea of the shape of Q3, Q4 across the different segments.

我想問一下下半年營收端的節奏或分期。聽起來有很多變動因素，包括 Reese's Oreo 創新產品的基期效應、一些即將推出的新創新如奶油棒（cream bars），以及最近 cookie、Hershey 電影相關的因素，還有部分 Salty 供應挑戰的復原。所以想請你們談談 Q3、Q4 在不同事業部的走勢輪廓。

Yes, I'll just say on the North America confection business, it's possible we'll see some periods of negative everyday confection retail sales growth, but we anticipate strong seasonal performance. And for organic net sales, we expect growth in both Q3 and Q4 for the segment. So we've got some tough laps, but for the quarters overall for the segment, we expect to see some growth.

是的。我先就北美糖果業務來說，我們可能會看到某些期間日常糖果（everyday confection）零售銷售成長為負，但我們預期季節性表現會很強。而就有機淨銷售而言，我們預期該事業部在 Q3 與 Q4 都會成長。所以雖然有一些較難的比較基期，但就整體季度而言，我們預期該事業部仍會有一些成長。

And as we talked about earlier, the second half shipment gap is expected to be less material in Q3 program shipments and the impact of that extra shipping day will help to neutralize that. So that's about as much color as we're probably going to give on the profile. It's getting like Kirk said at the beginning, it's pretty action-packed back half given the innovation launches.

另外如同我們先前提到的，下半年出貨缺口預期在 Q3 的方案出貨（program shipments）中影響會較不顯著，而多出的一個出貨日也將有助於中和該影響。所以關於走勢輪廓，我們大概就提供到這樣的資訊。就像 Kirk 一開始說的，下半年因為創新產品上市，會是相當「動作密集」的一段時間。

Understood. Appreciate the color there. And then second question for me. In the prepared remarks, I think you called out A&C expense down about 3% in the quarter. Wondering if you can unpack that a bit for us.

了解。謝謝你提供這些說明。那我第二個問題。在事先準備的講稿中，我想你提到本季 A&C 費用約下降 3%。想請你們幫我們拆解一下。

Why was it down? And how should we be thinking about the cadence of the ramp into H2 and as we get into next year?

為什麼會下降？以及我們應該如何看待下半年（H2）費用拉升的節奏，還有進入明年的情況？

Yes. Let me take that one. It really is tied to the programming that we have. And the balance of the year, we have quite a bit of programming that supports the innovation launch that supports the Hershey movie and then supports movement into 2027, meaning we're investing in things in the fourth quarter that should give us momentum and get off to a good start in 2027.

好的。我來回答這題。這其實與我們的行銷/推廣活動（programming）安排有關。在今年剩餘期間，我們有相當多的活動來支持創新產品上市、支持 Hershey 電影，並且支持邁向 2027——也就是說，我們在第四季投資的一些事項，應該能帶來動能，讓我們在 2027 年有個好的開局。

So it comes down to the timing of programming and investments against the big initiatives that we have to create demand and to execute against the demand. It's mostly timing. And then the second half, we have a good investment against delivering on our core brands, Reese's and Hershey, but you'll also see programming around Cadbury, Payday and Fulfil. So we like the investments we're making, and they're tied to driving the growth and keeping the momentum going.

所以歸根結底是時點：我們針對重大計畫的活動安排與投資時點，用來創造需求並執行以承接需求。主要就是時點因素。而在下半年，我們會對核心品牌 Reese's 與 Hershey 有不錯的投資，同時你也會看到圍繞 Cadbury、Payday 與 Fulfil 的活動。所以我們喜歡目前的投資配置，因為它們與推動成長、延續動能直接相關。

Jim Salera, Stephens Inc.

Jim Salera，Stephens Inc.。

I wanted to circle back to the conversation around pricing on Salty. I know there's been a lot of -- [hell of] a discussions about pricing coming down across the category, some other high-level large brands talking about taking some net price declines. Can you just give us some color on where your brands sit on the price ladder relative to peers in that category?

