Smith & Wesson shares surge on strong gun sales

Shares of Smith & Wesson jumped Friday after the gunmaker reported record quarterly revenues on a surge in sales during the contentious US presidential election.

Revenues more than doubled in the quarter ending October 31 to $479 million, resulting in profits of $52.2 million during that three-month stretch.

Chief Executive Mark Smith said demand for firearms often rises during the political season amid talk of gun control legislation.

"The political landscape gets contentious and talk of gun control increases, and therefore, there's a fear of increased gun control regulation, which drives a lot of our consumers to go out and purchase firearms," Smith said on a conference call with analysts that alluded to the bitter campaign between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

"And as everybody knows, this election was obviously a lot more contentious than maybe they had been in the past."

Since the start of the year, nearly eight million Americans have purchased guns for the first time, with about 40 percent of them women, according to the company. Gun-owners own an average of eight firearms.

Shares finished at $15.91, up 5.2 percent.