While its cameras might be able to take some rough-and-tumble, it appears GoPro’s finances are a different story, as its latest earnings report revealed a scaling back of revenue expectations – and its shareholders aren’t happy.
GoPro as a brand has become synonymous with durable cameras for adventure sports, and even just regular filmmaking at this stage, with its fish-eye lens.
But, despite its brand recognition, according to a statement released prior to the launch of its Q4 2015 financial report, its revenues for the quarter were substantially lower than expected.
The company said in its statement that, despite market analysts predicting that it would make $512m in Q4, the company’s own figure is actually substantially less, at $435m.
On top of this, the company said it’s to undergo substantial restructuring in terms of its workforce with 7pc of its employees expected to be offered redundancies out of a total workforce of 1,500 people.
Dealing with the competition
This, GoPro said, will have cost the company between $5m and $10m when the results of Q1 2016 roll around, all of which might be rather disappointing for a company that has grown its employee numbers by 50pc annually over the last two years.
While the real details of its finances will be revealed soon, the company’s shareholders are showing a lack of faith, with news from the BBC that its share price was hit by as much as 28pc and is currently standing at $10.50 per share, less than half of what it was when it first began trading following its IPO in 2014.
As for what is the cause of this scaling back and financial downturn, the company blames increasing competition – particularly from China, where Xiaomi and its Yi camera have undercut the GoPro – as well as GoPro’s decision to slash the price of its Hero4 camera to better compete with its new rivals.
GoPro camera image via Tom Webster/Flickr
