DARLING INGREDIENTS INC. vs HERSHEY CO, two Food & Beverage stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Where DAR and HSY diverge most: on implied growth (priced in), DAR reads -0.2% and HSY reads -3.1%; on p/b, DAR reads 1.82 and HSY reads 7.90. The rest of the comparable metrics sit closer together. On valuation, today's DAR price has a different growth bar priced in than HSY (-0.2% implied for DAR vs -3.1% for HSY); the higher figure is the steeper assumption to clear, not a better or worse stock. What DAR's price implies is a bet that sits within the historical range (whole-company basis). What HSY's price implies is a bet that sits within the historical range (whole-company basis). The bull and bear cases for each are in their full reports below.
| Metric | DAR | HSY |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $60.28 | $162.73 |
| Market cap | $9.7B | $36.1B |
| Sector | Food & Beverage | Food & Beverage |
| Stage | Growth | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | -0.2% | -3.1% |
| P/E | 16.3 | — |
| P/B | 1.82 | 7.90 |
| P/S | 1.48 | 2.96 |
| EV/EBITDA | 9.1 | 15.2 |
| Revenue growth | +14.8% | +7.7% |
| Gross margin | 29.2% | 45.3% |
| Operating margin | 32.2% | 23.1% |
| Net margin | 9.1% | 12.2% |
| Return on equity | 11.3% | 32.6% |
| Return on assets | 5.4% | 10.7% |
| Return on invested capital | 8.0% | 16.5% |
| FCF yield | 14.0% | 6.2% |
| Debt / equity | 0.74 | 1.23 |
| Current ratio | 1.56 | 1.18 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 2.44 | 3.96 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 8 / 9 | 6 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.