Why American Outdoor Brands Stock Just Crashed 15%

Shares of American Outdoor Brands (NASDAQ: AOBC) -- formerly known as Smith & Wesson -- crashed in early Friday trading after the gunsmith reported a small per-share loss for its fiscal first-quarter 2018. As of 11 a.m. EDT, the stock was down a good 15.5%.

First-quarter sales plunged 37.7% at American Outdoor Brands, landing with a thump at $129 million. Gross margins fell off a cliff, down an astounding 1,080 basis points to 31.5%. Given the magnitude of these declines, the fact that American Outdoor lost only $0.04 per share almost comes as a relief.

Almost. Four cents still is a pretty big letdown when compared to the $0.62 per share in profit that American Outdoor Brands earned in Q1 of last year. Moreover, analysts had been telling investors to expect no worse than a dip to an $0.11 (pro forma) profit this quarter. Excluding so-called one-time charges, American Outdoor Brands says its pro forma profit for the quarter was only $0.02.

Source: Fool.com