GoPro Hopes Karma Drone Can Rescue Disastrous Q3 Revenue Slide
In the technology sector, you either adapt to an ever-changing landscape and innovate or whither away and day (some companies quicker than others). Enter GoPro, a household name in the action video recorder market for adventure seekers. Demand for the company's Hero line of cameras has dwindled causing it to post a loss in the third quarter. Can drones lift the company back up?
GoPro collected $240.6 million in revenue for the three month period ended September 30, 2016, down 40 percent from $400.3 million year-over-year. After paying the bills, GoPro tallied a loss of $104 million for the quarter, compared to an $18.8 million profit in the same quarter last year. That's about a 654 percent swing in the wrong direction.
The company is upbeat about the situation and predicts a return to profitability next year. GoPro's path to being profitable lies in two recently launched action cameras, the Hero5 Session and Hero5 Black, and its first drone called Karma.
"These are the best products we've ever made and consumer demand is strong. GoPro is now a seamless storytelling experience and we're very happy with customer reception so far," said Nicholas Woodman, GoPro's Founder and CEO. "Looking forward to 2017, we expect to return to profitability, driven by the strength of our new products, double digit revenue growth and annual operating expenses of approximately $650 million."
GoPro says Karma is "much more than a drone," describing it as a "Hollywood-caliber aerial" that's purportedly easy to operate. Whether it will be enough to lift GoPro out of its current situation remains to be seen. Investors are skeptical, with shares of GoPro down around 11.5 percent today.
In addition to a new product segment, GoPro plans to slash operating expenses by around $130 million next year.
GoPro collected $240.6 million in revenue for the three month period ended September 30, 2016, down 40 percent from $400.3 million year-over-year. After paying the bills, GoPro tallied a loss of $104 million for the quarter, compared to an $18.8 million profit in the same quarter last year. That's about a 654 percent swing in the wrong direction.
The company is upbeat about the situation and predicts a return to profitability next year. GoPro's path to being profitable lies in two recently launched action cameras, the Hero5 Session and Hero5 Black, and its first drone called Karma.
"These are the best products we've ever made and consumer demand is strong. GoPro is now a seamless storytelling experience and we're very happy with customer reception so far," said Nicholas Woodman, GoPro's Founder and CEO. "Looking forward to 2017, we expect to return to profitability, driven by the strength of our new products, double digit revenue growth and annual operating expenses of approximately $650 million."
GoPro says Karma is "much more than a drone," describing it as a "Hollywood-caliber aerial" that's purportedly easy to operate. Whether it will be enough to lift GoPro out of its current situation remains to be seen. Investors are skeptical, with shares of GoPro down around 11.5 percent today.
In addition to a new product segment, GoPro plans to slash operating expenses by around $130 million next year.
