The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is reaping the benefits from robust consumer demand globally. The company continues to invest in its brands and capabilities to drive growth. Effective pricing actions have been working well for this global leader in chocolate and confectionery. Its investments in innovation, marketing and in-store execution have been beneficial, leading to better consumer engagement and enhanced market share performance. Due to these upsides, Hershey kickstarted 2024 on a strong note, with first-quarter top and bottom lines increasing year over year and beating their respective Zacks Consensus Estimate. Impressively, management expects year-over-year net sales growth in the range of 2-3% for 2024. Hershey, however, is not immune to rising costs, which are putting pressure on its margin performance. Let's discuss this in detail. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research What's Working in Hershey's Favor? Hershey is undertaking strategic pricing initiatives to improve its performance. The trend continued in the first quarter of 2024, with price realization being up 5.2% year over year. In the North America Confectionery segment, organic pricing increased 5.9%. Organic pricing rose 1.7% in the North America Salty Snacks. In the International unit, the company's organic pricing jumped 3.5%. The continuation of such trends bodes well for Hershey. The company is undertaking buyouts to augment portfolio strength and boost revenues. In December 2021, Hershey acquired ...