Smith & Wesson sales off by 47% as demand for firearms drops
Firearm manufacturer Smith & Wesson’s sales were down 47% in the most recent quarter, a drop the company blamed Tuesday on inflation, the cost of home heating and rising interest rates.
Smith & Wesson reported $121 million in sales Tuesday for the three months that ended Oct. 31. That was a decrease of $109.4 million, or 47.5%, from this time last year when it was $230 million.
But last year, pandemic-era buyers were scooping up firearms. Looking before the pandemic, the results announced Tuesday are $7.3 million, or 6.4%, higher than the comparable time period in 2019.
Smith & Wesson said it earned $9.6 million, or 21 cents a share in the quarter compared with $50.9 million, or $1.05 a share, in the same time period last year.
Firearms spending, let's face it, comes from discretionary funding in any household. REAL inflation is around 20% any way you slice it. So considering the stats that say the average household has less than a 1000 in the cookie jar for emergencies...I don't see where most folks have any money to spare.
Money that might have gone to another gun are now going for food, medication, energy, and other essentials, in reaction to massive inflation.
Yep. Not to mention all the money folks lost in the stock market caused by Lying Hiden Biden’s Administration intentionally destroying America’s Economy. When the Economy is good, folks spend more on recreational “toys”. When Inflation hits 30 to 40 percent, not 8% like the lying POS’s claim, there’s no extra income to spend for non necessities.
And many people, the smart ones, anyways, stocked up on Guns, Ammo, and reloading supplies when the DemoRat’s stole the Election, and installed the Puppet Pedo Joe. And others stocked up on weaponry when the Scamdemic hit.
I can believe that. Sold a few myself this past year, and interest was soft, often limited to guys wanting to avoid required paperwork. Finally resorted to having my LGS put the last one on GB, where it yielded my asking price even after the commission, and no more time wasted on phone calls from window-shoppers.
Money that might have gone to another gun are now going for food, medication, energy, and other essentials, in reaction to massive inflation.
Yep. Not to mention all the money folks lost in the stock market caused by Lying Hiden Biden’s Administration intentionally destroying America’s Economy. When the Economy is good, folks spend more on recreational “toys”. When Inflation hits 30 to 40 percent, not 8% like the lying POS’s claim, there’s no extra income to spend for non necessities.
And many people, the smart ones, anyways, stocked up on Guns, Ammo, and reloading supplies when the DemoRat’s stole the Election, and installed the Puppet Pedo Joe. And others stocked up on weaponry when the Scamdemic hit.
You’re really gonna show them all by constant Internet whining.
Firearms spending, let's face it, comes from discretionary funding in any household. REAL inflation is around 20% any way you slice it. So considering the stats that say the average household has less than a 1000 in the cookie jar for emergencies...I don't see where most folks have any money to spare.
Used gun shelves are slowly beginning to fill back up @ local shops and at prices that are beginning to re-enter earth's atmosphere as well. Shops are also starting to mark down excess/slow-moving ammo that was "What they could get" in favor of now "What people WANT".
Food and fuel prices have nearly completely absorbed my budget for all things firearm-related. Have had to shift my priorities around. I'm sure a lot of us are in the same boat.
Could be that the market has become somewhat saturated. The first-time buyers of the past few years aren't like a lot of us who tend to accumulate firearms. Once they have what they think they need, they're done.
Inflation has a lot to do with it, but other factors are limiting purchases too. The manufacturers themselves should be to blame for some of it.
The market is somewhat stagnant. The lack of product innovation is taking its toll. Consumers are begging for new quality product and it’s falling on deaf ears. In Smith’s case, there are still some revolvers in demand and the debacle with Thompson Center left a hole in their portfolio. Guys are simply growing weary of the same old commodity firearms - plastic pistols, plastic rifles….everything that’s shipping regularly is a “budget” gun. Those guns will always have their place, but can’t consume the market.
