Does The Hershey have an economic moat?
Maybe
The Hershey earns 17.7% a year on the money invested in it: decent, but not the clear sign of a wide moat.
The numbers behind it
Return on invested capital, average of recent years17.7%
Return on invested capital, latest year10.9%
Gross margin33.5%Share of each sale left after production costs
Net margin7.6%
How we decide
A moat shows up in the numbers as high returns that last. We call it likely when the average return on invested capital over recent years is at least 15% and the gross margin at least 40%, and possible from 10%. The numbers can't show where a moat comes from (brand, network, patents), only that one seems to exist.
More questions about The Hershey
Data as of Nov 13, 2026.