The Hershey Company (HSY – Analyst Report) is the largest chocolate manufacturer 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, mainly in China. The company has slashed its sales guidance thrice this year due to slower than expected growth in China.

This is especially true given the recent earnings estimate revisions for HSY as the consensus estimate for 2015 has been going lower. Moreover, HSY does not have a decent history in earnings season. HSY has posted in-line earnings in only one out of the past four quarters while delivering negative earnings surprise in the other three, making for an average negative earnings surprise of 2.47%.

Currently, HSY has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), 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 74 cents/share, and the company reported EPS of $78 instead. Investors should note that these figures take out stock option expenses.

Revenues: HSY reported revenues of $1.58 billion. This missed our consensus estimate of $1.62 billion.

Key Stats to Note: The company lowered its fiscal 2015 sales growth guidance while maintained its earnings growth range.

Share Price Impact: Inactive in pre-market trading.