The Hershey Company HSY is one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in North America marketing some of the world’s leading brands like Hershey’s, Reese’s and Kisses which enjoy widespread consumer acceptance. Hershey’s sales trends have been weak since 2014 due to lower retail store traffic, intense competition from the broader snacking category and soft international growth. However, margins have been better supported by price increase, supply chain savings and productivity gains. HSY witnessed downward earnings estimate revisions for 2016 over the past 30 days. However, HSY has a decent earnings surprise history. HSY has posted positive earnings surprise in three of the past four quarters, bringing the average to a positive surprise of 1.88%. Currently, HSY has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), but that could change following Hershey’s earnings report which was just released. We have highlighted some of the key stats from this just-revealed announcement below: Earnings: HSY beat on earnings. Our consensus earnings estimate called for EPS of $1.05/share, and the company reported EPS of $1.10 instead. Investors should note that these figures take out stock option expenses. Lower than expected advertising spend and lower share count due to share buybacks offset another weak top line performance. Revenues: HSY reported revenues of 1.83 billion. This missed our consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. A shorter Easter season and continued weak China sales hurt the top line. Key Stats to Note: Excluding the currency impact, sales declined 4.4%. The company announced the acquisition of private company, Ripple Brand Collective, that owns the barkTHINS mass premium chocolate snacking brand. Share Price Impact: In-active in pre-market trading. Check back later for our full write up on this HSY earnings report later! Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report HERSHEY CO/THE (HSY): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research