Publish Date: October 2026
Updated Tariff & Recession Risk Analysis and Forecasts
The Firearms & Weapons Manufacturing Market Report covers the $11.4 billion industry which produces small arms for military, law enforcement, recreational, and civilian applications. Competitive structure encompasses both established firearms manufacturers with strong brand heritage and specialized producers focused on particular weapon categories or performance characteristics. Market demands increasingly emphasize reliability, specialized performance characteristics, ergonomic design, and increasingly modular architectures supporting customization. Manufacturers face challenges balancing specialized production requirements, strict quality parameters, regulatory compliance, and shifting market access across diverse international jurisdictions. Successful companies establish advantages through advanced engineering optimizing functional performance, specialized manufacturing capabilities ensuring reliability and durability, comprehensive testing validating specifications, and increasingly brand development supporting premium positioning in a sector where both product performance and brand identity significantly determine competitive positioning across diverse firearms categories.
Firearms & Weapons Manufacturing Industry Definition
Firearms & Weapons Manufacturing produces guns, rifles, pistols, and related shooting equipment for military, law enforcement, sporting, and personal use. Companies machine, forge, and assemble metal components into precision mechanical devices that safely contain explosive pressure while accurately directing projectiles. Manufacturing processes include precision machining of barrels, receivers, and action components, heat treatment for strength, surface finishing for corrosion resistance, assembly of mechanical systems, testing for safety and function, and final finishing operations. These businesses serve military, law enforcement, and civilian markets with products meeting strict performance and safety standards. The industry combines precision manufacturing with careful design and testing, continuously improving reliability, accuracy, safety features, and ergonomics while meeting stringent regulatory requirements and quality standards for products requiring absolute reliability in critical applications.
NAICS Code: 332994
Total # of Companies: 379
Total # of Factories / Facilities: 391
Industry Employees: 20,718
Market Size: $11.4 billion
TARIFF IMPACT (Summer 2025 – Download Report for Updated Analysis)
This report has in-depth analysis on the recent US tariff changes on material costs, quantifying import dependencies, tariff exposure rates, and key source countries for the firearms & weapons manufacturing sector.
Estimated Tariff Cost: $380 million
Relative Tariff Impact: HIGH
Firearms & Weapons Manufacturing Report Format
The 2026 U.S. Firearms & Weapons Manufacturing Market Report is 63 pages of deep insights into the trends, dynamics, and forecasts shaping the industry. This market report is utilized by professionals to gain a in-depth understanding of the sector for business strategy, planning, forecasting, benchmarking, industry analysis, valuations, identifying organizational inefficiencies, financial analysis, and more.
With more than one hundred industry analyses and data sets covering trends from 2017 to 2025 and forecasts for 2026 and 2030, this report is one of the comprehensive assessments of the industry. The report includes market size & growth, in-depth OPEX analysis on 26 categories, extensive financial analysis, extensive forecasts, inventory trends & analysis, 31 balance sheet benchmarks, numerous industry segmentations, industry concentration analysis, material costs benchmarks, profit margin analysis, state metrics analysis, plant utilization, workforce composition, 4 years of inflation analysis, compensation analysis, in-depth productivity analysis, and numerous other data sets.
Below are a few page images from the report and check out the table of contents for a complete overview.
Report Table of Contents
Explore the below table of contents to understand the comprehensive insights in the report and why thousands of professionals and executives count on Kentley Insights for their industry research.
The data source for the report is extensive annual expense, revenue, wage, operational, and economic surveys administered by federal and private institutions and filled out by a majority of companies in the firearms & weapons manufacturing sector. Our analysts develop the forecasts utilizing econometric models based on historical statistical analysis, industry trends and dynamics, macroeconomic analysis & forecasts.
