Gun sales in the U.S rose by 16% as President Barack Obama kick his final year in the White House with his new restrictions on arm sales.
Revenue of Smith & Wesson rose to its highest value since 1999, saying the sales was "stronger than originally anticipated." The trading update of the gun maker said that for three months, until Jan 31, it is expected that sales might be about as high as $180 million, which is a 16% increase from its Dec forecast, according to Bloomberg Business.
"The sell-through rate of its products at distribution has been stronger than originally anticipated, resulting in reduced distributor inventories of its firearms," the company said through a statement.
In other words, gun enthusiasts and other people are now buying firearms faster than sellers can restock their shelves.
It is said that sales of guns surge in the wake of the mass shootings in recent years that took numerous lives, including the San Bernardino massacre last month that left 14 individuals dead. After the horrific incident, many people were said to be getting concern about their personal safety.
In addition, the market sales of Smith & Wesson most likely benefited after Obama announced the new restrictions on gun sales as they aim to reduce the epidemic of mass shootings. Obama's administration announced that they are strengthening the gun control mechanism as well as expanding their background checks. Although, the president cleared that the new plan doesn't aim to take everybody's gun, still, "any movement to increase gun control tends to boost firearm sales, at least in the short term," The Motley Fool stated.
An analyst at Wunderlich Securities told MarketWatch, just like he seen before, consumers are now buying guns as they believed that the firearms will become "unavailable" soon, leading to an acceleration of sales for the gun sellers.
