Sturm Ruger Falls as 4Q Earnings Miss Expectations

Gun sales are falling back to earth.

Michael Fifer, the CEO of firearm maker Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc., said that orders for its guns are “more realistic” this year compared to 2013, when demand soared on fears that lawmakers would try to restrict firearm sales.

Shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., and a theater in Aurora, Colo., in 2012 sparked calls for tighter gun-control measures. However, Congress passed none.

“There was a lot of emotion, a lot of fear, a lot of uncertainty driving sales” during the first part of 2013, Fifer said in a conference call with Wall Street analysts Wednesday.

Sturm Ruger, which is based in Southport, Conn., also reported fourth-quarter earnings late Tuesday that missed Wall Street expectations. The results sent shares down $5.38, or 8 percent, to close at $62.99 Wednesday.

Net income rose to $1.33 per share in the quarter ending Dec. 31, compared to $1 per share in the same quarter a year ago.

Revenue rose 28 percent, to $181.9 million from $141.8 million.

Analysts expected earnings of $1.38 per share in the latest quarter, and revenue of $179.1 million, according to FactSet.