Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Q2 2026 Earnings Report

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. EPS Results

• Actual EPS: $0.52
• Consensus EPS: $0.42
• Beat/Miss: Beat by +$0.10
• One Year Ago EPS: $0.41

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Revenue Results

• Actual Revenue: $158.06 million
• Expected Revenue: $128.54 million
• Beat/Miss: Beat by +$29.52 million
• YoY Revenue Growth: +19.30%

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Announcement Details

• Quarter: Q2 2026
• Date: 7/29/2026
• Time: After Market Closes
• Conference Call Date: Wednesday, July 29, 2026
• Conference Call Time: 4:30PM ET

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) designs, manufactures, and sells firearms for the commercial sporting market. Its product portfolio includes modern sporting rifles, bolt-action rifles, single-shot rifles, autoloading rifles, shotguns, pistols, and revolvers. The company markets its products primarily under the Ruger brand.

Founded in 1949 by William B. Ruger and Alexander McCormick Sturm, the company has developed a broad lineup serving hunters, sport shooters, firearm collectors, and personal-protection customers. Sturm, Ruger also owns the Marlin brand, which it acquired along with substantially all of the assets of Marlin Firearms from Remington Outdoor Company in 2020. Marlin is known primarily for its lever-action rifles.

Sturm, Ruger sells its firearms throughout the United States through a network of independent wholesale distributors and federally licensed firearm retailers. The company operates manufacturing facilities in the United States and emphasizes domestic design and production. Christopher J. Killoy has served as the company’s president and chief executive officer.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Key Takeaways

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results improved significantly: Net sales rose 19% year over year to $158 million, adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 10.5%, and adjusted EPS increased to $0.52 from $0.41. Operating cash flow exceeded $17 million, while the company maintained its $0.21 quarterly dividend.
• Positive Sentiment: Management reported a fifth consecutive quarter of sequential and year-over-year sales growth, with estimated distributor sell-through up 19% compared with approximately 5% growth in adjusted NICS. Retail demand remained strong even as distributor inventories declined year over year, suggesting demand is being driven by consumers rather than channel restocking.
• Positive Sentiment: Manufacturing execution improved during the quarter, increasing throughput and allowing Ruger to begin rebuilding finished-goods inventory while maintaining quality and inventory discipline. The company is also evaluating additional shifts, employee cross-training, bottleneck reduction, and factory-capacity redeployment to address elevated back orders.
• Neutral Sentiment: Ruger formally established the Ruger Business System, a companywide framework intended to improve accountability, operational consistency, and continuous improvement in support of its long-term Ruger 2030 strategy.
• Negative Sentiment: Some new-product launches were postponed in the short term so production capacity could remain focused on high-demand existing products, particularly Gen2 rifle calibers ahead of hunting season. Gen2 rifles also rolled out of the company’s two-year “new product” tracking period, which may reduce reported new-product contribution temporarily.

Presentation

[Operator]

Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us, and welcome to the Sturm, Ruger & Company Q2 earnings call. After today's prepared remarks, we will host a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, please press star one again. I will now hand the conference over to Todd Seyfert, CEO. Please go ahead.

[Todd Seyfert, President and CEO at Sturm, Ruger & Company]

Good afternoon. Thank you for joining us for the Sturm, Ruger & Company's second quarter 2026 earnings conference call. I'm Todd Seyfert, President and Chief Executive Officer. Before we get started, I would like to turn it over to Sarah Colbert, our General Counsel, for the caution on forward-looking statements.

[Sarah Colbert, General Counsel at Sturm, Ruger & Company]

I'd like to remind everyone that some of the statements we make today will be forward-looking in nature. These statements reflect our current expectations, but actual results could differ materially due to several uncertainties and risks. You can find more information about these factors in our most recent Form 10-K and other filings with the SEC. We do not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. Reconciliations of any non-GAAP measures discussed today are available in our earnings release and on our website.

[Todd Seyfert, President and CEO at Sturm, Ruger & Company]

Thank you, Sarah. As you saw in today's earnings release, the second quarter represented another meaningful step forward in executing our 2026 plan. We delivered another quarter of strong financial results while making meaningful progress in strengthening the foundation of the business. We improved our manufacturing performance and formally established the Ruger Business System, which will serve as the framework for how we manage and continuously improve the business going forward. While we're encouraged by our financial performance during the quarter, I'm equally encouraged by how we achieved those results. Let me first take you through the financials for the quarter. Net sales were $158 million, a 19% increase over Q2 2025. This was driven by continued strength across our core product portfolio, higher average selling prices, and increased manufacturing output.

