Ruger Blows Away Expectations: Gun Sales Surge Ahead of Presidential Election

Amid abysmal earnings reports from some of the world’s top companies in recent weeks, Americans may be spending less on things like consumer electronics and dining out, but one trend remains seemingly unstoppable.

We’ve got an insatiable demand for weaponry, with more guns being purchased last year in America than there are active duty military members in the world’s fourteen largest militaries.

Americans like their guns, and according to the latest quarterly revenues from Sturm, Ruger & Co., that isn’t going to change anytime soon. In fact, over the last five years we’ve seen a massive increase in gun buying. So much so that Ruger was forced to suspend new firearms orders earlier this year because they simply could not keep up with demand.

Last quarter, Ruger blew away analysts expectations with sales of $118 million, which amounts to nearly half a billion dollars on an annual basis.

Moreover, what’s impossible to ignore about this trend is what’s behind it. Read more....