Smith & Wesson's pops 5% as record gun demand propels big Q3
Dec. 04, 2020 4:15 PM ETSmith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (SWBI)SWBIBy: Carl Surran, SA News Editor19 Comments
- Smith & Wesson (SWBI +5.2%) surged today after reporting another easy Q3 earnings beat and sales that more than doubled Y/Y to a much better than forecast $248.7M.
- GAAP earnings blasted to $52.2M, or $0.92/share, from $1.3M, or $0.02/share, in the year-earlier period.
- In the company's earnings conference call, CEO Mark Smith said the "second consecutive record-breaking quarter" came as federal background checks, which he said is the best available proxy for consumer firearm demand, were 57% higher than the same period a year ago.
- Smith also noted 19.2M background checks for gun purchases during the first 11 months of this year, the most for an 11-month period since the FBI began recording data in 1998.
- Based on firearm industry estimates provided by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, Smith & Wesson estimates nearly 8M Americans were first time gun buyers, and one in four new gun owners went on to buy additional firearms at higher prices than their first purchase.
- "This expanded consumer base of new firearm owners represents a healthy long-term opportunity for the industry as a whole, but specifically for Smith & Wesson," Smith said.
- SWBI has more than doubled over the past year, while the S&P 500 index has gained 17%:
