01—Abstract
Summary
Summary of the 8-K filed May 8, 2026. Cited figures are marked; the original filing is the authoritative source.
The Hershey Company (HSY) held its 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders by live webcast on May 5, 2026, and this Form 8-K reports the final voting results for three proposals.
Stockholders elected nine directors voting together as Common Stock and Class B Common Stock holders, and Timothy W. Curoe, Huong Maria T. Kraus, and Harold Singleton III each drew over 21 million votes against.
Holders of Common Stock voting separately as a class elected Christopher W. Brandt and Guy Persaud. Stockholders ratified the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as independent auditors for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2026, with 673,359,047 votes for and 650,549 against.
In a non-binding advisory vote, stockholders approved the compensation of the Company's named executive officers, with 634,080,237 votes for, 22,082,194 against, and 434,508 abstentions. The filing contains no financial statements. Item 9.01 lists only the Cover Page Interactive Data File (Exhibit 104), embedded within the Inline XBRL document.
02—Key points
Key Highlights
- Annual Meeting held May 5, 2026, by live webcast, with final voting results reported under Item 5.07.
- Nine directors elected with Common Stock and Class B Common Stock voting together; Barry J. Nalebuff received 655,160,678 votes for and 1,239,243 against.
- Christopher W. Brandt and Guy Persaud were elected by holders of Common Stock voting separately as a class, with 109,135,996 and 109,378,126 votes for, respectively.
- Timothy W. Curoe (634,496,183 for; 21,874,542 against) and Harold Singleton III (634,777,898 for; 21,601,776 against) recorded the highest levels of opposition among the directors elected by the combined vote.
- Ernst & Young LLP was ratified as independent auditors for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2026, with 673,359,047 votes for and 650,549 against.
- The non-binding advisory vote on named executive officer compensation was approved, with 634,080,237 votes for and 22,082,194 against.
- Broker non-votes were reported as 17,590,848 for the combined-class proposals and 17,588,218 for the Common Stock class election of directors.
03—Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
When and how was the 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders held?
The meeting was held on May 5, 2026, via live webcast.
Who was elected to the Board of Directors?
Holders of Common Stock and Class B Common Stock, voting together, elected Timothy W. Curoe, Huong Maria T. Kraus, Deirdre A. Mahlan, Barry J. Nalebuff, Kevin M. Ozan, Marie Quintero-Johnson, Cordel Robbin-Coker, Harold Singleton III, and Kirk Tanner. Holders of Common Stock voting separately as a class elected Christopher W. Brandt and Guy Persaud.
Did stockholders approve the independent auditor?
Yes. Stockholders ratified the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as independent auditors for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2026, with 673,359,047 votes for, 650,549 votes against, and 178,191 abstentions.
How did stockholders vote on executive compensation?
Stockholders approved the compensation of the named executive officers on a non-binding advisory basis, with 634,080,237 votes for, 22,082,194 against, 434,508 abstentions, and 17,590,848 broker non-votes.
04—Continue