Profits at GoPro, Inc. increased 8.2 percent in the fourth quarter on a 9 percent revenue gain.

“In 2021 GoPro navigated a challenging business environment, and thrived,” said Nicholas Woodman, GoPro’s founder and CEO. “We successfully launched innovative new hardware, software and subscription offerings and leveraged the first full-year of our more direct-to-consumer, subscription-centric strategy to grow revenue, margin and profitability while generating a record year-end cash balance of $539 million.”

“The strategic shift we made in mid-2020 is bearing fruit in the form of financial and operational improvements,” said Brian McGee, CFO and COO, GoPro “The result has been strong revenue growth with significant margin improvement, combined with controlled spending, and leading to growing profitability and record cash flow generation.”

Q4 Financial Highlights

  • Revenue was $391 million, up 9 percent year-over-year from $358 million;
  • GoPro.com revenue, including subscription revenue, increased 10 percent year-over-year to $128 million, or 33 percent of total revenue. GoPro and Quik subscription revenues totaled $16.8 million, up 118 percent year-over-year;
  • GAAP and non-GAAP gross margin was 41.2 percent and 41.3 percent respectively, up from the prior-year period at 38.0 percent and 38.3 percent, respectively;
  • GAAP net income was $53 million, or $0.32 per share, up from $44 million or $0.28 per share in the prior-year period. Non-GAAP net income was $66 million, or $0.41 per share, up from $61 million, or $0.39 per share in the prior-year period;
  • Adjusted EBITDA was $72 million, or 18 percent of revenue, compared to $68 million, or 19 percent of revenue in the prior-year period;
  • Cameras with retail prices at or above $300 represented 100 percent of Q4 2021 camera revenue, up from 91 percent in the prior-year period;
  • Q4 2021 Street ASP was $379, up 17 percent year-over-year; and
  • Cash increased $160 million, or 41 percent of revenue.

Adjusted earnings of 41 cents topped Wall Street’s consensus estimate of 35 cents. Revenue of  $391 million beat Wall Street’s average target of $383 million.

2021 Financial Highlights

  • Revenue was $1.16 billion, up 30 percent year-over-year from $892 million in 2020;
  • GoPro.com total revenue, including subscription revenue, increased 39 percent year-over-year to $392 million, or 34 percent of total revenue. GoPro and Quik subscription revenues totaled $52.9 million, up 131 percent year-over-year;
  • GoPro subscriber count ended 2021 at approximately 1.6 million, up 107 percent year-over-year;
  • Quik app subscriber count grew to 221,000 after launching in March 2021;
  • GAAP and non-GAAP gross margin was 41.1 percent and 41.4 percent respectively, up from the prior year at 35.3 percent and 36.1 percent, respectively;
  • 2021 GAAP net income was $371 million, or $2.27 per share, up from a loss of $67 million, or $0.45 loss per share in the prior year. Non-GAAP net income was $146 million, or $0.90 per share, up from $13 million, or $0.08 per share in the prior year;
  • 2021 adjusted EBITDA was $168 million, or 14 percent of revenue, compared to $43 million, or 5 percent of revenue in the prior year;
  • Cameras with retail prices at or above $300 represented 97 percent of camera revenue;
  • 2021 Street ASP was $369, up 17 percent year-over-year; and
  • Cash grew 64 percent to $539 million.

Other Recent Business Highlights
On January 27, 2022, GoPro’s Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $100 million of its Class A common stock. Share repurchases may take place from time to time, subject to market conditions, using a variety of methods. GoPro expects to fund repurchases through cash generated from operations. This stock repurchase program has no time limit and may be modified, suspended or discontinued at any time.

Photo courtesy GoPro