We consider the spatially homogeneous Boltzmann equation for hard potentials without cutoff. We prove that an exponential moment of order $\rho=\min\{2\gamma/(2-\nu),2\}$, with the usual notation, is immediately created. This is stronger than what happens in the case with cutoff. We also show that exponential moments of order $\rho\in (0,2]$ are propagated.