[Todd Seyfert, President and CEO at Sturm, Ruger & Company]

Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 10.5%, driven by favorable product mix, continued premiumization within our existing product families, and improved manufacturing efficiencies. Diluted earnings were $0.43 per share, compared to a diluted loss of $1.05 in the prior year period. On an adjusted basis, diluted earnings increased to $0.52 per share, compared with $0.41 per share last year. Cash generated from operations totaled more than $17 million for the quarter. We also continued returning capital to shareholders through our quarterly dividend, consistent with our longstanding capital allocation philosophy. The Board of Directors declared a dividend of $0.21 per share for the second quarter. Those results are positive, equally important is the operational progress that made those results possible. One trend I'm particularly encouraged by is our consistency. This marks our fifth consecutive quarter of both sequential and year-over-year sales growth.

[Todd Seyfert, President and CEO at Sturm, Ruger & Company]

Profitability has continued improving as we execute initiatives to simplify the business and reduce costs. During our first quarter call, we discussed production constraints that limited our ability to fully meet customer demand. Our operations teams responded with urgency while remaining focused on maintaining the quality and reliability our customers expect from Ruger products. Throughout the second quarter, we improved manufacturing execution, increased throughput, and began rebuilding finished goods inventory in a disciplined manner. That allowed us to improve product availability without compromising our inventory management objectives. Another important milestone during the quarter was the continued expansion of our accessory business. Accessories represent an important extension of our strategy to build complete product ecosystems that complement our core firearm platforms. Our most recent offerings focus on the vast modern sporting rifle market and leverage the success of our new Harrier rifle.

[Todd Seyfert, President and CEO at Sturm, Ruger & Company]

From a market perspective, consumer demand throughout the quarter developed as we anticipated. Normal seasonality presented itself April through June, as summer months saw a slowing of retail foot traffic as consumers prepare to shift from spring range demand into fall hunt and holiday season. Adjusted NICS remained above prior levels during the quarter, and our estimated distributor sell-through increased 19% year-over-year, significantly outperforming the approximately 5% increase in adjusted NICS over the same period. Taken together, these trends reinforce our confidence in the health of the business. Consumer demand for the Ruger brand remains strong. Our new products continue gaining traction and inventory throughout the channel remains balanced. We saw distributors reduce inventory on a year-over-year basis while retail sell-through remained strong, providing additional evidence that demand continues to be driven by consumers rather than inventory replenishment alone.

[Todd Seyfert, President and CEO at Sturm, Ruger & Company]

At the same time, we improved product mix while rebuilding inventory both internally and at distribution compared to the first quarter. We believe this positions us well heading into the important fall hunting and holiday season, while allowing us to continue increasing production of the products consumers are demanding most. Perhaps the most important milestone of the quarter wasn't reflected in any single financial metric. During the second quarter, we formally established the Ruger Business System. While the name is new, the objective is straightforward. The Ruger Business System establishes a common operating framework for how we plan, execute, measure performance, and continuously improve across the enterprise. It aligns our teams around common objectives, reinforces accountability, and creates a shared language for operational excellence across all of our facilities and functions.

[Todd Seyfert, President and CEO at Sturm, Ruger & Company]

Most importantly, it provides the structure necessary to execute both our annual operating plans and our long-term Ruger 2030 strategy. For shareholders, the Ruger Business System should be viewed as an investment in growth and consistency. We know that the firearms market fluctuates, but our objective is to build an organization that can execute regardless of the macro environment. It's designed to improve the way we make decisions, solve problems, and execute across every part of the business to deliver predictive results each quarter. As we look forward to the back half of the year, I would like to walk us through our progress on the 2026 plan and the overall health of the business. Throughout the first six months, net sales were $299 million, a 12% increase over 2025. Cash generated from operations was up 39% during the period and totaled $36 million.