Without new innovations and upper end offerings, shoppers are fatigued. They’re not churning and trading for the latest and greatest. The rifle market is really lacking, as is the shotgun market. Hardly anything upper end available in mass quantities from Beretta, Benelli, Winchester, Browning, Remington, Kimber…the list goes on. And upper end is now defined as models that were previously available as standard offerings. Stainless rifles, wood stocked rifles, wood stocked shotguns are all slow to ship.
It’s a different time and the manufacturers own a bunch of that blame. I don’t feel sorry for them. Publicly traded companies are slow to react because of all the hoops. Too many levels of approval and individuals trying to justify their jobs. If they spent more time building what the consumer wanted instead of building what they wanted to build, things might be a little different.
I’m home with flu and bored. I’m also tired of manufacturers not owning the blame for a soft market.
Inflation has a lot to do with it, but other factors are limiting purchases too. The manufacturers themselves should be to blame for some of it.
The market is somewhat stagnant. The lack of product innovation is taking its toll. Consumers are begging for new quality product and it’s falling on deaf ears. In Smith’s case, there are still some revolvers in demand and the debacle with Thompson Center left a hole in their portfolio. Guys are simply growing weary of the same old commodity firearms - plastic pistols, plastic rifles….everything that’s shipping regularly is a “budget” gun. Those guns will always have their place, but can’t consume the market.
Without new innovations and upper end offerings, shoppers are fatigued. They’re not churning and trading for the latest and greatest. The rifle market is really lacking, as is the shotgun market. Hardly anything upper end available in mass quantities from Beretta, Benelli, Winchester, Browning, Remington, Kimber…the list goes on. And upper end is now defined as models that were previously available as standard offerings. Stainless rifles, wood stocked rifles, wood stocked shotguns are all slow to ship.
It’s a different time and the manufacturers own a bunch of that blame. I don’t feel sorry for them. Publicly traded companies are slow to react because of all the hoops. Too many levels of approval and individuals trying to justify their jobs. If they spent more time building what the consumer wanted instead of building what they wanted to build, things might be a little different.
I’m home with flu and bored. I’m also tired of manufacturers not owning the blame for a soft market.
Food and fuel prices have nearly completely absorbed my budget for all things firearm-related. Have had to shift my priorities around. I'm sure a lot of us are in the same boat.
Mine too! I'm trying like hell to live on my Navy retirement as opposed to drawing money out of our IRAs because it's taking a loss every withdrawal.
S&W can take their share of the blame. Their guns are consistently at the top of price heap when comparing apples to apples.
Also, I have no desire to buy something "new." Most of the current guns are uninteresting. Springfield's new rifle turns my crank a bit. I'd like to see some new Remington's and I want to fill my safe with Kimber Montana's.
I'll stick to cool old used stuff for the time being.
SupFoo: Not at all sure what YOUR take is on this news/article as YOU don't say. My take is, hard times, inflation and thosefuckin "J" lock "hillary holes" on the sides of their revolvers! I know I wouldn't even consider buying a hillary holed Smith & Wesson revolver these days. And I notice the hillary holed revolvers by Smith & Wesson "sit" on the shelves WAY, WAY longer than their comparable predecessors did without the hillary hole. My local gunshop has a "hillary holed" ANIB Smith & Wesson Model 48 (22 Magnum) with 6" barrel that has been sitting on the shelf most all of this year and no one has even made an offer on it! Maybe it does not help that the Model 48's barrel is factory stamped/marked "45 Long Colt"? Like "Tzone" above I much prefer and will stick to the "cool old used stuff". Hold into the wind VarmintGuy
why buy a gun you cant get ammo for it and the price is crazy but it is improving.... anything they make new will not be out for months if not years before actually hitting the market there are a lot of companies profits that will be down compared to the last two years...
Maybe as sales drop…..they’ll start producing what I’m look’n for, instead of focusing on semi-autos. Sure would like to find a 5” 460 XVR………that I can afford! 😉 memtb
S&W can take their share of the blame. Their guns are consistently at the top of price heap when comparing apples to apples.
Also, I have no desire to buy something "new." Most of the current guns are uninteresting. Springfield's new rifle turns my crank a bit. I'd like to see some new Remington's and I want to fill my safe with Kimber Montana's.