1-2 – Market Report Overview & Contents
3 – Market Overview
– Data Sources, Industry Definition & Market Commentary
4 – Market Synopsis – Revenue & Growth
5 – Market Synopsis – Costs & Profitability
SECTION ONE
REVENUE & GROWTH ANALYSIS
7 – Market Size Details
– Industry Revenues, Companies & Facilities
– Trend Analysis 2017-2025
– 2026 & 2030 Forecasts
8 – Growth Benchmarks
– Sales per Company & Plant
– Trend Analysis 2017-2025
– 2026 & 2030 Forecasts
9 – Product Lines Revenue
– Percentage of Revenue from Product Lines
10 – BCG Matrix – Net Income vs. Revenue Growth
– Subsectors vs. Industry
11 – Total Sales by Month & Year
– 2021-2025 Sales per Month
12 – Inventory Value by Month & Year
– Inventory Value per Month for 2021-2025
13 – Months of Inventory
– Months of Inventory per Month for 2021-2025
14 – Sector Revenue by Segments
– Concentration Segments by Top Companies
– Business Size Segments
– Business Structure Segments
15 – Market Size by State
16 – Market Size as a % of State GDP
17 – Sales as a % of State Manufacturing
18 – Market Segmentation by Business Size
19 – Market Segmentation by Business Size
– Business Size Segments – 1-4, 5-9, 10-20, 21-50, 51-100, 101-250, & 250+ employees
– Companies, Facilities, Sales, Employees & Payroll
20 – Segmentation by Concentration (Top 50 Companies)
– Concentration Segments – Top 4, 5-8, 9-20, & 21-50 companies
– Companies, Facilities, Sales, Employees & Payroll
21 – Market Share of Top 50 Companies
22 – Subsector Market Share of Top 50 Companies
23 – Segmentation by Business Structure
– Business Structure Segments – C-Corporations, S-Corporations, Partnerships, & Sole Proprietorships
– Companies, Facilities, Sales, Employees & Payroll
24 – Revenue per Company by State
– Revenue per Company
25 – Revenue per Company by Segments
26 – Revenue per Facility by State
27 – Revenue per Facility by Segment
– Business Size, Concentration, & Structure
28 – Subsector Growth
– Sales and 5-Year Growth
29 – Subsector Statistics
– Sales per Company & Facility, and 5-Year Growth
30 – Consolidation Analysis
– 5-Year Growth of Companies & Locations
31 – Employment Consolidation Analysis
– 5-Year Growth of Employee Statistics
32 – Subsector Consolidation Analysis
– Number of Companies & Facilities
– 5-Year Growth
33 – Subsector Consolidation Analysis
– Facilities per Company
– Employees per Company
– 5-Year Growth
SECTION TWO
COST, CAPITAL & PROFIT BENCHMARKS
35 – Profitability & Financial Ratio Analysis
– Percent of Companies that are Profitable
– Average Net Income as a Percent of Revenue
– 10 of the Top Financial Ratios
– Assets and Liabilities indexed to industry revenue at 100
– Current & Non-Current Assets: 14 Categories
– Short-term, Long-term Liabilities, & Net Worth: 13 Categories
37 – OPEX
– Industry OPEX
– Revenue vs. OPEX Growth
– OPEX as a Percent of Revenue
– Trend Analysis 2017-2025
– 2026 & 2030 Forecasts
38 – OPEX by Company & Plant
– OPEX per Company & Facility
– Revenue vs. Expenses Growth per Plant
– Trend Analysis & Forecasts
Page 39 – OPEX Detail
– Employee Expenses: payroll, insurance, pension, defined contribution plans, fringe benefits, temps
– Cost of Materials: materials, parts, containers, packaging, cost of resale, electricity and fuels, contract work
– Buildings and Equipment: capex for equipment, rental or lease for equipment, capex for buildings and structures, rental or leases, repair and maintenance
– Other Operating Expenses: professional and technical services, IT software and hardware, data processing and communications, advertising, refuse removal, taxes and license fees, other
-Inventory Breakdown: finished goods, work-in-progress, materials and supplies
40 – Production Material Costs & Tariff Analysis
– Top Production Material Costs Breakdown
– Industry & Material Tariff Analysis – % of costs, import %, tariff costs, source countries
41 – Producer Pricing Index
– Annual PPI – Indexed to 2006
