GoPro GPRO Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

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Date

Monday, May 11, 2026 at 5 p.m. ET

Call participants

• Chief Executive Officer — Nicholas Woodman
• Chief Financial Officer — Brian Tratt
• President and Chief Operating Officer — Brian McGee
• Director of Corporate Communications — Robin Stoecker

Takeaways

• Revenue -- $99 million, down from $134 million, reflecting a decline attributed to macro consumer electronics headwinds.
• Gross Margin -- 4.5% compared to 32.3%; excluding discrete actions, gross margin would have been approximately 31%.
• Net Loss -- $58 million, increasing from a net loss of $19 million.
• GAAP and Non-GAAP Loss Per Share -- $0.50 (GAAP), $0.35 (non-GAAP); prior year was $0.30 (GAAP) and $0.12 (non-GAAP); excluding discrete actions, non-GAAP loss per share would have been $0.20.
• Adjusted EBITDA -- Negative $50 million, worsening from negative $16 million; would have been negative $25 million excluding discrete actions.
• Inventory -- $72 million, a 25% year-over-year decline and down 8% sequentially; channel inventory down 20% year over year and 6% sequentially.
• Subscription and Services Revenue -- $27 million, flat year over year and accounting for 27% of revenue.
• Subscription Attach Rate -- 51%, rising from 49%.
• Average Selling Price (ASP) -- $371, an increase of 6%.
• Operating Expenses -- $59 million, a 6% reduction.
• Strategic Process -- Board authorized evaluation of strategic alternatives, including potential sale of the company, and will engage a financial adviser.
• CEO Strategic Intent -- CEO Woodman said, "I am fully supportive of evaluating strategic opportunities for the company to unlock value for shareholders."
• Defense and Aerospace Sector Entry -- GoPro formally exploring markets with Oliver Wyman; received multiple inbound M&A inquiries since announcement.
• Guidance Withdrawal -- Management is withdrawing all forward-looking guidance, citing macro challenges and the strategic review process.
• Product Launch -- Debut of MISSION 1 Series of 8K/4K compact cinema cameras equipped with a new GP3 processor and 50-megapixel sensor, targeting professional and prosumer markets.
• MISSION 1 Pricing -- Models priced at $599 and $699, positioned as high-value versus incumbent cinema solutions.
• Retail and DTC Channel Mix -- Retail channel revenue was $61 million (61%), down from 70%; GoPro.com revenue was $38 million (39%), up from 30%.
• Partnership Initiatives -- New alliances announced with ASUS for a co-branded laptop and DICK'S Sporting Goods for integration with the GameChanger app, expanding the company’s reach into creator and youth sports markets.
• NASA Artemis II Involvement -- GoPro cameras, both modified and off-the-shelf, were used on NASA’s Artemis II mission, including external mounting on the Orion spacecraft.
• Industry Awards -- MISSION 1 Series won three major awards at NAB 2026: RedShark Best in Show, ProductionHUB Award of Excellence, and CineD Best of Show (camera category).

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Risks

• Gross Margin Pressure -- Tratt cited, "Macro challenges in the consumer electronics sector, including rising memory costs, supply chain constraints and fluctuating tariffs prompted us to take some discrete actions in the quarter that impacted gross margins and earnings per share for the period."
• Significant Losses -- Net loss increased to $58 million from $19 million, with adjusted EBITDA more negative, reflecting deteriorating operating results.
• Guidance Withdrawal -- Management explicitly stated withdrawal of all future guidance, attributing the decision to "macro challenges" and the ongoing strategic process.

Summary

GoPro (NASDAQ:GPRO) initiated a formal strategic review, driven by unsolicited M&A interest following its new defense and aerospace sector focus. The company launched the MISSION 1 Series of professional cameras, signaling a move into higher-end and professional creator markets. Channel mix continued to shift, with direct-to-consumer revenue increasing as retail sales declined. Inventory and operating expenses decreased, but gross margin and profitability deteriorated sharply amid industry and supply chain headwinds. Forward guidance has been fully withdrawn due to external uncertainty and pending outcomes from the strategic process.

• Woodman confirmed that his majority voting control will support all shareholder-value-maximizing strategic alternatives, including a potential sale.
• Management highlighted that M&A inquiries came from "various sectors, various types of interested parties," and not solely from defense or financial buyers.
• MISSION 1 targets multiple segments, with models designed for both professional filmmakers and high-end consumers, at price points of $599 and $699.
• Company product credibility was underlined by NASA's use of GoPro on the Artemis II mission and recognition with multiple industry awards at NAB 2026.

