Posted January 2, 2018 10:01 am by Comments

By Christen Smith

In 2017, slumping demand hit gun makers and retailers hard as profits dwindled industry-wide. (Photo: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images)
The gun industry took a few blows in 2017 as manufacturers and retailers alike endured slumping demand post-election. Share prices bounced, company leaders stepped down and legacy brands closed up shop – divesting fear-based advertising tactics in favor of promotions.
With the new way forward for gun makers uncertain, Guns.com takes a look back at the year that was for publicly traded companies across the industry.
Smith & Wesson/American Outdoor Brands
Legacy handgun manufacturer Smith & Wesson started off its most recent fiscal year standing in one pretty tall shadow.
After reporting record-breaking sales just shy of $1 billion last year – the industry’s biggest on record for background checks and, by proxy, gun sales – Smith & Wesson’s holding company, American Outdoor Brands, anticipated a post-election slow down would decrease annual earnings by as much as 17 percent.
So when the first quarter ended July 31 with $2.2 million loss, investors seemed unphased. With revenues down by as much as half in its firearms sector, top executives revised AOBC’s annual sales in 2018 down to no more than $740 million.
Three months later, sales tanked 36 percent over

Source: Guns.com

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