Canadian Halal Investor.

NYSE Shariah screener · October 2026

Is The Hershey Company (HSY) Halal?

PASS

The Hershey Company · NYSE: HSY · Consumer Staples

The short answer

Yes -- The Hershey Company (HSY) passes this Shariah stock screen at all three gates. Per its own FY2025 10-K (fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, filed February 17, 2026), Hershey is a global confectionery and salty-snacks business -- chocolate, sweets, mints, popcorn and pretzels sold under 85+ brands in about 65 countries -- with no conventional lending, insurance, alcohol, gambling, pork, tobacco or weapons segments; the word alcohol does not appear in the filing. Its separately disclosed interest income of $34.6M for 2025 is about 0.30% of its $11,692.6M in net sales, below the 5% non-compliant income ceiling. Its debt screen passes: $5,403M of short-term debt plus total long-term debt (including finance lease obligations) is about 16.73% of its ~$32.29B market cap ($159.30, latest close retrieved October 2, 2026; 202,690,952 shares outstanding per the 10-K cover), below the ~33% ceiling. Third-party coverage agrees: Zoya describes HSY as Shariah-compliant under its AAOIFI methodology and Musaffa classifies it as halal as of October 2026; no ShariaPortfolio screener page for HSY was found -- all honestly reported, not invented. This is a factual screen, not a religious ruling -- consult a qualified scholar for personal rulings.

Gate 1 — Business activity: PASS

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY), based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, describes itself in its FY2025 10-K as a global confectionery leader -- the largest producer of quality chocolate in North America, marketing more than 85 brand names in approximately 65 countries. It reports three segments: North America Confectionery (chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery such as Hershey's, Reese's and Kisses, plus gum, protein bars, spreads and retail Hershey's Chocolate World stores), North America Salty Snacks (ready-to-eat popcorn, pretzels and baked snacks), and International. Business screen (factual, from the filing): no conventional lending or insurance, alcohol, gambling, pork, tobacco or weapons segments exist in the filing -- the word "alcohol" does not appear in the 10-K. Confectionery and snack food manufacturing is a compliant business activity. Gate 1 passes. Facts only.

Gate 2 — Debt and cash: PASS

Per Hershey's FY2025 10-K balance sheet, interest-bearing debt was $5,403M -- short-term debt of $218.5M plus total long-term debt of $5,184.5M (including the $503.3M current portion and about $73.5M of finance lease obligations per Note 10). Operating lease liabilities of about $335.5M (present value) are operating liabilities and are not counted as debt. Against a market cap of about $32.29B ($159.30 latest close retrieved October 2, 2026; 202,690,952 shares outstanding per the 10-K cover -- 148,077,438 common and 54,613,514 Class B as of February 12, 2026), debt divided by market cap is about 16.73%, below the ~33% ceiling. Cash and cash equivalents of $925.9M are about 2.87% of market cap. Gate 2 passes. Facts only.

Gate 3 — Non-compliant income: PASS

Hershey's FY2025 10-K income statement reports net sales of $11,692.6M, and Note 10 separately discloses interest income of $34.6M for 2025 -- about 0.30% of net sales, far below the 5% non-compliant income ceiling. Gate 3 passes. Facts only.

Key figures used

Frequently asked questions

What does The Hershey Company do?

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY), based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, describes itself in its FY2025 10-K (fiscal year ended December 31, 2025) as a global confectionery leader, the largest producer of quality chocolate in North America, marketing more than 85 brand names in approximately 65 countries. It reports three segments: North America Confectionery (chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery such as Hershey's, Reese's and Kisses, plus gum, protein bars, spreads and retail Hershey's Chocolate World stores), North America Salty Snacks (ready-to-eat popcorn, pretzels and baked snacks, including the SkinnyPop and Dot's brands), and International (manufacturing in Mexico, Brazil, India and Malaysia). On November 18, 2025 it completed the acquisition of LesserEvil, an organic popcorn and puffed-snack producer.

Why does Hershey pass this Shariah stock screen?

Hershey passes all three gates in this screen. Gate 1: its FY2025 10-K describes a confectionery and salty-snacks business -- chocolate, sweets, mints and snacks -- with no conventional lending, insurance, alcohol, gambling, pork, tobacco or weapons segments (the word alcohol does not appear in the filing). Gate 2: interest-bearing debt of $5,403M (short-term debt plus total long-term debt including finance lease obligations) is about 16.73% of its ~$32.29B market cap ($159.30 latest close retrieved October 2, 2026; 202,690,952 shares outstanding per the 10-K cover), below the ~33% ceiling. Gate 3: separately disclosed interest income of $34.6M is about 0.30% of FY2025 net sales of $11,692.6M, below the 5% ceiling. This is a factual screen, not a religious ruling -- consult a qualified scholar for personal rulings.

What is Hershey's interest-bearing debt ratio?

Per Hershey's FY2025 10-K balance sheet, interest-bearing debt was $5,403M -- short-term debt of $218.5M plus total long-term debt of $5,184.5M (which includes the $503.3M current portion and about $73.5M of finance lease obligations per Note 10). Operating lease liabilities of about $335.5M (present value, within accrued liabilities and other long-term liabilities) are operating liabilities and are not counted as debt. Against a market cap of about $32.29B ($159.30 latest close retrieved October 2, 2026; 202,690,952 shares outstanding per the 10-K cover, comprising 148,077,438 common and 54,613,514 Class B shares as of February 12, 2026), debt divided by market cap is about 16.73% -- below the ~33% ceiling. Cash and cash equivalents of $925.9M are about 2.87% of market cap. Gate 2 passes. Facts only.

What is Hershey's non-compliant income ratio?

Hershey's FY2025 10-K income statement reports net sales of $11,692.6M, and Note 10 to the financial statements separately discloses interest income of $34.6M for 2025 (interest expense was $236.8M before capitalised interest). Interest income divided by net sales is about 0.30% -- far below the 5% non-compliant income ceiling. Gate 3 passes. Facts only.

Do Zoya, Musaffa, or ShariaPortfolio cover Hershey?

Zoya covers HSY and describes it as Shariah-compliant under its AAOIFI methodology (assessment date shown blank on the page when accessed in October 2026); Zoya's page cites Hershey's FY2025 revenue of $11,692,576,000 and interest income of $28,428,000, about 0.24% -- a slightly lower interest-income figure than the $34.6M disclosed in the 10-K's Note 10, so this page uses the filing's own figure of 0.30%. Musaffa covers HSY and classifies it as halal as of October 2026 under its AAOIFI methodology. No ShariaPortfolio (spscreener.mxcorporate.com) screener page for HSY was found via search. All coverage statements are consistent with this page's own PASS outcome. This page applies the screen directly from Hershey's own filings and reports these positions honestly.

Sources

Screened 2026-10-02 from published company figures and market data. Figures change; this page is educational, not financial advice and not a religious ruling.

Screened with our two-gate Shariah screening methodology (business-activity gate, then AAOIFI-style financial ratios).