Shares in gun manufacturers surged early Monday in the wake of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
Smith & Wesson Brands was up 11%, while Sturm, Ruger & Co. was up 7%. Both firms make pistols, revolvers, hunting rifles, and automatic rifles like the one used in the shooting at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday — although officials have not yet released information on who manufactured the gun.
In recent years, arms companies’ shares have tended to see short-term increases in the wake of political and legal decisions seen as potentially leading to increased risk of domestic turbulence, or which could be interpreted as heralding a potential crackdown on firearms ownerships that would lead people to stockpile them.
But Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers financial group, said such stock moves are more often than not simply knee-jerk reactions by traders to current events, and do not necessarily signal that more sales will occur.
“The question is, does their stock rally persist, or does it fade,” Sosnick said. “We don’t know the lasting effect, and won’t really know until they make some sort of public comment or report their quarterly earnings.”
The arms companies are still ultimately evaluated on their overall financial performance, and have accordingly seen diverging outcomes in recent years. Smith & Wesson has seen its share price approximately double since December 2022, while Ruger shares are down 10% over the same period.
“It’s hard to escape (financial) fundamentals over the longer term,” Sosnick said. “So if there’s a perception that the weekend’s events could spur firearms sales, that’ll be borne out over time. We’ll know the answer when these companies report next.”
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