[Todd Seyfert, President and CEO at Sturm, Ruger & Company]

Sales of new products accounted for $81 million, or 29% of firearm sales for the period. As of June 27th, 2026, our cash and short-term investments totaled $118 million. Our current ratio is 3.3:1, and we have no debt. Year to date, capital expenditures total $8 million. As we've mentioned before, we expect capital expenditures to total approximately $30 million for the year. In the first six months, we returned $3 million to our shareholders through the payment of quarterly dividends. Our priorities for the balance of 2026 remain unchanged. Improving profitability through focusing on direct material cost, insourcing of components, and driving product premiumization. Aligning factory capacity with demand by redeploying capital assets across locations that can better leverage our footprint, and cross-training employees to create flexibility across product lines.

[Todd Seyfert, President and CEO at Sturm, Ruger & Company]

Right-sizing the business to our future product portfolio by intentionally mapping product life cycles and roadmaps to meet consumer demand. Carefully listening to voice-of-the-customer feedback, innovating where possible, and exiting unprofitable platforms where demand is waning. Increasing output on proven high-demand product lines by reducing bottleneck cycle times, increasing productivity through improved shop floor leadership, and, where needed, leveraging existing capital with increased shifts. Expanding into new markets through complete product ecosystems, increased accessory offerings, a broader international presence, and new market segments in domestic and international law enforcement and security. As I've stated before, these priorities are not short-term actions. They are foundational steps that position us for sustained performance. There is still important work ahead. We believe the operational foundation we've built over the past year positions Ruger to execute more consistently, respond more effectively to market conditions, and create durable long-term value.

[Todd Seyfert, President and CEO at Sturm, Ruger & Company]

I'd like to thank our employees for their commitment and execution throughout the quarter. Operator, can we please have the first question?

[Operator]

We will now begin the question and answer session. Please limit yourself to one question and one follow-up. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, press star one again. We ask that you pick up your handset when asking a question to allow for optimum sound quality. If you are muted locally, please remember to unmute your device. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. Your first question is from the line of Mark Smith with Lake Street. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.

[Mark Smith, Analyst at Lake Street]

Hey, Todd. I wanted to ask a little bit about new products. If there was anything that fell off from the new products list and your comfort level, as well as if there was anything that's added in here, the mix within new products that's maybe driving ASP a little bit higher.

[Todd Seyfert, President and CEO at Sturm, Ruger & Company]

Sure. Hey, Mark. Yeah, one real important factor on the new products is, if you remember, we only track things that have been launched in the past two years. In the second quarter, the Gen II rifles rolled off. Think about that volume in terms of our total volume. The good news is, Mark, is that we have a tremendous pipeline of new products, not only in Gen II, but across the portfolio. Really it's the timing of the roll-off of those as we launch new products. The other thing I would tell you is, because of the demand in Q2, we did postpone some product launches. Just given demand of current products, we want to make sure we were fulfilling those products first before launching more.

[Mark Smith, Analyst at Lake Street]

Perfect. That maybe fits into my next question, which is, as we look at the back orders, units on back order up a fair amount here. Walk us through your comfort level with that number, your ability to hit, and maybe reduce that number as we go forward.

[Todd Seyfert, President and CEO at Sturm, Ruger & Company]

Yeah. A lot of work that we talked about just recently is really what we're doing to increase our volumes. A lot of work happening in the facilities, a lot of work around the product roadmaps, really understanding where that demand is, which lines, and what we can do to increase that production. A lot of effort. If you remember Q1, we had the issues around some of the facilities having some snowstorms. A lot of focus on increasing output in the short term in Q2 to catch up. We also had a number of 250th Anniversary Series that were launched in the quarter as well, chasing that volume in the short term.

[Todd Seyfert, President and CEO at Sturm, Ruger & Company]

Looking back to the back half of the year, Mark, really focusing on where do we have the most demand, what product lines are those on, and making sure that as we evaluate those lines, we're adding the appropriate people, and also looking at additional shifts where it makes sense.

[Mark Smith, Analyst at Lake Street]

Okay. If I could squeeze one more in.

[Todd Seyfert, President and CEO at Sturm, Ruger & Company]

Sure.

[Mark Smith, Analyst at Lake Street]

You talked a little bit about some capital allocation, use of cash here. I'm curious if any other insights that you can give us as we think about needs coming up in CapEx. Is there any investments that you guys need to make? Maybe even plans of what you can do with excess cash.

