Smith & Wesson's Q2 Profits Reveal a Deadly Marketing Strategy Amid America's Gun Violence Crisis
December 6, 2024
As Smith & Wesson reports $129.7 million in net sales, Guns Down America calls out the company's emphasis on cheap firearms in response to a decreased demand.
WASHINGTON — Last night, Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (Smith & Wesson), held its second-quarter 2025 earnings call amid a nationwide gun violence epidemic. The company noted its $129.7 million in net sales came below expectations. However, this didn’t stop executives from highlighting an increase of $4.7 million due to their profit-driven strategy of flooding the market with cheap firearms, which we know they do by glorifying deadly weapons. In response, Guns Down America Executive Director Hudson Munoz released the following statement:
“The fact a gun manufacturer has earnings calls at all is terrifying enough, and Smith & Wesson's business strategy underlines that. They are flooding our communities with cheap firearms and a healthy dose of fear and division along with them. Don't forget that most crime guns are legally manufactured — they double-dip when their guns are used in crimes and they tell us to buy another to protect ourselves.
This business model doesn't just sustain America's gun violence crisis—it thrives on it. Smith & Wesson executives speak of profits but refuse to acknowledge the human cost of their products. They flaunt their success as though it's separate from the homicides, road rage incidents, domestic violence and robberies in which their firearms are the common denominator."
A selection of gun violence involving Smith & Wesson firearms in the United States during Q2 or between August and October 2024:
Homicides:
- August 2024: A 22-year-old North Carolina man allegedly murdered his father with a Smith & Wesson MP 22-caliber pistol. (source)
- August 2024: A Washington, D.C., police officer was killed by an inadvertent gunshot from a Smith & Wesson pistol that had been discarded by a fleeing suspect. (source)
- September 2024: A 16-year-old Minnesota boy allegedly killed a man outside a tobacco shop; police found a Smith & Wesson 9mm handgun where he fled. (source)
- September 2024: A convicted felon in Kentucky killed a sheriff’s deputy with an illegally obtained Smith & Wesson 9mm pistol. (source)
- September 2024: A Pennsylvania man allegedly killed his girlfriend with a Smith & Wesson handgun. (source)
Non-Lethal Shootings:
- August 2024: A Memphis man was arrested for allegedly shooting a man twice in the same day after a fight over unfinished car repairs; police found a Smith & Wesson revolver at his home. (source)
- August 2024: A Connecticut man was arrested for allegedly shooting a woman in the arm with a Smith & Wesson pistol. (source)
- September 2024: An allegedly drunken Iowa man was arrested after test-firing his Smith & Wesson handgun in a wooded area near an apartment building. (source)
- October 2024: A Michigan man allegedly fired a 9mm Smith & Wesson at a tow truck driver repossessing his vehicle. (source)
- October 2024: A Minnesota postal worker shot his supervisor at their workplace at least five times with .40-caliber Smith & Wesson ammo. (source)
Incidents Involving Children:
- August 2024: A 2-year-old Michigan boy shot himself with a Smith & Wesson 9mm handgun that was “unsafely and unsecurely stored under a pillow” at a babysitter’s house. (source)
- September 2024: A 6-year-old in Georgia was shot by a Smith & Wesson .40 caliber handgun during an exchange of gunfire between his mother’s boyfriend and another man. (source)
Domestic Violence:
- August 2024: A Georgia man allegedly held two women, including an ex, at gunpoint with a Smith & Wesson 9mm with its serial number removed. (source)
- August 2024: A Cleveland Browns rookie was arrested for allegedly threatening his fiancée with a gun; police found Glock and Smith &Wesson handguns at the scene. (source)
- August 2024: A New Hampshire man was arrested for allegedly threatening his ex-girlfriend and her friends with a Smith & Wesson SD40. (source)
- August 2024: An Iowa man allegedly threatened his wife and children with a Smith & Wesson revolver and then shot a horse. (source)
- September 2024: A Florida woman shot a relative with a Smith & Wesson handgun after an argument over their dogs. (source)
Robberies:
- August 2024: A man allegedly attempted to rob a gas station in North Dakota armed with a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson. (source)
- September 2024: An Oklahoma man allegedly used a Smith & Wesson .38 revolver in an armed robbery of another man’s Pokémon cards. (source)
- September 2024: Two 15-year-olds in Boston allegedly pointed a loaded Smith & Wesson 9mm at another teen and stole his scooter. (source)
- October 2024: An man in Ohio allegedly brandished a 9mm Smith & Wesson handgun during a bank robbery. (source)
Road Rage:
- August 2024: A Connecticut man allegedly pointed his 9mm Smith & Wesson at another driver who had cut him off on the highway. (source)
Other Threatening Behavior:
- August 2024: A woman with a Smith & Wesson handgun in her car was arrested in Washington and accused of making threats against former President Donald Trump. (source)
- September 2024: An off-duty police officer in Upstate New York was charged with threatening his neighbors with a holstered Smith & Wesson pistol while shouting racial slurs. (source)
- September 2024: A Maryland man was arrested with a .380-caliber Smith & Wesson and two 9mm “ghost guns” after allegedly assaulting someone in a gas station parking lot. (source)