Rising Gun Sales: Investors Turn to Firearm Companies During Times of Unrest

After the tragic events at Sandy Hook, there was a push from investors to hold gun manufacturers responsible for the weapons involved. Still, increasing firearm sales afterward show that this effort didn’t quite succeed. Rommel Dionisio, an analyst at Wunderlich Securities, noted that after Sandy Hook, a pivotal moment for the industry, prominent endowments and state pension funds expressed their intention to pull out investments, coinciding with a sharp rise in gun sales.

This particular tragedy shifted how investors viewed gun manufacturing companies. Unlike their responses to previous incidents, Sandy Hook led these companies to be seen as “sin” stocks, a label typically used for businesses involved in alcohol, tobacco, and gambling. This change came as the public focused more on the role gun producers played in frequent mass shootings and everyday violence.