Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory's (NASDAQ: RMCF) first fiscal quarter release had an undeniable theme running throughout. No, it wasn't a happy promo about its delicious confections. Instead, it was the very familiar issue of the recession. I guess the company's premium chocolates aren't wholly economically defensive in nature after all.

According to the results, sales declined by over 5%. Same-store franchised revenues dropped well over 6%. Earnings per diluted share were cut by 25% to 12 cents. Things are rough for Rocky Mountain.

Want to stock up on Hershey's tasty treats? Get in while the getting is good.

Stating that its "current business model is not sustainable," Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) is closing its online store -- HerseysGifts.com -- as of July 31. After that, consumers with a sweet tooth for products such as chocolate-covered Macadamia nuts or a five-bound Hershey bar will have to visit local stores. Products can be customized for special occasions and run from $10 to $150.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) Q1 profit blew away estimates, sending shares soaring.
• Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) topped analysts expectations and offered conservative guidance.
• Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) reported better-than-expected results but warned that if faced challenges.
• Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) topped Q3 profit estimates and announced the start of quarterly dividends.
• Continental Airlines Inc. (NYSE: CAL) widened is net loss in Q1 but still beat low Wall Street estimates.

Readers of this space know that the investment bias is toward large-cap companies with demonstrated business models and who have a competitive advantage in established markets, preferably with a favorable, global trend as a support. And with the aforementioned in mind, The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is worth a review.

In general, analysts see only modest revenue growth for HSY for FY 2009. However, an improved supply chain should reduce costs, and also free-up more capital for strategic growth initiatives at home and abroad.

Hershey (NYSE: HSY) did a good job in its first quarter of the year. The big confectioner said it earned $0.38 per share on an adjusted basis. According to this news article, that beat the analysts by three solid pennies.

Not only did the bottom line fare well, but the top line didn't do so badly, either. It increased well over 6%. Okay, that's not a rocketing growth rate, certainly, but all things considered, I think it was a decent performance. Hershey benefited from pricing strategies and the Easter holiday. If you ask me, I think the recent rally in the markets helped to bolster consumer confidence. That may have helped Hershey sell a lot of its candy. Management seemed pretty pleased with volume trends and the response to its marketing initiatives, judging by comments made in the release.

Another day, another item about excessive compensation. While American International Group (NYSE: AIG) pays out a ton of money to its own employees, the Hershey (NYSE: HSY) board has seen fit to bestow a rich compensation package to CEO David J. West.

Oh well, what can you do, I suppose. I always hate reading these reports. They always get under my skin. If you're a shareholder of Hershey, you're not doing that great right now. The stock will probably do well over the long term, but in the meantime, your shares are down over the last several years.

J.M. Smucker (NYSE: SJM) reported earnings for Q3 on Wednesday. The company, which makes defensive-type products such as peanut butter, jelly, and biscuits, reported a net sales increase of 6%, once you strip away the effect of acquisitions -- most notably the Folgers purchase -- and the effect of foreign exchange. On an adjusted basis, J.M. Smucker increased its bottom line by 11% to $0.88 per share. This source says that management beat estimates by two pennies, although other sources, such as this one, says the beat was by a single penny.

Kraft (NYSE: KFT), whose supermarket colleagues include Kellogg (NYSE: K) and General Mills (NYSE: GIS), will be reporting Q4 results tomorrow. Analysts expect the foodstuffs company to report $0.44 per share. Unfortunately, Kraft did $0.44 per share in the year-ago period. So the market doesn't think Kraft will grow the bottom line.

Perhaps that will work in Kraft's favor. With expectations so low, management has the opportunity to surprise to the upside. The company has a decent record in beating Wall Street expectations. Kraft certainly has brands that people like. However, things are becoming more difficult for the consumer. Layoffs are everywhere, and job security has taken a sabbatical. Kraft needs to convince people to pay extra for a package of Kraft-branded cheese or a box of Nabisco Ritz crackers when there are less-expensive generic substitutes available.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) shares surged after earnings easily topped Q4 expectations.
• AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) reported that its Q4 earnings fell while its revenue rose marginally.
• Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) posted a big loss and lower revenue due to strikes and design changes.
• Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) reported that Q4 profit fell despite higher revenue and lowered its guidance.
• Danaher Corp. (NYSE: DHR) lower Q4 profit topped analysts' estimates, sending shares higher.
• Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE: EK) reported a Q4 net loss and announced additional job cuts.

Hershey (NYSE: HSY) reported earnings for the fourth quarter, and investors seemed to think they were rich and delicious. As I was writing this, shares were up 5%. Why were they up so high?

Well, earnings beat estimates. Hershey managed to deliver an adjusted $0.59 per share. Wall Street wanted $0.54, so there you go. Also, that was four pennies better than the previous year's performance. While that was good, it should be noted that Hershey had an overall problematic year, as it saw earnings per share decline a little under 10% to $1.88 per share. Currency changes are hampering sales growth, so Hershey will need to keep marketing activities as strong and efficient as possible. Margins are also being addressed, as management is hunkering down to wring out every conceivable saving in the supply chain.

It has not been a good time for me. There is a crisis going on in the Land of Peanut Butter. And if there is one thing I love (besides annual double-digit returns on my stock portfolio), it's peanut butter. You've certainly heard about the concerns regarding some Salmonella-tainted peanut paste. If not, you can check out this piece by Sarah Gilbert. The really bad part is that three deaths are possibly linked to the bacterial infection.

