Sturm Ruger (NYSE: RGR) grows Q1 sales but reports sharply lower EPS
Rhea-AI Filing Summary
Sturm, Ruger & Company used its latest earnings call to explain first quarter 2026 results, strategy, and recent corporate events. Net sales rose 4% to $141 million, but diluted earnings dropped to $0.01 per share from $0.46 a year earlier due to several one-time costs.
Excluding expenses tied to a strategic cooperation agreement with Beretta Holding, a February reduction in force and retention awards, adjusted diluted earnings were $0.27 per share. The company generated $19 million of operating cash, held $105 million of cash and short-term investments, had a current ratio of 3.5:1 and reported no debt.
Orders increased 28% to 525,000 units and backlog grew to $330 million, helped by strong demand for new products, which contributed $51.6 million or 41% of firearm sales. Ruger detailed its cooperation agreement with largest shareholder Beretta Holding, explained a New York Stock Exchange inadvertent early dividend disclosure, and confirmed a $0.11 per-share quarterly dividend, about 40% of net income.
Positive
- None.
Negative
- None.
Insights
Sales and orders grew, but one-time costs crushed reported EPS.
Ruger delivered modest top-line growth in Q1 2026, with net sales up 4% to $141 million. Operationally, demand looked strong: units ordered climbed 28% to 525,000 and backlog rose to $330 million, supported by successful new product launches that generated $51.6 million or 41% of firearm sales.
Profitability, however, was heavily impacted by nonrecurring expenses. Diluted EPS fell to $0.01 from $0.46, but adjusted EPS of $0.27 excludes $3.2 million of Beretta cooperation costs, $2.5 million from a reduction in force, and $1.7 million of retention awards. Management also noted weather-driven production shortfalls of roughly 30,000 units versus Q1 2025.
The company emphasized a strong balance sheet with $105 million in cash and short-term investments, a 3.5:1 current ratio and no debt, while returning $1.3 million via dividends. A strategic cooperation agreement with Beretta Holding averted a proxy contest, aiming to keep focus on executing the Ruger 2030 strategy. The overall picture combines healthy demand with temporarily depressed reported earnings.
8-K Event Classification
Key Figures
Key Terms
strategic cooperation agreement financial
reduction in force financial
current ratio financial
backlog financial
adjusted operating profit financial
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
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FORM
CURRENT REPORT
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| Item 7.01 | Regulation FD Disclosure |
On May 6, 2026, the Company hosted its post-earnings release conference call and webcast to discuss our first quarter 2026 financial results. The transcript of the conference call and webcast is included as Exhibit 99.1 to this Report on Form 8-K.
The information in this subsection of this Report on Form 8-K and Exhibit 99.1 is furnished pursuant to Item 7.01 and shall not be deemed to be “filed” for the purpose of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section. The filing of this Report on Form 8-K will not be deemed an admission as to the materiality of any information in the Report that is required to be disclosed solely by Regulation FD.
The text included as Exhibit 99.1 and the replay of the conference call and webcast on May 6, 2026, is available on our website located at Ruger.com/corporate, although we reserve the right to discontinue that availability at any time.
Certain statements contained in this Report on Form 8-K (including Exhibit 99.1) may be deemed to be forward-looking statements under federal securities laws, and we intend that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbor created thereby. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding market demand, sales levels of firearms, anticipated castings sales and earnings, the need for external financing for operations or capital expenditures, the results of pending litigation against the Company, the impact of future firearms control and environmental legislation, and accounting estimates. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company undertakes no obligation to publish revised forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date such forward-looking statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of subsequent unanticipated events.
| Item 9.01 | Financial Statements and Exhibits |
| Exhibit No. | Description |
| 99.1 | Transcript of conference call and webcast conducted on May 6, 2026. |
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, hereunto duly authorized.
| STURM, RUGER & COMPANY, INC. | |||
| By: | /S/ ANDREW T. WIELAND | ||
| Name: | Andrew T. Wieland | ||
| Title: | Principal Financial Officer, | ||
| Principal Accounting Officer, | |||
| Senior Vice President, and | |||
| Chief Financial Officer | |||
Dated: May 8, 2026
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Exhibit 99.1
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STURM, RUGER & COMPANY, INC. FQ1 2026 EARNINGS CALL MAY 06, 2026
Call Participants
EXECUTIVES
Sarah F. Colbert
SVP, VP of Administration, General
Counsel & Corporate
Secretary
Todd W. Seyfert
President, CEO & Director
ANALYSTS
Mark Eric Smith
Lake Street Capital Markets, LLC,
Research Division
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STURM, RUGER & COMPANY, INC. FQ1 2026 EARNINGS CALL MAY 06, 2026
Presentation .
