Editing The Hershey Company (section)

====Reese's Peanut Butter Cups====
{{Main|Reese's Peanut Butter Cups}}
[[H.B. Reese|Harry Burnett Reese]] invented [[Reese's Peanut Butter Cups]] after founding the H. B. Reese Candy Company in 1923.<ref>{{cite news |title=The H.B. Reese Candy Company Story |url=http://www.bradreese.com/images/hb-reese-candy-company-6-9-1956.jpg |publisher=Lebanon Daily News |date=June 9, 1956 |website=BradReeseCom |access-date=October 20, 2017}}</ref> Reese died on May 16, 1956, in [[West Palm Beach, Florida]], leaving the company to his six sons.<ref>{{cite web |title=H.B. Reese Death Announcement |url=http://www.bradreese.com/images/hb-reese-death.jpg |website=BradReeseCom |access-date=October 20, 2017}}</ref> On July 2, 1963, the H. B. Reese Candy Company merged with the Hershey Chocolate Corporation in a tax-free stock-for-stock merger.<ref>{{cite web |title=The 1963 Reese/Hershey Merger Closing Agenda |url=http://www.bradreese.com/blog/hb-reese-candy-co-hershey-chocolate-merger-agreement-draft-july-1-1963.pdf |access-date=February 8, 2024 |website=BradReeseCom}}</ref> In 1969, only six years after the Reese/Hershey merger, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups became the Hershey Company's top seller.<ref>{{cite web |title=Was it Hershey or Reese That Made Peanut Butter Cups Great? |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/was-it-hershey-or-reese-that-made-peanut-butter-cups-great |website=Atlas Obscura |date=October 27, 2016 |access-date=October 20, 2017}}</ref> As of September 20, 2012, Reese's was the best-selling candy brand in the United States, with sales of $2.603 billion, and the fourth-best-selling brand globally, with sales of $2.679 billion. 
In 2024, after 61 years of stock splits,<ref>{{cite web |title=Stock Split History |url=https://www.thehersheycompany.com/en_us/investors/profile/stock-split-history.html |access-date=July 25, 2020 |website=The Hershey Company}}</ref> the original 666,316 shares of Hershey common stock received by the Reese family represent 16 million Hershey shares valued at more than $4.4 billion, paying annual cash dividends of $87.6 million.<ref>{{cite web |title=The 1963 Reese/Hershey Merger Closing Agenda |url=http://www.bradreese.com/blog/hb-reese-candy-co-hershey-chocolate-merger-agreement-draft-july-1-1963.pdf |access-date=October 20, 2017 |website=BradReeseCom}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Snickers Surging to Top of Global Candy Race |url=http://adage.com/article/news/snickers-surging-top-global-candy-race/237349/ |publisher=Ad Age |access-date=October 20, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://investors.thehersheycompany.com/content/hershey-corporate-investors/en-us/home/news-and-events/press-release/press-release-detail.html?122774 |title=Hershey Raises Quarterly Dividends |website=Hershey Company |date=February 8, 2024 |access-date=February 8, 2024}}</ref>