While most of the gun manufacturers, wholesalers, and dealers that make up the firearms industry are private companies, a handful are publicly traded, providing deeper insights into their size, business practices, and financial health. Here’s a look at their most recent financial quarter.
Editor’s Note: This is the third installment in a series covering financial updates from the gun industry. Each company’s regulatory reporting time period varies slightly, but generally speaking, this update includes spring and summer 2024. Updates from the first two quarters of 2024 are available here and here. And to learn more about the firearm supply chain and how it works, click here.
smith & Wesson
On September 5, Smith & Wesson announced disappointing results for the first quarter of its fiscal year 2025. The company reported net sales of $88.3 million — $25.9 million less than the comparable quarter last year, representing a 22.7-percent decrease. Smith & Wesson CEO Mark Smith attributed the decrease in sales to softer than anticipated demand. Shortly after announcing these earnings results, shares of the company plunged over 10 percent.
Also of note this quarter, Smith & Wesson held its annual shareholder meeting on September 17. In addition to the pro forma election of directors and a vote to approve executive compensation, the shareholders also voted on a proposal from Mercy Investment Services, a group of Catholic nuns. The nuns’ proposal called for Smith & Wesson to “oversee an independent third-party Human Rights Impact Assessment” to issue recommendations on “improving the human rights impacts” of the company. The company’s board of directors opposed the proposal “precisely because it would require us to reduce our lawful product offerings,” and it was voted down by Smith & Wesson shareholders.
ruger
On July 31, Ruger released its quarterly financial results. The company reported net sales of $130.8 million, compared to $142.8 million for the corresponding period in 2023, a drop of over 8 percent. When asked by an analyst during the company’s August 1 earnings call if certain “news and events” — presumably referring to the first assassination attempt of former President Trump on July 13 — led to increased sales, Ruger CEO Chris Killoy stated, “By and large, any jump…related to items in the news cycle was pretty short and pretty minor to be perfectly honest. I don’t think that drove much in July. July continued a pretty, pretty slow period when we look at overall demand.”
In September, Ruger’s stock hit a 52-week low, reflecting a one-year drop of 18 percent.
AMMO INC.
On August 8, Ammo Inc., the parent company of online marketplace GunBroker, announced its quarterly results. The company reported a $7.1 million net loss for the quarter, compared to a net loss of $1.1 million for the comparable quarter last year.
On September 24, the company reported that it had retained an independent law firm to investigate financial reporting issues at the company, and that Ammo Inc.’s CFO resigned at the request of the board. On September 27, the company announced that its independent accounting firm requested that the company disclose that Ammo Inc.’s financial statements from 2021 to 2024 should not be relied upon as part of a financial investigation. After these announcements, several plaintiffs firms announced shareholder class action lawsuits against the company.
In addition to shareholder lawsuits, it’s also worth noting that GunBroker founder Steve Urvan’s lawsuit against the company remains ongoing in Delaware Chancery Court.
OLIN CORPORATION
The Olin Corporation manufactures Winchester-brand ammunition and a variety of chemical products. (Olin also licenses the “Winchester” name to the FN Browning Group, which owns gun manufacturers FN Herstal and Browning, to manufacture Winchester-branded firearms.)
On July 25, Olin reported that its net income this quarter was $74.2 million, whereas the comparable quarter last year reported net income of $146.9 million. Olin’s ammunition sales were slightly higher, which the company primarily attributed to higher international military sales.
vista outdoor
On August 5, Vista Outdoor, which owns several ammunition-manufacturing brands, reported an overall 6.9-percent year-over-year decline in gross profit. With respect to its ammunition segment, the company announced that sales decreased 1.6 percent to $370 million. Vista attributed the decline to lower sales volumes across nearly all ammunition categories.
On October 4, Vista Outdoor announced an agreement to sell its outdoor products division to investment firm Strategic Value Partners. In connection with the proposed sale, Vista Outdoor also entered into an amendment to its existing agreement to sell the company’s ammunition segment to the Czechoslovak Group (CSG), and adjourned a shareholder vote scheduled for October 9. To date, shareholder voting to approve the proposed sale has been delayed nine times.