Ruger Stocks Climb on News of Spike in Sales

One of the nation’s largest publicly-traded gun companies reported a revenue jump for the first quarter of 2020, followed by a rise in stock prices.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE: RGR) last week announced $123.6 million in quarterly sales, an increase of about 7.8% over the same quarter in 2019. The company also reported a 37% spike in sales from distributors to retailers when compared with a year ago.

About 20% of the company’s firearm sales, some $23 million, came from guns introduced in the past two years including the Wrangler, a budget .22LR single-action revolver; the Ruger-57, the LCP II in .22 LR, the PC Charger, and the AR-556 pistol.

“Strong consumer demand, exciting new products, and reduced reliance on promotions led to improved earnings and cash flows, which strengthened our already robust debt-free balance sheet as we ended the quarter with $188 million of cash and short-term investments,” said Chief Executive Officer Christopher J. Killoy. “In addition, inventories were reduced at both Ruger and at our distributors as retail demand outstripped available inventories, particularly in the latter weeks of the quarter.”

The last weeks of the first quarter also saw the COVID-19 pandemic and Ruger responded in kind. Killoy outlined that the company has been encouraging employees to work remotely wherever possible while implementing social distancing throughout each manufacturing facility. Ruger has facilities in Connecticut, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Arizona.

“The impact of COVID-19 has increased in the past month, but we have been fortunate and have been able to keep all of our facilities safe and open with only limited restrictions on production,” said Killoy.

Ruger’s shares rose nearly 5% in after-hours trading immediately following the release of the 1Q 2020 report according to Market Watch.

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