Industry glossary

• MISSION 1 Series: GoPro's new line of compact cinema cameras incorporating 8K/4K video, intended for professional filmmakers and prosumers, featuring the GP3 processor and 50-megapixel sensor.
• Subscription Attach Rate: Percentage of cameras sold that include a recurring software or services subscription.
• Channel Inventory: Units of GoPro products held by distribution or retail partners, not yet sold to end customers.
• Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Revenue: Sales generated through GoPro.com, including both product and subscription/service revenue, bypassing third-party retailers.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Operator: Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us, and welcome to the GoPro First Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] I will now hand the conference over to Robin Stoecker, Director of Corporate Communications. Please go ahead.

Robin Stoecker: Thank you, Rebecca. Good afternoon, and welcome to GoPro's First Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. With me today are GoPro's CEO, Nicholas Woodman; CFO, Brian Tratt; and President and COO, Brian McGee. Today's agenda will include brief commentary from Nick and Brian, followed by Q&A. For detailed information about our first quarter performance, please read our Q1 2026 earnings press release and management commentary we posted to the Investor Relations section of GoPro's website. Before I pass the call to Nick, I'd like to remind everyone that our remarks today may include forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements and all other statements that are not historical facts are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially. Additionally, any forward-looking statements made today are based on assumptions as of today. This means that results could change at any time, and we do not undertake any obligation to update these statements as a result of new information or future events.

To better understand the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from our commentary, we refer you to our most recent annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission and other reports that we may file from time to time with the SEC. Today, we may discuss gross margin, operating expense, net profit and loss, adjusted EBITDA as well as basic and diluted net profit and loss per share in accordance with GAAP and on a non-GAAP basis.

A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP operating expenses can be found in the press release that was issued this afternoon, which is posted on the Investor Relations section of our website. Unless otherwise noted, all income statement-related numbers that are disclosed in the management commentary other than revenue are non-GAAP. Now I'll turn the call over to GoPro's Founder and CEO, Nicholas Woodman.

Nicholas Woodman: Thanks, Robin, and thanks, everybody, for joining us today. As Robin mentioned, Brian and I will share brief remarks before going into Q&A. And I want to encourage all on the call to read the detailed management commentary we posted on our Investor Relations website. In April, we announced that GoPro is formally exploring opportunities in the defense and aerospace sector, having engaged Oliver Wyman, a global leader in defense sector consulting to assess addressable market segments, product synergies and go-to-market strategies.

GoPro cameras have long been used in demanding defense, government and aerospace applications where versatility, durability, industry-leading video stabilization and image quality are mission-critical, and we believe there is a meaningful, scalable opportunity to formalize and grow our presence in these sectors. Following the April announcement of our work with Oliver Wyman, we received several inbound inquiries related to M&A. To capitalize on this interest, GoPro's Board of Directors has authorized the company to engage in a strategic process and to engage a financial adviser to assist with that process and evaluate strategic alternatives in order to maximize shareholder value.

We believe there is unrealized value in GoPro's technology, IP, brand, product development and scaled manufacturing capabilities, and we look forward to exploring how M&A could unlock that value to the benefit of our shareholders. Testament to GoPro's credibility as a mission-proven tool for defense and aerospace applications is NASA's use of GoPro cameras on the Artemis II mission. On April 1, the Orion Spacecraft launched with modified GoPro cameras mounted externally on its solar array wings and off-the-shelf GoPro cameras were used inside the ship to capture content for a national geographic documentary about the mission.

Everyone at GoPro is deeply honored that our cameras played, even a small role, in the historic Artemis II mission is incredibly meaningful to all of us. Turning to Q1. We advanced several partnership initiatives designed to broaden GoPro's reach and appeal. In January, we announced an exciting partnership with ASUS, a leading Taiwanese multinational technology company and launched a co-branded ASUS ProArt GoPro Edition laptop. The laptop was purpose-built by ASUS to support GoPro content creator workflows. ASUS has shared that early traction has far exceeded their expectations for the ProArt line, reinforcing the strength of GoPro's brand in technology collaborations.

And in March, we announced our partnership with DICK'S Sporting Goods and integration with their GameChanger app, the #1 rated youth sports app for scorekeeping and live streaming, which has more than 9 million active users. This partnership combines GoPro's industry-leading video quality with GameChanger's live streaming service, making it easy for families to capture and share game day live. The Gamechanger GoPro product bundle available online at DICK'S Sporting Goods brings together everything families need for seamless, high-quality live streaming of the game. Millions of existing GoPro HERO13 through HERO7 Black and MAX owners can now pair the GoPro they already own with the game day app to start streaming live sporting events.