– Trend Analysis & Forecasts
– Monthly PPI Figures for the Past 4 Years
42 – Plant Utilization & Hours
– Plant Utilization Rate
– Plant Operational Hours per Week
– 2022-2025 Historical Figures by Quarter
43 – Reasons for Non-Full Production
– 7 Categories Quarterly Survey Results for Past 2 Years
44 – Productivity & Employment
– Revenue per Employee
– Total Employees
– Employees per Company
– Trend Analysis & Forecasts
45 – Employee Productivity by Segments
– Business Size, Concentration, & Structure
46 – Employee Productivity by State
47 –Subsector Sales & Payroll per Employee
– Absolute & 5-Year Growth
48 – Payroll Analysis
– Payroll per Employee, Company & Plant
– Trend Analysis & Forecasts
49 – Payroll per Company by Segments
50 – Payroll per Plant by Segments
51 – Payroll per Employee by Segments
52 – Payroll per Employee by State
53 – Organizational Composition
– % of Employees for 27 Job Categories
– Management & Finance
– Sales & Marketing
– Technology, Engineering, Science
– Service, Support & Training
– Operations
54 – Job Categorization Pay Ranges
– Management & Finance
– Sales, Service & Marketing
– Operations
– Pay Bands – Bottom 10% & 25%, Mean, Top 25% & 10%
55 – Top 20 Jobs Breakdown
56 – Top 20 Jobs Pay
57 – Employees per Company by Segments
58 – Employees per Plant by Segments
59 – Facilities per Company by Segments
60 – Total Employment by State
61 – Population to Every Employee by State
62 – Employees per Facility by State
63 – Overview of Kentley Insights
Download a Sample Report
Below is a free sample report download. The 2026 Firearms & Weapons Manufacturing Market Report has the same layout and data sets as the sample report.
Product Lines, Materials, and Jobs Covered in Report
PRODUCT LINES
Small arms (30 mm or less, 1.18 in. or less)
Guns, howitzers, mortars, turrets, parts, and all other miscellaneous ordnance, accessories and related equipment (more than 30 mm (1.18 in.)) including parts
Machine guns (30 mm or less, 1.18 in. or less)
Small arms, ordnance, and ordnance accessories manufacturing, nsk, total
MATERIAL COST CATEGORIES
Cost of all other materials and components, parts, containers, and supplies consumed
Materials, ingredients, containers, and supplies, nsk
Misc. iron, steel, and ferroalloy ingot, shapes, and forms (excluding castings, forgings, bars, structural, wire, sheet, strip)
Misc. fabricated metal products (excluding hardware, containers, screw machine, bearing components, castings, forgings, and wire)
Metal forgings
Plastics products (including packaging, foam products, film, sheet, rod, tube, fabricated shapes, bottles, etc.)
Iron and steel castings
Metal bolts, nuts, screws, washers, rivets, and other screw machine products
Machine tool accessories (including cutting tools)
Steel bars (including concrete reinforcing bars), bar shapes, and plate (excluding castings, forgings, and fabricated)
Nonferrous metal shapes, forms, sheet, strip, powder, and wire (excluding castings / forgings), excluding aluminum and copper
Aluminum and aluminum-base alloy castings
Misc. aluminum-base alloy shapes and forms, including powder
INDUSTRY JOBS ANALYZED
Metal Workers and Plastic Workers
Assemblers and Fabricators
Other Production Occupations
Engineers
Material Recording, Scheduling, Dispatching, and Distributing Workers
Supervisors of Production Workers
Material Moving Workers
Other Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations
Business Operations Specialists
Operations Specialties Managers
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing
Top Executives
Information and Record Clerks
Drafters, Engineering Technicians, and Mapping Technicians
Construction Trades Workers
Other Office and Administrative Support Workers
Financial Clerks
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
Computer Occupations
Financial Specialists
About Kentley Insights
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