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what it is
American Outdoor sells hunting, fishing, camping, and firearm-accessory gear through stores, distributors, and its own e-commerce channels.
how it gets paid
Last year American Outdoor made $222M in revenue. shooting supplies and accessories was the main engine at $62M, or 28% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 10.6% last year. $143M matters because it proves demand can show up.
what just happened
Revenue hit $143M in the latest quarter, but the bigger story was that AOUT still printed a -$0.70 EPS loss.
At a glance
C++ balance sheet — some cracks in the foundation
15/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
6.6% return on capital — nothing to write home about
-$0.01 fy2024 eps est
$222M fy2024 rev est
xvary composite: 27/100 — weak
What they do
American Outdoor sells hunting, fishing, camping, and firearm-accessory gear through stores, distributors, and its own e-commerce channels.
This is less a fortress than a crowded shelf, but the shelf still matters. AOUT sells into many repeat-buy niches, so your demand is spread across hunting, fishing, camping, and emergency gear instead of one fragile hero product. Gross margin was 44.0% in the latest quarter, which says the brand mix still carries pricing power even with a market cap near $101M.
How they make money
$222M
annual revenue · their business grew +10.6% last year
shooting supplies and accessories
$62M
optics, aiming devices, flashlights, and laser grips
$48M
reloading, gunsmithing, and cleaning supplies
$42M
knives and tools for fishing and hunting
$36M
survival, camping, harvesting, and land management gear
$34M
The products that matter
hunting and field accessories
BOG
shooting sports exposure
it sits inside the part of the business that represented about 38% of sales and weakened in q3. if you want a fast read on demand pressure, start here.
38% segment exposure
targets and shooting accessories
Caldwell
stabilization test
Caldwell matters because AOUT still needs its shooting portfolio to stop giving back ground. when 38% of the business is under pressure, you feel it everywhere else.
watch for demand floor
meat processing and outdoor lifestyle gear
Meat Your Maker
outdoor lifestyle exposure
this sits on the side that produced $138M last year, or 62% of company revenue, and grew 5.4%. if management hits the guide, this category probably did a lot of the lifting.
62% of revenue segment
Key numbers
44.0%
gross margin
Gross margin → money left after making the product → so what: the brands still have pricing power even while earnings stay weak.
6.6%
return on capital
Return on capital → profit earned on the money tied up in the business → so what: this is decent for survival, not great for bragging rights.
$32M
long-term debt
Long-term debt → money the company owes over years → so what: for a company worth about $101M, that is real weight.
5.9%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after running the business → so what: there is not much room for mistakes.
Financial health
C++
strength
- balance sheet grade C++ — below average — limited financial resources
- risk rank 4 — safer than 20% of stocks
- price stability 25 / 100
- long-term debt $32M (24% of capital)
C++ — below average. watch for debt servicing and cash burn.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for AOUT right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
missed estimates
Revenue hit $143M in the latest quarter, but the bigger story was that AOUT still printed a -$0.70 EPS loss.
Sales surged 154% vs. prior year, while gross margin came in at 44.0%. The quiet part is simple: fast revenue growth is nice, but trailing EPS is still negative at -$1.28, so scale has not fixed the income statement.
$143M
revenue
-$0.70
eps
44.0%
gross margin
the number that mattered
$143M matters because it proves demand can show up; the -$0.70 EPS loss matters more because it proves demand alone is not enough.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is missing the $191M–$193M full-year sales guide after q3 revenue fell 3.3%.
med
the kept guide becomes a credibility test
q3 sales fell to $56.6M, yet management kept full-year net sales at $191M–$193M. if they miss anyway, investors will not treat that as a small forecasting error. they will treat it as a trust problem.
impact: on a company worth about $101M, even a modest miss can reset how the market values the whole business.
med
thin margins leave little room for promotions or inventory errors
AOUT runs at a 5.9% operating margin and is guiding to a 4%–4.5% adjusted EBITDA margin for the full year. that is not much buffer if retailers demand discounts or category demand cools further.
impact: when you only keep a few cents on each sales dollar, a small gross-margin hit can wipe out a large share of profit.
med
one segment is doing too much of the work
Outdoor Lifestyle produced $138M last year, or 62% of revenue, and grew 5.4%. Shooting Sports produced $84M, or 38%, and weakened in q3. if the stronger side slows before the weaker side stabilizes, the offset breaks.
impact: the current revenue mix is covering a problem, not solving it.
med
the numbers are hard to model
earnings predictability is 15/100 and price stability is 25/100. in human-speak, this stock does not give you calm, linear updates. it gives you lumpy quarters and sharp reactions.
impact: if you own it, you should expect sentiment to swing faster than the underlying business changes.
a miss on the sales guide would not just trim one quarter. it would hit the core argument for owning a $101M company with $32M of long-term debt and almost no earnings cushion.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
guide
did they actually land $191M–$193M
management kept the full-year sales range after q3. that turns the year-end print into the simplest scorecard on the page.
segment mix
whether Shooting Sports finds a floor
Outdoor Lifestyle was 62% of revenue last year. if Shooting Sports keeps shrinking, one segment keeps dragging on the whole company.
calendar
the next fiscal-year close
the next report should settle three questions at once: sales range, EBITDA margin, and whether the q3 softness was a blip or a pattern.
balance sheet
margin slip with $32M of debt
$32M of long-term debt is manageable when the business is steady. with a 5.9% operating margin and 15/100 predictability, you should still watch it closely.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
15 / 100
analysts have a hard time modeling this one. in human-speak, expect uneven quarters and sudden revisions.
balance sheet grade
C++
below-average balance-sheet quality. translated: the company has some room, not much spare room.
risk rank
4
safer than about 20% of stocks in the dataset. that is the market's way of saying this is not a sleep-well holding.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for AOUT is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$8
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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