[Todd Seyfert, President and CEO at Sturm, Ruger & Company]

Sure. The next few years, Mark, as we've stated, it really is trying to target that $30 million of CapEx. Really, that goes around additional capacity, innovation in terms of whether that's efficiency gains in the facilities through newer machines, thinking about going and migrating to mini-cells, which we're starting to pilot in some of our facilities right now, which gives us a little bit more flexibility in terms of the types of machines we're buying, a little bit more fifth axis, if you will. It gives us a little bit more flexibility in how we make product. That's some of the thought process around the $30 million target over the next few years. Really continuing to invest in the current business and the future product profiles.

[Todd Seyfert, President and CEO at Sturm, Ruger & Company]

In terms of the cash position that we're in, I'm happy to report we're hovering around that $118 million. As you know, being a long-term follower and investor, we're very thoughtful around our capital deployment. We're going to invest in the business first. That's the clear priority. We'll look at opportunities of what else to do with that cash, whether that's if we feel our stock's at a lower point than we think it's worth. We do have the ability to buy back stock. We have looked at M&A, as you know, and we continue to evaluate where that could make sense. Also, just given the cyclicality of this business, we do like to have cash on hand to weather the storm, if you will, if any were to come.

[Todd Seyfert, President and CEO at Sturm, Ruger & Company]

We're feeling really good with where we are, and we'll continue to treat our capital from our investors very thoughtfully.

[Mark Smith, Analyst at Lake Street]

Perfect. Thank you.

[Todd Seyfert, President and CEO at Sturm, Ruger & Company]

Absolutely. Thanks, Mark.

[Operator]

Your next question is from the line of Rommel Dionisio with Aegis Capital. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.

[Rommel Dionisio, Analyst at Aegis Capital]

Thank you very much. Todd, you had just alluded to possibly delaying some of the new product launches just to help get you through the strong demand in the current period. Without asking for too much, guys, how much are we delaying them to next year, or just a question a few months? How should we kind of think about these next few months and quarters for the pace of new product introductions? Thanks.

[Todd Seyfert, President and CEO at Sturm, Ruger & Company]

Yeah. Rommel, thanks. Really, I would say it's in the short term. Really looking at, for instance, on Gen II, given the current demand of those calibers heading into hunting season, we didn't feel it appropriate to add new products to that. Where we have lines that share production, we would make sure that we're not introducing new products or new parts to those lines. Really, I would call it a shorter-term focus, Rommel, in terms of that prioritization of what we introduce. That's kind of how we're thinking about it.

[Rommel Dionisio, Analyst at Aegis Capital]

Okay, just maybe dovetailing with that, should we think about then capital expenditures moving possibly more into the—I know you reiterated the $30 million number for the full year, but should we think about that maybe moving more kind of fourth quarter loaded as opposed to third quarter loaded, just given the change in the cadence of new product introductions, or does that not really matter from a timing standpoint?

[Todd Seyfert, President and CEO at Sturm, Ruger & Company]

Yeah.

[Rommel Dionisio, Analyst at Aegis Capital]

Thanks.

[Todd Seyfert, President and CEO at Sturm, Ruger & Company]

It's a little bit based on the calendar. Typically, what happens is a lot of the projects are green-lighted the fourth quarter of the prior year. We get traction in the first quarter, then in terms of the actual investment and the spending of dollars, that happens typically towards the end. A lot of it happens after the middle of the year. You'll see that kind of happening over Q3 and Q4.

[Rommel Dionisio, Analyst at Aegis Capital]

Okay, perfect. Thank you very much.

[Todd Seyfert, President and CEO at Sturm, Ruger & Company]

Absolutely. Thank you.

[Operator]

There are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call back to Todd Seyfert, CEO, for closing remarks. Please go ahead.

[Todd Seyfert, President and CEO at Sturm, Ruger & Company]

Thank you again for joining us today and for your continued investment in Ruger. The progress we've made during the first half of the year gives us confidence that we're building a stronger, more agile Ruger while remaining focused on delivering value for our customers, employees, and shareholders. We look forward to talking again next quarter. Thanks.

[Operator]

This concludes today's call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.

Participants

Executives

• Todd Seyfert, President and CEO
• Sarah Colbert, General Counsel

Analysts

• Mark Smith, Analyst at Lake Street
• Rommel Dionisio, Analyst at Aegis Capital