While President Biden is attacking gun ownership with statements such as “The Second Amendment from the day it was passed, limited the type of people who could own a gun and what type of weapon you could own. … Well, the tree of liberty is not [watered with] the blood of patriots, what’s happened is that there never been, if you want, if you think you need to have weapons to take on the government, you need F-15s and maybe some nuclear weapons,” one of the largest gun companies in America reported that they became the first gun company to rack up more than $1 billion in sales in a calendar year.
As Stephen Gutkowski reports at The Reload, “Smith & Wesson reported its best sales year ever in 2020, topping $1.1 billion in net sales for the first time ever. That’s up more than 100 percent from 2019.”
On June 17, Smith & Wesson CEO Mark Smith stated on an earnings call:
Earlier today, we announced to our employees that this year, we will be distributing over $14 million to eligible employees, which will be 15% of each employee’s annual wages. In addition, the company achieved a very significant milestone in fiscal 2021, surpassing $1 billion in sales for the first time in our 169-year history. As I said, this would not have been possible without all of our employees. And so, in recognition of this milestone, we will also be awarding every employee who is not eligible for our management bonus program a special bonus of $1,200 for a full-time employee and $600 for temporary workers, prorated for the month of service during the fiscal year and to be paid next Thursday, June 24.
“Our fourth-quarter revenue of nearly $323 million was the highest quarter ever on record and marks the fourth consecutive record-breaking quarter for the company, capping off a year in which the company achieved just under $1.1 billion in revenue as I mentioned just now, surpassing the $1 billion mark for the first time in our history,” he continued, adding, “Our manufacturing logistics teams produced and shipped nearly 2.5 million units last fiscal year, representing a 70% increase year on year, while during the same timeframe, the U.S. firearms market as measured by NICS grew by 42%.”
Deana McPherson, the company’s CFO, revealed, “Our Board has authorized a new $50 million share repurchase program as well as a 60% increase in our quarterly dividend to 8 cents per share.”
Gutkowski noted that Smith & Wesson wasn’t alone in its success, writing, “Ruger reported a nearly 50 percent jump in net sales during its first quarter of 2021, while top ammo makers Olin Company and Vista Outdoor have seen about a fourfold increase in their stock prices over the past year.”
Mark Oliva of The National Shooting Sports Foundation told Gutkowski, “I think every manufacturer right now is benefiting from this outsized level of demand that we’re witnessing. We are in a period of unprecedented demand. That’s undeniable.”