How are arms sales in the United States flocking
The Financial Times reports the case of the boom in arms sales in the United States. The Smith & Wesson case
Smith & Wesson's quarterly firearms revenue more than doubled, reflecting the boom in U.S. firearms sales during the coronavirus pandemic and civil unrest. The firm's firearms unit reported $ 230 million in gross sales for the quarter that ended in July, a 141 percent increase from a year ago, the FT writes.
"The current increase in consumer demand for firearms is, in many ways, unprecedented," Smith & Wesson chief executive Mark Smith told analysts. Total net revenue was $ 278 million, up from $ 123.7 million a year earlier and well above analysts' forecasts of $ 195 million.
Firearms sales have historically had an upward trend during the presidential election years as buyers hedge against potential action in Washington to tighten sales restrictions. Demand has also increased this year in response to civil unrest in major US cities this summer, as well as uncertainty related to the pandemic and the economic turmoil that followed, industry executives said.
"Of course, there is part of the wave that is related to fears related to firearm control regulation, but … a large part of the demand is driven by people who are afraid of their personal protection and safety, from the pandemic to civil unrest, ”Smith said.
The background checks drawn up by the FBI – used as an indicator of firearms sales in the United States – are on the march to surpass the record of 28.4 million set last year. Data released this week shows there were 3.1 million checks in August, bringing the annual tally to 25.9 million. Background checks jumped 51% yoy in August to 1.7 million when corrected by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which excludes non-purchasing activities, such as permit applications.
The NSSF, a trading group, also estimated last month that nearly 5 million Americans bought a firearm this year for the first time, based on a survey of retailers who reported that 40% of their sales were made to customers who had never owned a weapon. Mr. Smith said the two fastest growing groups of new gun owners are women and African Americans.
Arms manufacturer Sturm Ruger estimated in July that sales of its products from distributors to retailers increased 47% year-on-year in the first half of 2020. Chief Executive Christopher Killoy said at the time that consumer demand it began to "rise" towards the end of the first quarter.
The sales boom helped Smith & Wesson make a profit in the quarter. Net income was $ 48.4 million, equal to 86 cents per share, against a loss of $ 2.1 million, equal to 4 cents per share. On an adjusted basis, earnings stood at 97 cents per share. Analysts had expected a lower profit of 48 cents. The company's stock jumped more than 3 percent in after-hours trading, after slipping 9.5 percent during the regular session in a broader market. The stock was up 164 percent this year.
(Extract from the foreign press review edited by Epr Comunicazione )
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/vendite-armi-stati-uniti-smith-wesson/ on Sat, 05 Sep 2020 06:40:30 +0000.