Smith & Wesson Brands (SWS) Risk Analysis
Risk Overview Q2, 2026
Source: the company's latest filing for the period ended Jul 31, 2026, filed Sep 03, 2026
Risk Change Over Time
Risk Highlights Q2, 2026
Risk Word Cloud
Risk Factors Full Breakdown - Total Risks 33
- Manufacturing - Risk 1We produce or source and sell products that create exposure to potential product liability, warranty liability, and personal injury claims and litigation.
Some of our products involve or are used in applications and situations that involve risk of personal injury and death. Our products expose us to potential product liability, warranty liability, personal injury claims, and litigation relating to the use or misuse of our products, including allegations of defects in manufacturing, defects in design, a failure to warn of dangers inherent in the product or activities associated with the product, negligence, and strict liability. If successful, such claims could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial condition. In addition, defects in our products could reduce demand for our products and result in a decrease in sales and market acceptance and damage to our reputation. Components used in our products may contain undetected defects that are subsequently discovered at any point in the life of the product. In addition, we obtain many of our finished products and product components from third-party suppliers and may not be able to detect defects in such products or components until after they are sold. Defects in our products may result in a loss of sales, recall expenses, delay in market acceptance, damage to our reputation, and increased warranty costs, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial condition.
- Manufacturing - Risk 2Our business involves the potential for product recalls and product liability and other claims against us.
As a distributor of non-firearm consumer products, such as handcuffs, we are subject to the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Act of 1972, as amended by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, which empowers the Consumer Products Safety Commission to exclude from the market products that are found to be unsafe or hazardous, and similar laws under foreign jurisdictions. Under certain circumstances, the Consumer Products Safety Commission or comparable foreign agencies could require us to repurchase or recall one or more of our products. Additionally, other laws and agencies regulate certain consumer products sold by us, and more restrictive laws and regulations may be adopted in the future. Any repurchase or recall of our products could be costly and damage our reputation. If we were required to remove, or we voluntarily remove, our products from the market, our reputation could be tarnished, and we might have large quantities of finished products that we could not sell. We also face exposure to product liability claims if one of our products is alleged to have resulted in property damage, bodily injury, or other adverse effects. In addition to the risk of substantial monetary judgments, fines, or penalties that may result from any governmental investigations, product liability claims, or regulatory actions, such events could result in negative publicity that could harm our reputation, adversely impact the value of our brands, and result in an increase in the cost of producing our products. Similar to product liability claims, we face exposure to class action lawsuits related to the performance, safety, or advertising of our products. Such class action lawsuits could result in substantial monetary judgments, injunctions related to the marketing and sale of products, and potentially harm our reputation. In fiscal 2020, we formed a wholly owned captive insurance company, which provides product liability insurance to us and our subsidiaries. The product liability insurance that we carry is, in most cases, subject to large self-insured retentions for which we are responsible, and we may not be able to maintain such insurance on acceptable terms, if at all. Further, product liability claims may exceed the amount of insurance coverage. As a result, product recalls or product liability claims could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial condition. In addition, we face other types of litigation arising out of alleged defects in our products or otherwise, such as class action lawsuits. Our insurance may not cover certain claims involving alleged defects in our products that do not involve personal injury or property damage. Our product liability insurance program is an occurrence-based program based on our current and historical claims experience and the availability and cost of insurance. Our future product liability experience may not be consistent with our past experience and future claims and awards may substantially impact the costs of our insurance programs in the future.
- Manufacturing - Risk 3Poor product quality or performance, or defects in our products, could harm us.
We believe that the value of our brand depends, in part, on the value consumers place on the quality of our products. Poor product quality or performance could adversely impact the value of our brand and materially and adversely impact our business, operating results, and financial condition. We have experienced manufacturing and design issues with respect to certain of our firearms and have initiated product recalls and safety alerts in the past and may experience similar issues in the future that may result in the initiation of product recalls and safety alerts in the future. Based on the volume of products we have shipped into the market, any future recalls, safety alerts, or product liability claims could result in us incurring significant warranty, support, and repair costs. Such incidents could harm our reputation, damage the value of our brands, and cause us to lose business, all of which could materially and adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition.
See a full breakdown of risk according to category and subcategory. The list starts with the category with the most risk. Click on subcategories to read relevant extracts from the most recent report.