I came across an interesting article. As we've been discussing, since Trump was elected, there has been, seemingly, a sharp decline in gun sales across the country. And while there was a dip from the previous record years, it appears folks are still buying guns at a rapid (though not record) pace, and gun manufacturer's stocks are on the rise.
This appears to be good news for us. I'm guessing lower prices and a number of good rebate programs are helping to keep sales alive. That, coupled with the fact that people can finally buy what they want - the shelves aren't empty like they were in 2013/2014, it seems to be a positive indicator that Americans are still interested in buying lots of guns!
Shares of S&W have jumped 23% in the last 3 months while Ruger has jumped 31%!
Link to the story: This is the best indicator yet that analysts were wrong about the gun industry
Here are some excerpts for those that don't want to follow the link:
Two years ago, the FBI reported that it conducted a record number of background checks on potential gun buyers in May, more than it had ever done before for that month. It would launch a 19-month-long streak that would culminate in more than 27.5 million background checks performed in 2016, 20% more than the year before and over two and a half times time the number conducted 10 years prior.
While the November elections seemed to gut that growth, as December's background checks dropped 16% from a year ago followed by a steep 20% drop in January, the numbers have been climbing since. Now that the FBI has reported results for May 2017, it looks as though the firearms industry is back, guns a-blazin'.
What the pundits missed, of course, was that there was no real slump at all, just that gun buying wasn't running at the same white-hot pace it had gone at last year. Anyone who cared to look could see that even the supposedly low numbers being reported each month in 2017 were still running well ahead of 2015, which, as noted, was also a record year.
Fear of new gun-control laws doesn't create demand for guns; it merely affects the timing of the purchase. Thinking your right to buy an AR-15 might be limited in the next few months, you'll buy one now instead of waiting. Removing that concern doesn't eliminate the demand for the new firearm; it just takes it off the "must buy now" list. The demand remains regardless, a point analysts seemed to overlook in declaring doom for the firearms industry.
Still, the FBI's May numbers show the elections didn't shoot the manufacturers in the foot, and while we might not get another 19-month record run, gun demand is healthy and the gun manufacturers remain good investments.
This appears to be good news for us. I'm guessing lower prices and a number of good rebate programs are helping to keep sales alive. That, coupled with the fact that people can finally buy what they want - the shelves aren't empty like they were in 2013/2014, it seems to be a positive indicator that Americans are still interested in buying lots of guns!
Shares of S&W have jumped 23% in the last 3 months while Ruger has jumped 31%!
Link to the story: This is the best indicator yet that analysts were wrong about the gun industry
Here are some excerpts for those that don't want to follow the link:
Two years ago, the FBI reported that it conducted a record number of background checks on potential gun buyers in May, more than it had ever done before for that month. It would launch a 19-month-long streak that would culminate in more than 27.5 million background checks performed in 2016, 20% more than the year before and over two and a half times time the number conducted 10 years prior.
While the November elections seemed to gut that growth, as December's background checks dropped 16% from a year ago followed by a steep 20% drop in January, the numbers have been climbing since. Now that the FBI has reported results for May 2017, it looks as though the firearms industry is back, guns a-blazin'.
What the pundits missed, of course, was that there was no real slump at all, just that gun buying wasn't running at the same white-hot pace it had gone at last year. Anyone who cared to look could see that even the supposedly low numbers being reported each month in 2017 were still running well ahead of 2015, which, as noted, was also a record year.
Fear of new gun-control laws doesn't create demand for guns; it merely affects the timing of the purchase. Thinking your right to buy an AR-15 might be limited in the next few months, you'll buy one now instead of waiting. Removing that concern doesn't eliminate the demand for the new firearm; it just takes it off the "must buy now" list. The demand remains regardless, a point analysts seemed to overlook in declaring doom for the firearms industry.
Still, the FBI's May numbers show the elections didn't shoot the manufacturers in the foot, and while we might not get another 19-month record run, gun demand is healthy and the gun manufacturers remain good investments.