Operator
Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us, and welcome to Sturm, Ruger & Co.'s 2026 Q1 Earnings Call. [Operator Instructions]
I'll now hand the conference over to Todd Seyfert, President and Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead, Todd.
Todd W. Seyfert
President, CEO & Director
Good afternoon, and welcome to Sturm, Ruger & Company's First 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 F. Colbert
SVP, VP of Administration, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
I would 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 a number of 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.
Todd W. Seyfert
President, CEO & Director
Thank you, Sarah. There's a lot for me to comment on from the quarter. But before I get into the financials, I would like to step through a few recent news items from the past few weeks.
First, as we ended the quarter, we announced the appointment of Andrew Wieland as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, following the planned transition of Tom Dineen. We are excited for Andrew to join our team in this capacity and look forward to his leadership in the continued execution of Ruger's long-term plan.
I would like to thank Tom for his many years of dedicated service and financial stewardship. As I stated in our announcement, we are grateful for Tom's leadership over the last three decades and wish him the very best in his next chapter. He will be noticeably missed from this call.
Additionally, I want to acknowledge the announcement of our strategic cooperation agreement with Beretta Holding, our largest shareholder. After months of constructive dialogue, we have reached a cooperation agreement with Beretta Holding that avoids a proxy contest and ensures we remain focused on running and growing our business.
This outcome reflects our commitment to act in the best interest of all Ruger shareholders while bringing in a significant investor with deep industry knowledge and a shared focus on our success. This agreement provides stability, removes distraction and allows us to move forward with clarity as we execute our 2026 plan and continue building toward our long-term strategy.
Lastly, I would like to comment on a situation that occurred Monday with the New York Stock Exchange. Unfortunately and unexpectedly, the exchange inadvertently disclosed information related to our dividend prior to our earnings release this afternoon. So that there is no confusion, we immediately filed an 8-K regarding this event.
Now let me walk through the financials for the quarter. Net sales for the quarter increased 4% to $141 million compared with $136 million in the prior year period. Diluted earnings were $0.01 per share compared to $0.46 per share in the corresponding period of 2025. On an adjusted basis, excluding the
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STURM, RUGER & COMPANY, INC. FQ1 2026 EARNINGS CALL MAY 06, 2026
impact of expenses related to the strategic cooperation agreement with Beretta Holding and organizational changes implemented in February, diluted earnings for the quarter were $0.27 per share.
In the first quarter, we generated $19 million of cash from operations. Year-to-date, capital expenditures totaled $5 million. The company expects capital expenditures to total $30 million for the year for continued investments in new product introductions, expanded capacity for product lines in greatest demand, upgraded manufacturing capabilities and strengthened facility infrastructure.
On March 28, 2026, our cash and short-term investments totaled $105 million. Our short-term investments are in United States treasury bills and in a money market fund that invests exclusively in United States treasury instruments, which mature within one year. Our current ratio is 3.5:1, and we have no debt.
In the first quarter of 2026, we returned $1.3 million to our shareholders through the payment of a quarterly dividend. The company announced that its Board of Directors declared a dividend of $0.11 per share for the first quarter for shareholders of record as of May 14, 2026, payable on May 29, 2026. This dividend equates to approximately 40% of net income.
As you can see, Q1 marks our fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year top line sales growth, a clear indication that the actions we've taken over the past year are gaining traction. We continue to outperform the broader market as measured by a sales increase of 3.2% versus only a 1.6% increase in adjusted NICS, reinforcing that our strategy is not only working internally but resonating with consumers.