I'll stick to cool old used stuff for the time being.
Plus, S&W bought T-C and subsequently discontinued them, that had to have a negative impact on their bottom line.
I'm a big S&W fan, but prices have gotten out of hand. When you can buy the new Colt .22 King Cobra for right at $1K, the S&W 41s are only available in the Performance shop models at around $1600 +.... make pricing a bit more reasonable and I'm betting their product would sell. And this doesn't mention the fact S&W had very little product on the shelf the last couple years while they were reorganizing.... I'm just wondering when things will return to some semblance of normal again... if ever
Money that might have gone to another gun are now going for food, medication, energy, and other essentials, in reaction to massive inflation.
Yep. Not to mention all the money folks lost in the stock market caused by Lying Hiden Biden’s Administration intentionally destroying America’s Economy. When the Economy is good, folks spend more on recreational “toys”. When Inflation hits 30 to 40 percent, not 8% like the lying POS’s claim, there’s no extra income to spend for non necessities.
And many people, the smart ones, anyways, stocked up on Guns, Ammo, and reloading supplies when the DemoRat’s stole the Election, and installed the Puppet Pedo Joe. And others stocked up on weaponry when the Scamdemic hit.
You’re really gonna show them all by constant Internet whining.
One again, you prove you’re nothing more than a irrelevant ankle biting idiot with a severe Man Crush and a chronic case of Little Man Syndrome. But no one needs me to point it out. You’re doing a great job all by your lonesome. You go Shorty. 😂😂😂
Money that might have gone to another gun are now going for food, medication, energy, and other essentials, in reaction to massive inflation.
Yep. Not to mention all the money folks lost in the stock market caused by Lying Hiden Biden’s Administration intentionally destroying America’s Economy. When the Economy is good, folks spend more on recreational “toys”. When Inflation hits 30 to 40 percent, not 8% like the lying POS’s claim, there’s no extra income to spend for non necessities.
And many people, the smart ones, anyways, stocked up on Guns, Ammo, and reloading supplies when the DemoRat’s stole the Election, and installed the Puppet Pedo Joe. And others stocked up on weaponry when the Scamdemic hit.
You’re really gonna show them all by constant Internet whining.
One again, you prove you’re nothing more than a irrelevant ankle biting idiot with a severe Man Crush and a chronic case of Little Man Syndrome. But no one needs me to point it out. You’re doing a great job all by your lonesome. You go Shorty. 😂😂😂
SupFoo: Not at all sure what YOUR take is on this news/article as YOU don't say. My take is, hard times, inflation and thosefuckin "J" lock "hillary holes" on the sides of their revolvers! I know I wouldn't even consider buying a hillary holed Smith & Wesson revolver these days. And I notice the hillary holed revolvers by Smith & Wesson "sit" on the shelves WAY, WAY longer than their comparable predecessors did without the hillary hole. My local gunshop has a "hillary holed" ANIB Smith & Wesson Model 48 (22 Magnum) with 6" barrel that has been sitting on the shelf most all of this year and no one has even made an offer on it! Maybe it does not help that the Model 48's barrel is factory stamped/marked "45 Long Colt"? Like "Tzone" above I much prefer and will stick to the "cool old used stuff". Hold into the wind VarmintGuy
I've always wanted a 44mag.... but could never decide if I wanted Redhawk, Python, or S&W. I want to do a little hunting with it. Finally decided on this one. Model 629 PERFORMANCE CENTER® Model 629 Stealth Hunter 7.5 inch barrel.
I think my son will be hinting to my wife to get it. (not that i'd be guilty of dropping a hint)
SupFoo: Not at all sure what YOUR take is on this news/article as YOU don't say. My take is, hard times, inflation and thosefuckin "J" lock "hillary holes" on the sides of their revolvers! I know I wouldn't even consider buying a hillary holed Smith & Wesson revolver these days. And I notice the hillary holed revolvers by Smith & Wesson "sit" on the shelves WAY, WAY longer than their comparable predecessors did without the hillary hole. My local gunshop has a "hillary holed" ANIB Smith & Wesson Model 48 (22 Magnum) with 6" barrel that has been sitting on the shelf most all of this year and no one has even made an offer on it! Maybe it does not help that the Model 48's barrel is factory stamped/marked "45 Long Colt"? Like "Tzone" above I much prefer and will stick to the "cool old used stuff". Hold into the wind VarmintGuy
Inflation has a lot to do with it, but other factors are limiting purchases too. The manufacturers themselves should be to blame for some of it.
