Hershey Company (The) vs Align Technology
Side-by-side comparison of AI visibility scores, market position, and capabilities
Hershey PA chocolate and snacks (NYSE: HSY) ~$10.2B FY2024 revenue; Reese's #1 US candy brand, cocoa inflation $2.5K→$12K/MT crisis, SkinnyPop salty snacks, competing with Mars and Ferrero.
About
The Hershey Company is a Hershey, Pennsylvania-based confectionery and snacks company — publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HSY) as an S&P 500 Consumer Staples component — manufacturing and selling chocolate, candy, mints, gum, and salty snacks through iconic brands including Hershey's (chocolate bars, Kisses), Reese's (peanut butter cups — America's #1 candy brand by revenue), Kit Kat (licensed from Nestlé for the US market), York Peppermint Patties, Jolly Rancher, Ice Breakers, Skinny Pop, Dot's Pretzels, and Pirate's Booty through approximately 18,000 employees in 80+ countries. In fiscal year 2024, Hershey reported net sales of approximately $10.2 billion, with earnings per share significantly compressed by unprecedented cocoa commodity inflation: West African cocoa prices (Ghana and Ivory Coast provide 70%+ of global cocoa supply) surged from $2,500/metric ton in 2022 to over $12,000/metric ton in early 2024 — the highest prices in 50+ years — driven by El Niño-related drought and crop disease (swollen shoot disease) reducing cocoa harvests, creating a chocolate manufacturer cost crisis that Hershey absorbed through price increases and hedging while managing volume declines as consumers resisted higher candy prices. CEO Michele Buck has guided Hershey through the cocoa inflation crisis by implementing 10-15% retail price increases in 2023-2024, reformulating some lower-margin products to reduce cocoa content, and hedging cocoa commodity exposure on a rolling 12-18 month forward basis to smooth out extreme spot price volatility.
San Jose clear aligner orthodontics inventor (NASDAQ: ALGN) at $3.23B 2024 revenue; 20 million Invisalign patient milestone Q1 2025 across 280,000+ doctors with iTero Lumina scanner competing with 3M Clarity for orthodontic clear aligner prescriptions.
About
Align Technology, Inc. is a San Jose, California-based global medical device company — publicly traded on NASDAQ (NASDAQ: ALGN) as an S&P 500 component — operating as the inventor of the Invisalign System and the world leader in clear aligner orthodontics, reaching 20 million Invisalign patients treated worldwide in Q1 2025 through a network of 280,000+ Invisalign-trained doctors across 100+ countries. In fiscal year 2024, Align reported $3.23 billion in total revenue with Q4 2024 revenue of $995.2 million (+4.0% year-over-year). Align's product portfolio comprises the Invisalign System of clear aligners, iTero intraoral digital scanners (including the iTero Lumina with 3X wider field of capture in a 50% smaller wand), and exocad CAD/CAM software for digital dental workflows. Manufacturing is based in Mexico with treatment planning performed in Costa Rica. CEO Joseph Hogan joined from GE Healthcare in 2015. Founded 1997 by Zia Chishti and Kelsey Wirth in San Jose.
AI Visibility Head-to-Head
Key Details
Capabilities & Ecosystem
Integrations
Also Compare
Track AI Visibility in Real Time
Monitor how your brand performs across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and Grok daily.