我想回到關於 Salty 定價的討論。我知道市場上有很多——[非常多]——關於整個品類價格下行的討論，一些大型品牌也在談要做一些淨價格下調。你們能否分享一下，你們的品牌在該品類中相對同業，在價格階梯（price ladder）上的位置？

Yes. What I would tell you is we've been very prudent and patient with pricing on the Salty business. The pricing gaps have narrowed. But we -- if you look at a piece of history, we've been very balanced in our pricing on our salty business and very competitive. And I would say that is our focus.

可以。我會告訴你的是，我們在 Salty 業務的定價上一直非常審慎且有耐心。價格差距已經縮小。但——如果你回顧一下歷史，我們在鹹食業務的定價一直相當均衡，也非常有競爭力。我會說這就是我們的重點。

We will be competitive with price points in the categories that we participate in.

在我們參與的各個品類中，我們會在價格點位上保持競爭力。

Now we participate in a premium position with our core -- I mean, our core brands, especially SkinnyPop and Dot's Pretzels, they are premium and permissible. And of course, now with LesserEvil performing very well. I'd say, overall, our pricing structure has been very disciplined, very competitive, positioned right where consumers expect us. So I think it's a bit different than the rest of the category. I think we're in a really good place.

當然，我們的核心品牌也處於高端定位——我是說，我們的核心品牌，尤其是 SkinnyPop 和 Dot's Pretzels，它們屬於高端且「可被允許的」選擇（permissible）。而且現在 LesserEvil 的表現也非常好。整體而言，我們的定價結構一直非常自律、非常有競爭力，定位也正好符合消費者對我們的期待。所以我認為這與品類其他玩家有些不同。我覺得我們處在非常好的位置。

And if I could shift gears and ask, we talked a lot about the tentpoles and the contribution this year and in the back half of the year. But just some thoughts on immediate consumption occasions and everyday consumption on confectionery, particularly in the prepared remarks, you highlighted consumer softness persists, but elasticities are still a little bit better.

如果我可以換個話題來問，我們談了很多今年以及下半年「主題檔期」（tentpoles）的貢獻。但想請你們談談糖果在即時消費情境與日常消費上的一些看法，特別是你們在事先準備的講稿中提到消費者疲弱仍在，但需求彈性（elasticities）仍稍微好一些。

And so I'm just trying to square you guys, is there something we should be on the lookout for given the macro uncertainty that might swing those elasticities either more to negative or anything that keeps you confident that we'll continue to move forward at a better pace?

所以我想把你們的說法對齊一下：在宏觀不確定性下，有沒有什麼我們應該留意、可能讓這些彈性變得更負面的因素？或者有什麼讓你們保持信心、相信我們會以更好的步伐持續前進的原因？

Yes. The elasticities have been, like we said, they're on track or slightly better. And that's exactly how we look at the business. We look at our immediate consumption business and our execution across convenience and our take-home business. And those are really important core businesses that we look at.

是的。如同我們所說，彈性表現符合軌道或略好一些。而這正是我們看待這個業務的方式。我們會看即時消費業務、我們在便利通路的執行，以及我們的帶回家（take-home）業務。這些都是我們非常重視的核心業務。

And that's where we've seen stable elasticities or at least against what we've planned. So that gives us the confidence.

而我們在這些領域看到的彈性是穩定的，至少是符合我們的規劃。因此這給了我們信心。

So that's exactly how we look at it. And then we fold in seasonal performance and then tentpoles. But our starting point is always our core business, and that's our take-home business and our immediate consumption business. And when we talk about those elasticities, those are what we're talking about being on track.

所以我們就是這樣看待的。接著我們再把季節性表現與主題檔期（tentpoles）納入考量。但我們的起點永遠是核心業務，也就是帶回家業務與即時消費業務。而當我們談到那些彈性時，我們指的就是這些核心業務的彈性表現符合軌道。

Tom Palmer, JPMorgan.

Tom Palmer，JPMorgan。

Maybe I could just start out on just the topic of price gaps in chocolate. They have widened, especially versus a key competitor. In the release, I think some of the volume share changes we've seen were discussed as more being related to innovation.

