GoPro reported fourth-quarter results that came in well short of Wall Street’s consensus target.
In the quarter, GoPro reported a loss on an adjusted basis of $41.3 million, or 30 cents a share, against a profit of $42.4 million, or 29 cents, a year ago. Wall Street’s consensus estimate had been 11 cents a share.
The reported loss was $55.9 million, or 41 cents a share, against a loss of $115.8 million, or 82 cents in the same period a year ago.
Revenues fell 38.1 percent to $334.8 million from $540.6 million. On January 8, GoPro said it expected revenue in the quarter to be approximately $340 million.
“The fourth quarter demonstrated there is significant demand for GoPro products at the right price,” said GoPro founder and CEO Nicholas Woodman. “Our opportunity in 2018 is to marry consumer demand for GoPro with new, higher-margin cameras launching in the second half that will appeal to existing and new consumers. We are also focused on growing GoPro’s subscription service, Plus, and launching new initiatives as subscription becomes an increasingly important focus for our business.”
Recent GoPro Highlights:
- GoPro reduced GAAP operating expenses to $548 million in 2017, down 34 percent year-over-year. Non-GAAP operating expenses were down 33 percent year-over-year to $476 million. In 2018, GoPro is targeting non-GAAP operating expenses below $400 million–a cumulative reduction of more than $300 million since 2016.
- GoPro strengthened its balance sheet, generating $81 million in cash since March 31st, excluding the net proceeds from its convertible debt offering in April, ending the year with $247 million in cash and marketable securities.
- GAAP net loss for the year was approximately $183 million, or $1.32 per share, compared to a net loss of $419 million in 2016, or $3.01 per share. GAAP net loss for the fourth quarter 2017 was $56 million. Non-GAAP net loss for the year, and for the fourth quarter of 2017, was $96 million and $41 million, respectively.
- For the fourth straight year, GoPro’s portfolio captured more than 80 percent of the Action Camera category by unit volume in the U.S. in 2017, according to The NPD Group’s Retail Tracking Service.
- In Europe, GoPro held 69 percent and 44 percent of the Action Camera category by dollar and unit volume, respectively, in 2017, according to GfK.
- In China, unit sales grew by 28 percent year-over-year in 2017, marking two years of consecutive sell-through growth, according to GfK.
- In Japan, unit sales grew by 96 percent year-over-year in 2017, marking two years of consecutive growth with sell-through doubling each year since 2015, according to GfK.
- GoPro’s 360-degree camera, Fusion, launched at over 1,000 Best Buy stores and B&H Photo, building on initial success at gopro.com.
- Fusion earned a 2018 Edison Award in the Media, Visual Communications & Entertainment Category in February.
- GoPro gained more than 4.8 million new social media followers in 2017, growing its total following to 35 million across all platforms, a 16 percent increase.
- Instagram followers increased by 26 percent year-over-year in 2017, with the addition of three million followers, reaching a total of 15 million.
- GoPro content was viewed ~700 million times on social media platforms in 2017, up more than 25 percent year-over-year. GoPro content on YouTube saw a 93 percent increase in median organic viewership per video in 2017.
- The Quik Mobile Video Editing App was installed 38 million times since it launched in 2016. Quik App installs grew 120 percent year-over-year in 2017.
- ‘Plus’ subscription service has 130,000 paying subscribers worldwide. In January 2018, GoPro expanded subscription benefits for Plus subscribers, including replacement for damaged cameras, mobile cloud backup and greater storage capacity. This is the first of several subscription initiatives planned for Plus subscribers in 2018.
Photo courtesy GoPro
