Consumer Electronics

GoPro's Secret IPO Sauce: It Is Not Just a Camera Company!

GoPro Image
Source: GoPro S-1 Filing
While the share price for GoPro Inc. (NASDAQ: GPRO) took off like a rocket this morning, the trading has remained pretty level since late morning and volume has been very heavy, with more than 39 million shares traded with just over an hour to go in today’s session.

The hands-free, high-definition video camera maker priced 17.8 million shares at the top of its expected $21 to $24 range last night, and shares blasted through its initial public offering price (IPO) of $24 Thursday morning, rising more than 30% to trade near $32 after hitting a high of $33.

At the IPO price, GoPro raised about $427 million at a valuation of about $2.96 billion. Half the 17.8 million shares were sold by the company and half by selling shareholders. Underwriters, including J.P. Morgan, Citigroup, and Barclays have a 30-day option on an additional 2.67 million shares.

The company will have both Class A and Class B shares with Class B shares entitled to 10 votes per share and Class A shares 1 vote per share. Holders of Class B shares will hold more than 98% of the voting power and nearly 73% of the Class B shares will be held by executive officers and directors. The CEO will hold 47.7% of the voting power in the company.

GoPro’s revenue jumped from $526 million in 2012 to $986 million in 2013, but profit margins narrowed last year and R&D costs doubled. Camera owners have been posting videos to YouTube where more than 500 million viewers have seen a GoPro-created video. The company plans to try to monetize these videos by collecting fees through partnerships with the Xbox One, YouTube, and Virgin America.

Shares are trading at $31.66 in the late afternoon, up nearly 33% from the IPO price.

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