Guys are simply growing weary of the same old commodity firearms - plastic pistols, plastic rifles….everything that’s shipping regularly is a “budget” gun. Those guns will always have their place, but can’t consume the market.
The rifle market is really lacking, as is the shotgun market. Stainless rifles, wood stocked rifles, wood stocked shotguns are all slow to ship.
It’s a different time and the manufacturers own a bunch of that blame. I don’t feel sorry for them. If they spent more time building what the consumer wanted instead of building what they wanted to build, things might be a little different.
I’m home with flu and bored. I’m also tired of manufacturers not owning the blame for a soft market.
Darrik,
Hope you are feeling better!
Edited your post somewhat, but heard just about exactly the same thing at Capital Sports the other day--where the head gun guy gestured toward the lineup of new rifles that weren't selling--almost ENTIRELY pretty much uniform and plastic-stocked, even when made by various companies. ( He also said that its hard to sell anything over around $1500, which is no doubt due to economic doubts--but I suspect it's partly because so many of those cookie-cutter, plastic-stocked rifles are so accurate.)
C, no I haven't bought any rifles this year except a Sig AR-15. And I really have no use for a 45-70 but that's besides the point. Right???? lol
Tikka, that is too nice for the tractor!
LOL.
AR-15 is my go to tractor gun. Only sucks when the hot brass starts bouncing around in the Cab.
Dad once bitched after planting cotton a day after I had plowed the field, that he saw lots of AR / 556 brass laying everywhere in the field. Told him I was planting a new crop. 😜 He had zero sense of humor. 🤠
Tikka, yes that is butt ugly. But a guy wouldn't be too sad if some retard stole it.
Ruger has a funky little semi auto 9mm rifle and I have been checking those out as well.
Savage, that sounds like a nice one!
My first handgun purchase was a used 629 Classic.
Only thing I've shot with it were some gophers.
One of the new Ruger 5.7 Carbines might be a fun little tractor gun. 9mm doesn’t have enough reach for coyotes IMO. Although the 5.7 ammo is probably a lot higher than 9mm ammo by quite a bit.
Money that might have gone to another gun are now going for food, medication, energy, and other essentials, in reaction to massive inflation.
Yep. Not to mention all the money folks lost in the stock market caused by Lying Hiden Biden’s Administration intentionally destroying America’s Economy. When the Economy is good, folks spend more on recreational “toys”. When Inflation hits 30 to 40 percent, not 8% like the lying POS’s claim, there’s no extra income to spend for non necessities.
And many people, the smart ones, anyways, stocked up on Guns, Ammo, and reloading supplies when the DemoRat’s stole the Election, and installed the Puppet Pedo Joe. And others stocked up on weaponry when the Scamdemic hit.
You’re really gonna show them all by constant Internet whining.
One again, you prove you’re nothing more than a irrelevant ankle biting idiot with a severe Man Crush and a chronic case of Little Man Syndrome. But no one needs me to point it out. You’re doing a great job all by your lonesome. You go Shorty. 😂😂😂
Did you see the pic he posted of himself with the deer here awhile back ? He is a goofy lookin little inbred fugger. All 4' 9" of him. Ain't no way to fix that. LOL
Money that might have gone to another gun are now going for food, medication, energy, and other essentials, in reaction to massive inflation.
Yep. Not to mention all the money folks lost in the stock market caused by Lying Hiden Biden’s Administration intentionally destroying America’s Economy. When the Economy is good, folks spend more on recreational “toys”. When Inflation hits 30 to 40 percent, not 8% like the lying POS’s claim, there’s no extra income to spend for non necessities.
