What: Shares of Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. (SWHC +0.26%) were up 10% as of 11:50 p.m. Friday after the gun manufacturer reported better-than-expected fiscal-first-quarter 2016 results.
So what: Quarterly revenue climbed 12.1% year over year to $147.8 million, which translated to an 18.8% increase in adjusted net income to $17.7 million, and an 18.5% gain on a per-share basis to $0.32. Analysts, on average, were anticipating revenue of $142.8 million, and earnings of just $0.22 per share.
Smith & Wesson CEO James Debney added, "Our first quarter results exceeded our expectations for sales and net income in both our firearms and accessories divisions." On the former, sales increased 1.9% to $134.4 million, driven by strong demand for M&P 15 Sport rifles, Thompson/Center Venture bolt-action rifles, and M&P Shield polymer pistols. On the latter, accessories sales climbed 29.9% to $13.3 million, thanks primarily to Smith & Wesson's acquisition of Battenfeld Technologies this past December.
Now what: Consequently, Smith & Wesson also raised its full-year guidance. As it stands, fiscal 2016 revenue is expected to be $610 million to $620 million, while adjusted net income per share should arrive in the range of $1.14 to $1.19. Wall Street, for its part, was modeling full-year earnings of $1.04 per share on revenue of $611.4 million.
Put simply, I can't find anything not to like in Smith & Wesson's latest solid performance. In the end, and even though Smith & Wesson stock has had a stellar run so far in 2015, I still think shares are attractive trading around 20 times trailing-12-month earnings and 15 times next year's estimates.
