GoPro Surges Over 100% Pre-Market as YouTube Influencer Markiplier Becomes Largest Single Shareholder

TradingKey - On the first trading day of September, pre-market shares of action camera maker GoPro (GPRO) continued to surge. In the previous trading session, the stock closed up 46.06%, and rose over 100% pre-market on September 1. As of press time, GPRO's pre-market gain had pulled back to 76%.

Measuring from a recent low of about $0.60 on August 28 to reaching $1.80 pre-market on September 1, the stock price gain reached approximately 200%.

[Source: TradingView]

The direct catalyst for the stock surge was YouTube star and filmmaker Mark Fischbach (Markiplier) disclosing a massive stake in GoPro.

According to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, Markiplier holds 13.5 million shares of GoPro Class A common stock, accounting for 8.5% of the class and making him the company's largest single external shareholder. The Schedule 13G filing was submitted on August 20, with the filing indicating the ownership change took place on July 13.

Based on the stock price and GoPro's market cap around August 31, the stake was worth approximately $9.3 million at the time. However, as GoPro's share price continued to soar on September 1, the market value of his holdings increased substantially in tandem.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Markiplier stated that he believes GoPro stock is undervalued, describing it as something he has been working on behind the scenes in hopes that the company will succeed.

The investment is also tied to Markiplier's recent attention to GoPro's new products. This year, GoPro introduced the all-new MISSION 1 series, among which the MISSION 1 Pro ILS features a 50MP 1-inch sensor, GP3 processor, and an interchangeable lens system, targeted at professional creators and filmmakers.

Markiplier previously showcased and reviewed the product publicly, stating plans to use it for future film production. The relevant products are expected to hit the market in early September.

Despite the short-term surge in share price, GoPro's fundamentals have not improved alongside it. According to its Q2 2026 financial report, revenue was approximately $104.9 million, down 31% year-over-year; camera retail sales volume reached roughly 291,000 units, down 38% year-over-year.

GoPro has been under continuous pressure in recent years. Full-year revenue for 2025 was about $652 million, a 19% decrease year-over-year, with a full-year loss of roughly $93.5 million; cumulative losses from 2023 through 2025 totaled approximately $578 million.

Market competition is also one of the major challenges facing the company. As manufacturers like DJI and Insta360 expand their market share, GoPro's traditional action camera business has come under significant pressure, leading the company to continuously adjust its product mix and cut costs in recent years.

In May this year, GoPro's board of directors officially initiated a strategic review and hired financial advisors to explore various strategic options, including a potential sale of the company or a merger with another business.

However, there is currently no evidence linking Markiplier's share purchase directly to a potential sale of GoPro. The SEC filing classifies his stake as a passive investment, which does not suggest plans to push for a sale, restructuring, or change of control.

Therefore, this surge is better understood as capital chasing a low-market-cap, high-profile stock driven by news of a large stake taken by a prominent creator. Meanwhile, whether GoPro can improve its operational performance with the MISSION 1 series, and whether the previously initiated strategic review will ultimately lead to a sale or merger, remains to be seen.