As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 12, 2022

Registration No. 333-            

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

SMITH & WESSON BRANDS, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

2100 Roosevelt Avenue

Springfield, Massachusetts 01104

(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

2022 Incentive Stock Plan

(Full Title of the Plan)

Mark P. Smith

President and Chief Executive Officer

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc.

2100 Roosevelt Avenue, Springfield, Massachusetts 01102

(800) 331-0852

(Name, Address, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent for Service)

Copies to:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act.  ☐

PART I

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

The documents containing the information specified in this Item 1 will be sent or given to participants as specified by Rule 428(b)(1) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). In accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) and the instructions to Form S-8, such documents are not being filed with the Commission either as part of this Registration Statement or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act.

The documents containing the information specified in this Item 2 will be sent or given to participants as specified by Rule 428(b)(1) under the Securities Act. In accordance with the rules and regulations of the Commission and the instructions to Form S-8, such documents are not being filed with the Commission either as part of this Registration Statement or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act.

PART II

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (the “Registrant”) hereby incorporates by reference into this Registration Statement the following documents previously filed with the Commission:

In addition, all documents filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, or 15(d) of the Exchange Act subsequent to the date of this Registration Statement and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement, which indicates that all securities offered hereunder have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement and to be a part hereof from the date of filing of such documents.

Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained in this Registration Statement, or in any subsequently filed document which also is incorporated or is deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement, modifies or supersedes such statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement.

Not applicable.

The firm of Greenberg Traurig, LLP, Phoenix, Arizona, has acted as counsel for the Registrant in the preparation of this Registration Statement. As of September 12, 2022, certain members of such firm beneficially owned a total of 28,000 shares of the Registrant’s Common Stock.

The amended and restated bylaws of the Registrant provide that the Registrant shall, to the maximum extent permitted by law, indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit, or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, by reason of the fact that such person is or was an Agent of the Registrant, against expenses, including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines, and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by such person. The term “Agent” includes any person who is or was a director, officer or director level or above (as shown in the Registrant’s or the applicable consolidated subsidiary’s human resources records) employee of the Registrant or any of its consolidated subsidiaries or, while a director, officer or director level or above (as shown on the Registrant’s or the applicable consolidated subsidiary’s human resources records) of the Registrant or any of its consolidated subsidiaries, is or was serving at the request of the Registrant or any of its consolidated subsidiaries as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise.

The amended and restated bylaws of the Registrant also provide that expenses incurred in defending any such action, suit, or proceeding by any person who the Registrant is required to indemnify as set forth above shall be paid or reimbursed by the Registrant promptly upon receipt by it of an undertaking of such person to repay such expenses if it should ultimately be determined that such person was not entitled to be indemnified by the Registrant.

The amended and restated bylaws of the Registrant further provide that upon a determination of the Board of Directors of the Registrant to purchase liability insurance, the Registrant shall purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of each Agent identified by the Board of Directors of the Registrant against any liability asserted against or incurred by the Agent in such capacity or arising out of the Agent’s status as such whether or not the Registrant would have the power to indemnify the Agent against such liability under the provisions of the amended and restated bylaws.

Section 78.7502 of the Nevada Revised Statutes permits a corporation to indemnify a present or former director, officer, employee, or agent of the corporation, or of another entity for which such person is or was serving in such capacity at the request of the corporation, who is or was a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending, or completed action, suit, or proceeding, against expenses, including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines, and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred in connection therewith, arising by reason of service in such capacity if such person (i) is not liable pursuant to Section 78.138 of the Nevada Revised Statutes, or (ii) acted in good faith and in a manner which he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interest of the corporation and, with respect to a criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful. In the case of actions brought by or in the right of corporation, however, no indemnification may be made for any claim, issue, or matter as to which such person has been adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction, after exhaustion of all appeals therefrom, to be liable to the corporation, unless and only to the extent that the court in which the action or suit was brought or other court of competent jurisdiction determines upon application that in view of all the circumstances of the case, the person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses as the court deems proper.

Subsection 3 of Section 78.7502 of the Nevada Revised Statutes further provides that, to the extent a director, officer, employee, or agent of a corporation has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit, or proceeding referred to in subsections 1 and 2 thereof, or in the defense of any claim, issue, or matter therein, the corporation shall indemnify him or her against expenses, including attorneys’ fees, actually and reasonably incurred by him or her in connection with the defense.

