As Friday progressed, the stock market proved unable to build on its Thursday bounce. Investors seem to be nervous about a wide variety of things, and it showed up in substantial losses, especially in high-growth stocks. As of 1:30 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -1.53%) was down 120 points to 34,519. The S&P 500 (^GSPC -1.18%) dropped 50 points to 4,527, and the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC -1.57%) was down the hardest, falling 340 points to 15,042.
It's easy to conclude from the Nasdaq's big decline that tech stocks were the biggest problem on Wall Street. Yet although some high-profile tech stocks were indeed among the top losers, you could also find some big drops among decidedly non-tech companies. Below, we'll take a closer look at why Smith & Wesson Brands (SWBI -1.79%) and Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings (OLLI -0.10%) found themselves near the top of the decliners' list.
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Smith & Wesson sinks
Shares of Smith & Wesson Brands fell almost 30% on Friday afternoon. The gunmaker suffered from poor financial performance, and investors anticipate more of the same ahead.
Smith & Wesson's fiscal second-quarter results didn't live up to what shareholders had expected to see from the company. Revenue of $230.5 million was down more than 7% year over year. Adjusted net income rose less than 5% from the year-ago period, although a big drop in share count led to adjusted earnings of $1.13 per share that were up more than 20% from the second quarter of fiscal 2021.
CEO Mark Smith was proud of that result, pointing to efficiency efforts that helped the company weather lower sales while improving margins. Smith said falling demand was natural given the historic highs during the worst parts of the pandemic, and the company is continuing to roll out new products to ensure long-term financial strength.
The results prompted analysts at Cowen to downgrade Smith & Wesson shares from outperform to market perform and to slash stock price targets by $16 per share to $22. Indeed, if inventory problems prove to be difficult during the holiday season, it could prolong the difficulties Smith & Wesson is facing.
Ollie's sees a price cut on its stock
Elsewhere, Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings watched its stock fall more than 20%. The discount retailer had seen tremendous growth earlier in 2021, but its latest results weren't able to keep up the positive momentum for its business.
Ollie's had to deal with disappointment in the third quarter. Revenue fell 7.5% to $383.5 million, with comparable-store sales falling an even steeper 15.5% from year-ago levels. Even comparing to pre-pandemic results, Ollie's comps were down 1.3% from the third quarter of 2019. Ollie's bottom line saw even bigger declines, as adjusted net income fell almost 50% to $22 million. The resulting adjusted earnings of $0.34 per share weren't able to meet the expectations shareholders had for the company.
Ollie's pointed to supply chain headwinds as being a primary culprit for its subpar performance, and unfortunately, those challenges have persisted into the beginning of the fourth quarter as well. Although long-term prospects look better amid strategic initiatives to cut costs and boost efficiency, Ollie's could need time before all the benefits from its efforts pay off.
When growth stocks lose momentum, it's hard to get it back. For now, investors in Ollie's appear to be in wait-and-see mode in the hopes that shoppers will return to stores and get the company's revenue and profits moving in the right direction again.