For the period, units ordered increased 28% to 525,000 units versus 410,000 units for the same period last year. Correspondingly, our backlog of $330 million exceeded the $275 million for the same period in 2025, an increase of 20% year-over-year. A key driver of this performance is the strength of our innovation and new product launches. Demand for our newest offerings remains exceptionally strong, particularly those introduced over the past two quarters, including additional models of the American Generation II Rifle, the Glenfield Rifles, Harrier rifles, the Red Label III shotgun and the RXM pistol. This momentum is reflected in the fact that new products accounted for $51.6 million, representing 41% of total firearm sales in the quarter, a meaningful indicator of both innovation and consumer relevance.
At the same time, we made measurable progress on profitability. Through disciplined operational cost reductions and improved execution, we have now delivered continued improvement of adjusted operating profit over the past four quarters.
While we still have work to do, the trend is clear. We are building a more efficient and more profitable business. Taken together, these results reinforce that we are moving in the right direction. Our 2026 plan, aligned with our broader Ruger 2030 strategy, is taking hold across the organization, from product development to operations to go-to-market execution.
Our focus remains unchanged: improve profitability, align factory capacity with demand, right-size the business to our future product portfolio, increase output on proven high-demand product lines, and expand into new markets through complete product ecosystems and accessory offerings, not just stand-alone models. As I have stated before, these priorities are not short-term actions. They are foundational steps that position us for sustained performance.
This year is pivotal in laying the groundwork for Ruger 2030, our long-term framework built on profitable expansion, product innovation and agile responsiveness. With that said, during the quarter, we did incur certain nonrecurring expenses, including approximately $3.2 million in costs associated with the Beretta agreement, $2.5 million related to a reduction in force in February and $1.7 million in a one-time expense related to the accrual of retention awards. We also experienced temporary production disruptions due to severe weather impacting our Newport and Mayodan facilities, creating a shortfall of roughly 30,000 units in the quarter compared to Q1 of 2025. While these events created some near-term headwinds, they do not change our underlying trajectory or reflect the underlying performance of the business.
Looking ahead to the current quarter, our priorities are clear. First, recover production shortfalls from Q1. Second, to meet strong demand while rebuilding both our internal and distributor inventories, which were
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STURM, RUGER & COMPANY, INC. FQ1 2026 EARNINGS CALL MAY 06, 2026
drawn down amid improving market conditions. And third, to meaningfully expand our accessory offerings, an important step in building out our product ecosystems.
We are excited about the future. We are aligned on our strategy, confident in our direction, encouraged by our recent performance and energized by the opportunity in front of us. At the same time, we remain
appropriately cautious as we monitor the broader macroeconomic environment, particularly as pressure on discretionary income continues to impact consumer behavior.
In closing, we are executing against our plan, seeing tangible results and remain committed to delivering long-term value for our shareholders. Thank you for your time and continued support of Ruger.
Operator, can we please have the first question?
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STURM, RUGER & COMPANY, INC. FQ1 2026 EARNINGS CALL MAY 06, 2026
Question and Answer
Operator
We will now begin the question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] The first question comes from the line of Mark Smith at Lake Street.
Mark Eric Smith
Lake Street Capital Markets, LLC, Research Division
Just wanted to ask a little bit on the one-time items here in Q1. Just as we think about the potential proxy fights with Beretta, what maybe we could expect for one-time-ish expenses as we roll into Q2?
Todd W. Seyfert
President, CEO & Director
Mark, good question. Listen, we just finalized the deal in the last few days. And so our expectation is obviously that the run rate will come down quickly. We obviously have some work to do between now and the annual meeting. And so a majority of those costs will run through by the end of May. And so we'll continue to have some costs, but we're seeing the end of that and look forward to cutting those off and moving the business forward.
Operator
There are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call back to Todd for closing remarks.
Todd W. Seyfert
President, CEO & Director
Thank you. Well, thank you again for joining us today and for your continued support and confidence in Ruger. We look forward to speaking to all of you again next quarter.
Operator
This concludes today's call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.
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STURM, RUGER & COMPANY, INC. FQ1 2026 EARNINGS CALL MAY 06, 2026
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