Section 78.751 of the Nevada Revised Statutes provides that unless discretionary indemnification is ordered by a court, the determination to provide indemnification must be made by the stockholders; by a majority vote of a quorum of the board of directors who were not parties to the action, suit, or proceeding; or in specified circumstances by independent legal counsel in a written opinion. In addition, the articles of incorporation, bylaws, or an agreement made by the corporation may provide for the payment of the expenses of a director or officer of defending an action as incurred upon receipt of an undertaking to repay the amount if it is ultimately determined by a court of competent jurisdiction that the person is not entitled to indemnification.

In addition, the Registrant has entered into indemnity agreements that require the Registrant to indemnify the directors and officers of the Registrant against expenses and certain other liabilities arising out of their conduct on behalf of the Registrant to the maximum extent and under all circumstances permitted by law. The Registrant intends to enter into a similar agreement with its future directors and officers.

The foregoing is only a general summary of certain aspects of Nevada law and the Registrant’s amended and restated bylaws dealing with indemnification of directors and officers, and does not purport to be complete. It is qualified in its entirety by reference to the detailed provisions of the Nevada Revised Statutes and the Registrant’s amended and restated bylaws.

Not applicable.

(a) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;

(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of this Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in this Registration Statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and

(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in this Registration Statement or any material change to such information in this Registration Statement;

provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) of this section do not apply if the Registration Statement is on Form S-8 and the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement.

(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof; and

(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

(b) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the Registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at the time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers, and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer, or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit, or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer, or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the city of Springfield, state of Massachusetts, on September 12, 2022.

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints jointly and severally, Mark P. Smith and Deana L. McPherson and each of them, as his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place, and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this Registration Statement, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, or their or his or her substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated:

Exhibit 5

September 12, 2022

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc.

2100 Roosevelt Avenue

Springfield, Massachusetts 01102

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

As legal counsel to Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc., a Nevada corporation (the “Company”), we have assisted in the preparation of the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-8 (the “Registration Statement”), to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on or about September 12, 2022, in connection with the registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, of 1,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share (“Common Stock”), issuable pursuant to the Company’s 2022 Incentive Stock Plan (the “Plan”). The shares of Common Stock issuable pursuant to the Plan are collectively referred to as the “Shares.” The facts, as we understand them, are set forth in the Registration Statement.

With respect to the opinion set forth below, we have examined originals, certified copies, or copies otherwise identified to our satisfaction as being true copies, only of the following:

A. The Second Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation of the Company;

B. The Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Company;

C. Various resolutions of the Board of Directors of the Company adopting the Plan and authorizing the issuance of the Shares;

D. The Plan; and

E. The Registration Statement.

Subject to the assumptions that (i) the documents and signatures examined by us are genuine and authentic, and (ii) the persons executing the documents examined by us have the legal capacity to execute such documents, and subject to the further limitations and qualifications set forth below, based solely upon our review of items A through E above, it is our opinion that the Shares will be validly issued, fully paid, and nonassessable when issued and sold in accordance with the terms of the Plan.

We express no opinion as to the applicability or effect of any laws, orders, or judgments of any state or other jurisdiction other than federal securities laws and the substantive laws of the state of Nevada, including judicial interpretations of such laws. Further, our opinion is based solely upon existing laws, rules, and regulations, and we undertake no obligation to advise you of any changes that may be brought to our attention after the date hereof.

We hereby expressly consent to any reference to our firm in the Registration Statement, inclusion of this Opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement, and to the filing of this Opinion with any other appropriate governmental agency.

Greenberg Traurig, LLP | Attorneys at Law

2375 East Camelback Road | Suite 800 | Phoenix, Arizona 85016 | T +1 602.445.8000 | F +1 602.445.8100

www.gtlaw.com

Exhibit 23.2

CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

We consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement on Form S-8 of our report dated June 23, 2022 relating to the financial statements of Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. and the effectiveness of Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting, appearing in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. for the year ended April 30, 2022.

Exhibit 107

Calculation of Filing Fee Tables

Form S-8

(Form Type)

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

Table 1: Newly Registered Securities