And many people, the smart ones, anyways, stocked up on Guns, Ammo, and reloading supplies when the DemoRat’s stole the Election, and installed the Puppet Pedo Joe. And others stocked up on weaponry when the Scamdemic hit.
You’re really gonna show them all by constant Internet whining.
One again, you prove you’re nothing more than a irrelevant ankle biting idiot with a severe Man Crush and a chronic case of Little Man Syndrome. But no one needs me to point it out. You’re doing a great job all by your lonesome. You go Shorty. 😂😂😂
Did you see the pic he posted of himself with the deer here awhile back ? He is a goofy lookin little inbred fugger. All 4' 9" of him. Ain't no way to fix that. LOL
I don’t understand how S&W can be so tone deaf to the market. The hillary hole is something that nobody wants and has never wanted. I can’t understand why S&W continues to be the one manufacturer with one. I won’t buy a new S&W revolver when I can buy an older one without it.
Right now I am seeing some really quality barely used guns out there at the lgs's at decent prices. Most have not been shot much but fondled some, carried a little, then traded for something new repeat the cycle of the last one. Legacy of the if you can only have one morons. Can't see farther than todays wants or how much credit left on their card. You get more interest out of one you bought right price wise than you get out of your passbook savings for sure. They don't spoil and increase in value. Can't remember when I've seen more selection of barely used carry guns out there for sale. Market is slow but selection great. I think there is a lot of person to person transfers going on and that is good also. Just my 2 cts...mb
I don’t understand how S&W can be so tone deaf to the market. The hillary hole is something that nobody wants and has never wanted. I can’t understand why S&W continues to be the one manufacturer with one. I won’t buy a new S&W revolver when I can buy an older one without it.
We've created a liability trap in the US on this sort of thing, i.e., if you have any feature on a gun that's described as a safety feature, and then you remove it, anyone who sues after that, claiming that its absence was the cause of their injury, will automatically win.
Inflation has a lot to do with it, but other factors are limiting purchases too. The manufacturers themselves should be to blame for some of it.
The market is somewhat stagnant. The lack of product innovation is taking its toll. Consumers are begging for new quality product and it’s falling on deaf ears. In Smith’s case, there are still some revolvers in demand and the debacle with Thompson Center left a hole in their portfolio. Guys are simply growing weary of the same old commodity firearms - plastic pistols, plastic rifles….everything that’s shipping regularly is a “budget” gun. Those guns will always have their place, but can’t consume the market.
Without new innovations and upper end offerings, shoppers are fatigued. They’re not churning and trading for the latest and greatest. The rifle market is really lacking, as is the shotgun market. Hardly anything upper end available in mass quantities from Beretta, Benelli, Winchester, Browning, Remington, Kimber…the list goes on. And upper end is now defined as models that were previously available as standard offerings. Stainless rifles, wood stocked rifles, wood stocked shotguns are all slow to ship.
It’s a different time and the manufacturers own a bunch of that blame. I don’t feel sorry for them. Publicly traded companies are slow to react because of all the hoops. Too many levels of approval and individuals trying to justify their jobs. If they spent more time building what the consumer wanted instead of building what they wanted to build, things might be a little different.
I’m home with flu and bored. I’m also tired of manufacturers not owning the blame for a soft market.
That sums it up.
I dare you to find anything not wrapped in plastic these days. Can't Ruger put out f'king Hawkeyes like a few years ago? Browning, I haven't seen anything from them in 2 years. Winchester Model 70's? Remington 700 in a wood BDL stock or Mountain Rifle?
All those various plastic semi-auto handguns have been selling like hot cakes during the BLM riots and the Dems winning the White House. Almost all of these will outlive their owners. Couple that with ongoing demographic changes - proportionately fewer young adult first-time gun buyers, greater numbers of hoplophobic (to borrow a Col. Cooper term) Leftists.
In general, I believe around these parts at least, the increase in supply roughly correlates to the greater number of high school kids caught with a handgun on campus in recent years, there’s just more guns around.
