GoPro, Inc. is transforming the way people capture and share their lives. The action camera kingpin stomped Wall Street expectations after releasing its quarterly earnings.
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What began as an idea to help athletes self-document themselves engaged in their sport has become a widely adopted solution for people to capture themselves engaged in their interests whatever they may be. Revenue rose 54% year-over-year to $363 million, while adjusted earnings per share hit $0.24. Analysts were forecasting $341 million and $0.18, respectively.
Ultimately, GoPro is differentiating itself in the action camera market just like Apple has successfully differentiated itself in the smartphone market. Recently, CEO of GoPro, Nick Woodman talks about the core business aspect of GoPro, the deal with Kolor, and social media initiatives:
Nick’s words on GoPro as a content enabling business
We view GoPro as a content enabling business, and we believe there’s a strong correlation between viewership of GoPro content and sales of our products. We refer to this as our virtuous cycle. Our investments and product development efforts center around reducing the friction associated with capturing, editing, and sharing engaging content, which goes on to virally drive awareness of our brand and adoption of our products.
The recent acquisition of Kolor – Image Stitching, Virtual Tour, 360-degree Video Professionals
We see that incredible opportunity for GoPro to be at the forefront of the virtual reality movement and enabling spherical content for viewing and other use cases than virtual reality. Given that a GoPro is already the most widely used capture device for capturing life experiences in an immersive manner, it’s only natural that we have a seat at the table in the virtual reality movement, moving forward.
Nick’s take on social media and engaging user content
Distribution of GoPro content drives social engagement, and our social media metrics are an indication of our brand strength. Facebook followers now total more than 8 million, and on YouTube, GoPro subscribers are up 48% year over year, to roughly 3 million. Twitter followers are up 49% year over year, to 1.4 million, and we remain one of the top ten brands on Instagram, with more than 4.5 million followers, up 141% year over year.
Summary of First Quarter 2015 GAAP Results:
- Revenue of $363.1 million increased 54.0% compared to $235.7 million in the first quarter of 2014
- Gross margin of 45.1% compared to 40.9% in the first quarter of 2014
- Operating income of $22.3 million increased 34.5% compared to $16.6 million in the first quarter of 2014
- Net income attributable to common stockholders of $16.8 million or $0.11 per diluted share increased 98.2% compared to $8.5 million or $0.08 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2014
- Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $491.9 million compared to $422.3 million at December 31, 2014
What’s Next
- GoPro has already announced a new partnership with BMW to integrate the GoPro app with their iDrive control platform. BMW unveiled two factory integrated GoPro mounting options for their cars
- Toyota announced that GoPro mounts will be factory installed in all of their 2016 Tacoma trucks
- 3-D Robotics unveiled Solo, a new quadcopter that will ship with GoPro’s frame mount, optimizing its design for use with HERO3 and HERO4 capture devices
Growth Opportunities
GoPro is growing in the U.S. and the Americas, yet a majority of the company’s growth is coming from overseas. While helping the overall growth of the company, it also diversifies revenue and reduces risk from just being in a single market. GoPro’s advertising and engaging content has induced positive reactions. Furthermore, the issues of an uncertain path in attracting new customers outside their traditional niches, and a solidifying patent portfolios should be regarded as major hurdles for the company to overcome.
GoPro Products – Buy Now!
Featured Image: GoPro
