GoPro Is Growing at Breakneck Speed

When GoPro announced its attentions to go public in early 2014, the news was met with a certain degree of skepticism. After all, the maker of portable action sports cameras had only one (albeit very successful) product to its name and there was no shortage of competition. Moreover, the sceptics argued, the market offered little room for differentiation and the predominantly young target group would soon be drawn to cheap alternatives to GoPro’s products.

It has been 13 months since GoPro’s IPO now and so far the company has proven its doubters wrong. It is currently trading at around $60 per share (up 150 percent from its IPO price of $24) and reported another great quarter on Tuesday. GoPro posted a $35 million profit on revenue of $420 million. What’s more important though, is that the company managed to reignite its growth engine after a temporary dip in early 2014.

Apparently, many people underestimated the strength of GoPro’s brand, as the company continues to dominate the market it helped create. GoPro even managed the rare feat of becoming synonymous with the product it sells, making it hard for competitors to gain a foothold in the market. For GoPro, the next logical step is a camera-carrying drone, which the company plans to release in 2016.