What health officials have advised as of now is to avoid products that use peanut butter as an ingredient. To show how bad this crisis has become, Kellogg (NYSE: K) had to recall some of its products that utilize peanut butter. Naturally, my thoughts eventually turned to Hershey (NYSE: HSY). After all, one of its flagship products is the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup is one of the best confections known to man, and it is my favorite. Every Halloween I look forward to having an excuse for gorging on the product. So, is the wonderful Reese's brand safe to consume? Just as I thought, Hershey ended up tackling the topic. The company issued a press release on January 17 stating that items from the Reese's portfolio are indeed safe to consume.

Poor Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (NASDAQ: RMCF). Chocolate is supposed to be sweet, delicious, fun! It's supposed to be a driver of shareholder value. Alas, in the third quarter, chocolate did nothing for shareholders of this company.

So where do I start? Revenues decreased 15%. Comps at franchised locations dipped over 8% (don't you hate it when comps do that?). Net income on a dollar basis dropped 33%. And earnings per share on a diluted basis declined 26% to $0.14. Do you notice a trend here? From the top to the bottom lines, it seems like everything is headed in one depressing direction. Yep, the economy hasn't been kind to the company's gourmet confections. And I don't necessarily see a quick turnaround for Rocky Mountain. Yes, it is still opening stores and is apparently optimistic about the future. Still, I think it's going to be a long journey back to growth. Hey, if Hershey (NYSE: HSY) is having a tough time with its stock price, you can imagine how Rocky Mountain's management is feeling. The earnings release does mention work on a new business model for locations in smaller markets, as well as a focus on return-on-invested-capital in these territories. A laudable goal, certainly, and I like some of the co-branding concepts that were also touched upon. Doesn't necessarily change my bearish thesis, however.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) narrowed its Q3 net loss on rising revenues.
• AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) posted a deeper-than-estimated Q3 loss but ordered 42 new planes.
• Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) reported its fourth straight quarterly loss on another write-down.
• Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) posted better-than-expected Q3 results on growth overseas.
• CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) reported strong Q3 results on lower fuel prices and cost controls.
• eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) topped Q3 expectations but lowered its full-year guidance.
• Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) beat expectations, sending shares higher.
• Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) better-than-expected Q3 results sent shares higher.
• Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) international growth couldn't overcome disappointing results.
• Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) results in Q3 were in line with analysts' expectations.
• IBM (NYSE: IBM) posted strong Q3 results and offered an optimistic outlook.
• Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) posted strong Q3 results but warned of lower demand in Q4.
• Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) strong results easily topped expectations, but shares fell.
• Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) posted strong Q3 results and raised its full-year guidance.

Halloween is around the corner, my friends. I love this time of year. And you can bet Hershey (NYSE: HSY) does, too. Will the company sell a lot of candy to all those households who want to give some treats out? Let's hope so, because Hershey needs all the help it can get. It hasn't been growing too well, lately. (I'll be helping out by buying a bag of my favorite, the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup!)

The confectioner reported earnings on Thursday for the third quarter. Sales rose a modest 6% to roughly $1.5 billion. Adjusted earnings per diluted share came in at $0.64. That unfortunately represented a 6% decrease in the bottom line. Furthermore, if you're in the mood for more bad news, adjusted margins dropped across the board during the reporting period. And we can't look to an earnings beat to make things better. According to this article, Hershey managed to only equal analyst expectations, not beat them.

Yet, the stock is up well over 2% as of this writing. As the article pointed out, Hershey is doing okay in terms of market share and outlook. And I'll say this: long-term investors can look at the dividend yield on the stock and the brand equity behind the famous candy maker as positives. I just have to wonder how the stock is going to fare as the consumer continues to become affected by price increases at the supermarket. We all know that Hershey, along with other companies such as Kraft (NYSE: KFT) and Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB), have found it difficult to spare their consumers the sting of rising costs in a softening economy. Hershey's shares are currently near a 52-week low. My instinct at this time says they'll be going lower still. If you're into dollar-cost-averaging over a long period of time (which would be a good strategy vis a vis this company), then I'd say that you'd be fine here. However, I don't think Hershey will break through to record highs anytime soon.

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.

I remember when Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (NASDAQ: RMCF) was a cool stock. Unfortunately, that was then and this is now. The economy is horrible, and it's getting worse. Rocky Mountain is not the company with which to ride the storm out.

The third-quarter earnings report, issued on Thursday, showed terrible data. Revenues declined well over 16% to $6.3 million. Earnings per diluted share took a big drop of 30%, coming in at $0.14. And it doesn't stop there. Comps for franchised outlets dipped over 2%. Same-store pounds of products bought by franchisees dropped 10%. Let's face it, people are cutting back on Rocky Mountain's confections. I'm sure they're delicious, but it just doesn't matter. Rocky Mountain is going to continue to struggle as we make our way through this macro mess. Management points out that the stock does pay a dividend of $0.10 per quarter. That gives a yield, as of Thursday's closing price, of just about 6%.

That's not bad, and I suppose if you're a long-term value investor who has extremely solid patience, you might want to take a look at Rocky Mountain's shares. I mean, we all know that equities are pretty irrationally priced these days. But, would I step in and buy the stock as any sort of defensive position for my portfolio? No way. I think it's headed lower. And besides, if I wanted to step in and buy something related to confectionery pleasures, I'd probably consider Hershey (NYSE: HSY) first. Not only am I a big fan of the Reese's peanut butter cup, but I perceive the portfolio controlled by Hershey to be a lot more valuable in these troubled times than Rocky Mountain's line of products. Let's hope all the Halloween trick-or-treaters out there are gearing up to help out the confection industry at the end of this month by demanding a whole lot of treats. Goodness knows, the market has already had its share of tricks this year.

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.