And just last month, we debuted our new Mission 1 Series of professional 8K and 4K open gate compact cinema cameras at the National Association of Broadcasters Trade Show, the largest television industry trade show in the U.S. The launch of the Mission 1 Series marks GoPro's most significant push into the professional and prosumer creator markets, featuring a new 50-megapixel 1-inch sensor and GoPro's new ultra-efficient next-generation GP3 processor, the MISSION 1 series cameras deliver category-leading resolutions, frame rates, run time and thermal performance for mission-critical reliability and extreme use cases. The new lineup includes 3 camera models, MISSION 1 PRO, Mission 1 PRO ILS and MISSION 1.

The response to our MISSION 1 series of products has been overwhelmingly positive. Recent press coverage has consistently highlighted the camera's industry-leading specs, image quality, compact and durable design plus the outright performance and value the cameras deliver relative to dramatically more expensive cinema cameras. At the NAB show, our new cameras earned 3 prestigious awards from leading industry outlets, 1 of 6 RedShark Best in Show Awards, 1 of 10 ProductionHUB Awards of Excellence, and the MISSION 1 PRO ILS was the sole winner of the CineD Best of Show Award in the camera category. These awards go to all of GoPro's employees whose dedication and passion made the MISSION 1 Series cameras possible. Thank you, team, and congratulations.

We expect the Mission 1 Series products to enable GoPro to gain meaningful share in our core markets as well as in new professional and prosumer markets. The MISSION 1 Series products will be available May 28 at GoPro.com and select authorized retail partners globally, including Best Buy and Walmart and high-end imaging retailers, B&H and Adorama. As we shared, Q1 and the past few weeks marked an exciting array of new partnerships, business opportunity explorations and product launches that we believe can help diversify and grow our business.

We've just entered a new era of professional performance capability with the launch of our new MISSION 1 Series of cameras, and we're excited for the impact they can have on our business. Now I'll turn the call over to Brian Tratt to walk you through details of our Q1 financial results.

Brian Tratt: Thanks, Nick. Turning to our financial results. Revenue in Q1 2026 was $99 million, within our guidance range and compared to $134 million in the prior year period. Macro challenges in the consumer electronics sector, including rising memory costs, supply chain constraints and fluctuating tariffs prompted us to take some discrete actions in the quarter that impacted gross margins and earnings per share for the period. Despite these pressures, some of which materialized in the last week of the quarter, we made meaningful progress on the metrics within our control. Cash used in operations improved $21 million year-over-year to $37 million. Operating expenses declined year-over-year, and we continue to reduce both owned and channel inventory sequentially and year-over-year.

Additional first quarter performance highlights include revenue from our retail channel was $61 million or 61% of revenue compared to 70% of Q1 2025 revenue. Revenue from our GoPro.com channel, which includes subscription and service revenue was $38 million or 39% of revenue compared to 30% of Q1 2025 revenue. Subscription and services revenue was flat year-over-year at $27 million or 27% of revenue. Subscription attach rate from cameras sold across all channels was 51% compared to 49% in Q1 2025. Street ASP was $371, a 6% improvement year-over-year. Operating expenses were $59 million compared to $62 million in the prior year period, a 6% decrease year-over-year. The following results reflect the discrete actions mentioned previously.

Gross margin was 4.5% compared to 32.3% in Q1 2025. Excluding the discrete actions, gross margin would have been approximately 31%. Net loss was $58 million compared to prior year net loss of $19 million. GAAP and non-GAAP loss per share were $0.50 and $0.35, respectively, compared to a prior year loss per share of $0.30 and $0.12, respectively. Excluding the discrete actions, non-GAAP loss per share would have been $0.20. Adjusted EBITDA was negative $50 million compared to negative $16 million in the prior year period. Excluding the discrete actions, adjusted EBITDA would have been negative $25 million. We ended the quarter with inventory of $72 million, a 25% decrease year-over-year and an 8% decrease from Q4 2025.

Channel inventory declined 20% from the prior year quarter and 6% sequentially. Given the macro challenges in the consumer electronics sector and the strategic process we've initiated to evaluate opportunities for the sale of the company, we will no longer be providing forward-looking guidance and withdrawing our full year guidance at this time. In summary, we're encouraged by the early positive response to our MISSION 1 line of cameras. And as Nick mentioned, we're excited about the strategic momentum building around our defense and aerospace exploration with Oliver Wyman and the plan to engage a strategic adviser to evaluate strategic alternatives, both of which we believe can unlock unrealized value in GoPro's technology, IP and brand.

