Why GoPro Earnings Fell Short

February 3, 2017 by Chris Lange

When GoPro Inc. (NASDAQ: GPRO) reported its fourth-quarter financial results late Thursday, the company said it had $0.29 in earnings per share (EPS) on $540.6 million in revenue. Consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters had called for $0.21 in EPS and revenue of $576 million. In the same period of last year, the company posted a net loss of $0.08 per share and $436.6 million in revenue.

In terms of the outlook for the first quarter, the company expects to see revenues of $200 million, give or take $10 million, with operating expenses in the range of $145 million to $155 million. The consensus estimates are a net loss of $0.26 per share and $267.59 million in revenue for the current quarter.

During this most recent quarter, the board of directors appointed C. J. Prober to serve as the chief operating officer.

Also In the fourth quarter, GoPro released several GoPro accessories, including Karma Grip, a handheld and wearable stabilization accessory; Remo, a voice-activated waterproof remote for HERO5 cameras; and Quik Key, a mobile microSD card reader that enables fast editing and sharing from a smartphone. However, it seems that none of these really caught on.

On the books, GoPro’s cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $217.9 million at the end of the quarter, versus $474.6 million in the same period of last year.

Nicholas Woodman, GoPro’s founder and CEO, commented:

In 2016, big investments in hardware, cloud, and mobile yielded a solid foundational experience for our customers. In 2017, we will build on this foundation for our customers while improving efficiency and managing cost to achieve profitability.

Shares of GoPro were down about 11% at $9.77 in early trading on Friday. Its consensus analyst price target is $9.64, and the 52-week trading range of $8.54 to $17.68.

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