Note: IMHO almost all the kids with a gun on campus have no intention of shooting up the school, else over the nation (or even just Texas) those events would be happening every week.
I don’t understand how S&W can be so tone deaf to the market. The hillary hole is something that nobody wants and has never wanted. I can’t understand why S&W continues to be the one manufacturer with one. I won’t buy a new S&W revolver when I can buy an older one without it.
They know, they try to hide that hole in all their adds.
I still buy a lot of smiths, just older revolvers. Picked up a nice model 60 the other day.
They did hit a home run with the M&P series, those are great autos.
Inflation has a lot to do with it, but other factors are limiting purchases too. The manufacturers themselves should be to blame for some of it.
The market is somewhat stagnant. The lack of product innovation is taking its toll. Consumers are begging for new quality product and it’s falling on deaf ears. In Smith’s case, there are still some revolvers in demand and the debacle with Thompson Center left a hole in their portfolio. Guys are simply growing weary of the same old commodity firearms - plastic pistols, plastic rifles….everything that’s shipping regularly is a “budget” gun. Those guns will always have their place, but can’t consume the market.
Without new innovations and upper end offerings, shoppers are fatigued. They’re not churning and trading for the latest and greatest. The rifle market is really lacking, as is the shotgun market. Hardly anything upper end available in mass quantities from Beretta, Benelli, Winchester, Browning, Remington, Kimber…the list goes on. And upper end is now defined as models that were previously available as standard offerings. Stainless rifles, wood stocked rifles, wood stocked shotguns are all slow to ship.
It’s a different time and the manufacturers own a bunch of that blame. I don’t feel sorry for them. Publicly traded companies are slow to react because of all the hoops. Too many levels of approval and individuals trying to justify their jobs. If they spent more time building what the consumer wanted instead of building what they wanted to build, things might be a little different.
I’m home with flu and bored. I’m also tired of manufacturers not owning the blame for a soft market.
Lotta sense there, coming from a guy on the front lines, so to speak.
I can attest to the dismal situation with regard to the situation with nice guns, in my case a Browning O/U. Ordered one, and it was eight months before it showed. Nothing fancy, just a 725 Field. By then I’d given up and bought a nice used one. The deciding factor was that the dealer said they couldn’t tell when it would show, and that they had no way to check, but a call to Browning after four months revealed that there were none slated for that dealer for at least another two months, and no telling beyond that. The availability can’t be helped, but a phone call doesn’t seem to be a lot to ask.
I agree too on the quality what’s being shipped. It’s very hard to get enthused by yet another Tupperware®️ rifle with a crappy black finish and yet another unique detachable magazine that going to cause someone a lot of trouble someday when it’s lost or breaks and there are none to be found. Ever see spares for sale in the same shop where the rifles are available? Me neither, and I won’t buy such an animal before securing a couple of spares. Hell, based on the posts here, a lot of them that come with the rifles are defective. Same applies to pistols of course. AR, Glock and 1911 mags are practically convenience store items, but not so with the latest Turkish knock-off of a knock-off.
My local gunshop has boxes of guns in the isles. He back ordered anything he could, and now he has it all. I have no idea how he operates, because he is pretty expensive, but I guess that profit keeps him afloat. I see other shops have more inventory, and I think demand is down. People have to heat the house and buy food. So I think supply and demand will bring back reasonable prices. Of course ammo has to come down also. I don't think many will buy guns that they can't afford to shoot.
Firearms spending, let's face it, comes from discretionary funding in any household. REAL inflation is around 20% any way you slice it. So considering the stats that say the average household has less than a 1000 in the cookie jar for emergencies...I don't see where most folks have any money to spare.
Used gun shelves are slowly beginning to fill back up @ local shops and at prices that are beginning to re-enter earth's atmosphere as well. Shops are also starting to mark down excess/slow-moving ammo that was "What they could get" in favor of now "What people WANT".
I don’t understand how S&W can be so tone deaf to the market. The hillary hole is something that nobody wants and has never wanted. I can’t understand why S&W continues to be the one manufacturer with one. I won’t buy a new S&W revolver when I can buy an older one without it.
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