Q4 Earnings: Gun sales miss the mark, but Smith & Wesson parent jumps 5%

With gun companies reporting sluggish sales and tapering stock prices, American Outdoor Brands (AOBC), the parent company of Smith & Wesson (SWCH), reported another quarter of dipping sales with a 24.9% decline in sales year-over-year at $172 million. Reported profit plunged 72% to $7.7 million, while on a per share basis earnings came in at $0.14 per share, down significantly from $0.50 last year. Excluding items, earnings per share fell 57.8% to $0.24.

The company has been seeing many challenges in its target markets for firearms resulting from the lower shipments and weaker demand. However, firearm background checks increased 9.1% from a year ago for the months beginning from February to April this year, reflecting an increase in demand. However, this trend does not seem to have driven American Outdoor Brands sales as evident in its results.

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American Outdoor Brands provided weaker than expected guidance and said it expects first-quarter 2019 earnings per share to come in the range of $0.10-0.14, while revenue is expected in the range of $130-140 million. For the fiscal year 2019, the company expects earnings per share in the range of $0.40-$0.50, with revenue expected to come at about $570-600 million.

The Springfield, Massachusetts-based firearms firm introduced many new products through the year, which it said accounted for 29% of its firearm revenue in the fiscal year 2018. Though it saw strong adoption rate across its new products, overall sales declined, in line with industry trends.

The company’s stock has not had a good run for the last one year and has slumped more than 44%. However, the stock picked up some momentum post the results release on the results topping analyst’s earnings estimates.