也許我可以先從巧克力的價差這個主題談起。價差已經擴大，尤其是相對於一個主要競爭對手。在新聞稿中，我想我們看到的一些銷量份額變化，被討論為更多與創新相關。

Could we maybe just unpack what you're seeing in terms of price gap versus innovation as drivers of that share? And then based on your innovation timing, when do you think we're going to start to see a real shift in kind of unit share on your end?

我們能否再深入拆解一下，您所看到的價差相對於創新，作為驅動份額變化的因素各自扮演什麼角色？另外，基於你們的創新推出時點，您認為我們何時會開始看到你們這邊的單位份額出現真正的轉變？

Yes. Let me take that one as well. Look, first, the year-to-date share -- sorry, I'm losing my voice this morning. I apologize to everyone. Look, year-to-date share dynamics is largely driven by innovation.

是的。這題也讓我來回答。你看，首先，今年迄今的份額——抱歉，我今天早上嗓子有點啞。我向大家致歉。你看，今年迄今的份額動態主要是由創新所驅動。

Our pricing and our price gaps are largely as expected and our elasticities, as we just talked about, are tracking slightly ahead of our expectations year-to-date.

我們的定價以及價差大致符合預期，而我們的需求彈性（如同我們剛才談到的）在今年迄今的表現略優於我們的預期。

So we watch these price gaps all the time, and we want to be competitive in the market. We will be competitive in the market. We regularly also make small adjustments where we see opportunities. And moreover, we'll invest in trade in the second half to support the big innovation and merchandising programs, just like we talked a little bit about. So when we go to market with our customers, we support the things that we're putting out on the perimeter that we're selling that we're driving that growth.

所以我們一直都在關注這些價差，我們希望在市場上具備競爭力。我們也將會在市場上保持競爭力。我們也會在看到機會時，定期做一些小幅調整。此外，我們會在下半年加大通路促銷（trade）投資，以支持大型創新與陳列推廣計畫，就像我們剛才稍微提到的。因此，當我們與客戶一起推向市場時，我們會支持那些我們在賣場外圍（perimeter）推出、正在銷售、並推動成長的項目。

But a couple of big drivers that I talked a little bit about earlier that are happening in the category, which I really love about this category and the resilience of it is innovation plays a big role. Innovation has played a big role this year. Innovation will play a big role in '27 and '28. And I love our pipeline that we have on innovation starting in the second half going into '27 and in '28. So that gives you confidence that we're going to be very competitive and grow with the category ahead of the category.

不過，我先前也稍微提到，這個品類正在發生的幾個重要驅動因素——我很喜歡這個品類以及它的韌性——其中創新扮演很大的角色。今年創新扮演了很大的角色。在2027年與2028年，創新也會扮演很大的角色。我也很喜歡我們從下半年開始、延伸到2027年與2028年的創新產品管線。因此，這讓你有信心，我們將會非常有競爭力，並且與品類一起成長，而且成長速度會領先於品類。

Got it. And then, Steve, maybe could we put -- could we put a finer point on how we think about third quarter in the context of having the highest earnings growth of the year? I mean any sort of range maybe would be ideal. But as a starting point, the absolute level of earnings, should we think about 3Q or 4Q being higher?

了解。那麼，Steve，我們是否可以更精準地說明一下，如何在「第三季是全年獲利成長最高」的脈絡下看待第三季？我的意思是，若能提供任何區間可能會最理想。但先從一個起點來看，就獲利的絕對水準而言，我們應該預期第三季或第四季哪一季會更高？

Yes, I don't want to get as specific as starting to give more quarterly guidance. But I would say from an EPS which quarter, they're probably pretty close across the two between -- in absolute dollar EPS. And I'm looking across at Anoori to say, did I get that right? Yes.

是的，我不想具體到開始提供更多季度指引。但我會說，就EPS來看，兩個季度哪一季更高——以每股盈餘的絕對美元金額而言，第三季與第四季可能相當接近。我看向Anoori確認一下，我說得對嗎？是的。

Yes.

是的。

So -- but that's probably as much color as I think it's reasonable to give.

所以——但我想這大概就是我認為合理範圍內能提供的補充說明。

Steve Powers, Deutsche Bank.

Steve Powers，德意志銀行。

Great. Just two quick follow-ups, I guess. The first one, Kirk, on elasticities, as described, tracking in line or slightly better. I guess, does that hold true as you look across performance maybe by income cohort? Just curious if there's any subtleties there?

很好。我想再追問兩個很快的問題。第一個，Kirk，關於需求彈性，如你所述，表現符合或略優於預期。我想問的是，當你按不同收入族群來看表現時，這個結論也成立嗎？只是好奇其中是否有任何細微差異？

And if so, in terms of the broader revenue growth management strategy, anything that you might tweak in the program looking forward versus what you've been doing so far?

如果有的話，就更廣泛的營收成長管理（revenue growth management）策略而言，對於未來的方案，你是否會相較於目前為止的做法做任何調整？

Yes. I mean I think this is always a dynamic place to look. I look at the channels in which we are participating, and we've got really good balanced growth across channels, across the dollar and convenience channels. I would tell you just the consumer studies that we do, low-income households certainly are feeling more pressure. But we're still seeing a balance across those channels right now, I would tell you.

是的。我的意思是，我認為這一直是一個需要動態觀察的面向。我會看我們參與的各個通路，而我們在各通路之間的成長相當均衡，涵蓋量販/平價（dollar）通路與便利通路。我會告訴你，從我們所做的消費者研究來看，低收入家庭確實感受到更大的壓力。但我會說，就目前而言，我們仍看到這些通路之間維持平衡。

So the elasticities that we're seeing are very consistent with what we would expect. But we're always paying attention to the consumer and what their needs are, and we're looking at solutions through packaging and other offerings for consumers by channel so that we do stay hyper-focused on delivering what they're looking for and driving affordability. And so that's really still important to us and a part of our ongoing strategy.

因此，我們所看到的需求彈性與我們的預期非常一致。但我們始終關注消費者及其需求，並透過包裝與其他產品/方案，依通路為消費者尋找解決方案，讓我們能高度聚焦於提供他們所尋求的價值並推動可負擔性。所以這對我們仍然非常重要，也是我們持續策略的一部分。

Okay. Great. Great. And then just on the upcoming Halloween season, maybe just a bit of a further preview on programming, just kind of what you're planning, engagement with retailers, et cetera? And maybe is there anything different than what we've seen in the past?

好的。很好。很好。接著關於即將到來的萬聖節檔期，能否再多預告一下你們的活動規劃，例如你們的計畫、與零售商的合作互動等等？另外，有沒有什麼地方與過去相比有所不同？

Yes. Look, we took a lot of learnings from Halloween. And we've already started shipping Halloween. So we have good visibility to the orders. And our activation plan with our frontline sales team is really dialed up this year.

是的。你看，我們從萬聖節累積了很多經驗教訓。而且我們已經開始出貨萬聖節商品。所以我們對訂單有很好的能見度。今年我們與第一線業務團隊的啟動/推廣計畫也明顯加強。

And I would say we've got great support with our customer partners on bringing this to life.

我會說，我們的客戶夥伴也給予很大的支持，協助把這些計畫落地。

So again, Halloween starts fairly early. We even call it Summerween. It's off to a really good start. So it's coupled with, hey, look, what did you learn from last year? How can we reach consumers better, how we can be better partners with our customers.

所以再說一次，萬聖節開始得相當早。我們甚至稱它為「Summerween」。目前開局非常好。因此，這也結合了——嘿，你看，我們從去年學到了什麼？我們如何能更好地觸及消費者、如何能成為客戶更好的合作夥伴。

We've put those things into place for this year's Halloween, and we feel good about where we're going to be.

我們已把這些做法落實到今年的萬聖節規劃中，我們對接下來的表現感到樂觀。

Thank you. We have reached the end of our question-and-answer session. This concludes today's conference. You may disconnect your lines. Thank you again for your participation.

謝謝。我們的問答環節到此結束。今天的電話會議到此結束。您可以掛斷電話線。再次感謝各位的參與。