Operator, we're now ready to take questions.

Operator: [Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from Erik Woodring with Morgan Stanley.

Dylan Liu: It's Dylan Liu on for Erik. I have a couple, if I may. So today, you just announced strategic alternative process, which include the sale of the company or a merger to maximize the value for shareholders. So Nick, I think your Class B shares give you about like 63% of the outstanding voting power of GoPro, meaning any sale or merger ultimately requires your personal approval. Can you clarify whether you are personally supportive of a full sale of the company? And if so, what price or strategic outcome would you need to see to vote in favor of such a transaction?

Nicholas Woodman: Thanks for the question. Yes, I am fully supportive of evaluating strategic opportunities for the company to unlock value for shareholders. So this effort has my full and complete support.

Dylan Liu: Got it. And in the press release, you mentioned the strategic review was triggered by several unsolicited inbound strategic inquiries received after the defense and aerospace announcement in early or mid-April. So can you describe the nature of these inquiries? Are they primarily from defense/aerospace acquirers interested in GoPro's technology or from financial or strategic buyers in your core consumer imaging market? And does the Board or you have a preference for one type of buyer over the another?

Nicholas Woodman: Well, without sharing too much detail, I can share that there's been interest from various sectors, various types of interested parties. So it's not just defense or not just financial. And the range of interest led us to make the decision that we should run a process to evaluate what kind of value we could unlock on behalf of shareholders.

Dylan Liu: Got it. That's clear to me. And just one follow-up, if I may. So GoPro, you just announced the MISSION 1 Series, and this is a brand-new product line. So would you mind giving us a sense of the sell-in potential of this product? And I think you sized that low light capable camera segment as a TAM. It's about like 2 million to 2.5 million units annually. But could you describe the specific customer segments that you're targeting with MISSION 1 Series? Who are the major competitors that we're taking shares of? And how should we think about the pricing, the 600 to 700 selling price relative to incumbent solutions?

Nicholas Woodman: Sure. Yes, the MISSION 1 line is very interesting because it plays in several different categories. First and foremost, we're marketing it to its strength as the world's most compact cinema camera line, whether it's the entry-level MISSION 1 camera for $599 or the MISSION 1 Pro for $699 or the Pro IOS with an interchangeable lens system also for $699. The resolutions, the frame rates, the image quality is all at the professional level. So they truly are compact cinema cameras that we think are going to unlock exciting new perspectives for professional filmmakers, television series producers, commercial producers as well as influencers and tip-of-spear professional level content creators.

But at the same time, the price points, the convenience, the versatility, the durability make them ideal as very high-end alternatives for people that are currently using action cameras for creating whatever content they're creating, but want to do so at a much higher end with a much more professional output. And then for aspiring consumers that want the most capable action cameras in the world, the MISSION series line definitely can be used for that purpose. So a portion of that market, we think, will gravitate up towards the MISSION Series because of how well they work just as an everyday camera, but the cameras are definitely targeting a higher-end professional user.

And we think that the price points relative to cameras that are far more expensive, but don't match the resolution and frame rates of the MISSION 1 line, we think the cameras are a relative bargain. And especially when you look at the capabilities of the ILS model, which enables people to use a vast array of commercially available Micro Four Thirds lenses or lenses that they might already own and truly get just an incredible range of different looks that you can create, whether it's macro to telephoto, to full cinema lenses, I think we're going to see a lot of staggeringly impressive content being created with the new MISSION 1 series line.

So it's a step-up for us across the board in performance and pricing. Yet at the same time, it's not a complete departure from our existing markets because at the end of the day, they're very relatable as GoPros to the average consumer.

Operator: We have reached the end of the Q&A session. I will now turn the call back to management for closing remarks.

Nicholas Woodman: Thank you, operator, and thank you, everyone, for joining today's call. To close, Q1 and the last few weeks have been a period of meaningful momentum marked by new partnerships, expanding business opportunities and significant product launches that we believe can both diversify and grow our business. And importantly, we believe there is unrealized value in GoPro's technology, IP, brand, product development and scaled manufacturing capabilities, and we look forward to exploring how a potential sale of the company could unlock that value to the benefit of our shareholders. Thank you, everyone. This is Team GoPro signing off.

Operator: This concludes today's call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.

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