At the close of the quarter, ending January 31, Smith & Wesson’s sales were up “61.5%” compared to the same time last year.
The jump is sales is largely attributed to the growing market for compact, self-defense handguns and Smith & Wesson’s continued developments in that market.
According to CNN Money, Smith & Wesson CEO James Debney commented on the surge in sales by pointing to a “long-term trend toward personal protection.” And he said, “smaller handguns designed for concealed carry and personal protection” are very popular right now. In fact, Debney pointed out that such handguns made up “75%” of the sales surge that Smith & Wesson enjoyed in the last quarter. The demand for the guns is so great that gun stores are running low on inventory and Smith & Wesson is upping production.
Smith & Wesson’s M&P Shield handgun in 9mm or .40 cal is one of the most popular handguns on the market, as is Smith & Wesson’s Bodyguard in .380.
Gun stocks have been surging even when the Dow Industrial Average has fallen under Obama. For example, on January 4, the Dow fell 267 points, but the NY Daily News reported that Smith & Wesson “rose nearly 6%” in one day, and Sturm, Ruger & Co. stock rose 2.7%. If we take a longer look, Smith & Wesson and Ruger saw their values nearly double in 2015.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.