'GoPro' Slumps Anew; Pins Hopes On Karma Drone

"GoPro" revolutionized the camera industry when the company first released the "GoPro" 35mm Hero in September 2004 selling $150,000 worth of products during the first year. With the issues facing the company, shares plummeted to 21% on Thursday.

In a Business Insider report, "GoPro’s" net income has dropped to 330% losing $84 million or -$0.60/share, significantly lower than the $0.36 loss that was projected by Bloomberg. The company’s $241 million sales were down 40% compared with the sales from earlier years, showing weak demand for its cameras. But "GoPro" is unperturbed, the company shifted to another emerging industry and released its own aerial drone called Karma.

The company has projected a revenue of $600 million to $650 million in the coming fourth quarter, and lowered their revenue average for the year from $1.35 billion to $1.5 billion to around $1.25 billion to $1.3 billion, according to Market Watch. The projections for 2017 is expected to be another year of losses, although the company forecasts enhanced revenue.

Nicholas Woodman, the CEO of "GoPro" promised everyone that in the fourth quarter, with the company’s latest offering of "GoPro Hero 5" and Karma drone, it will gain more profit and will gain “second-best sales on record,” BloombergPursuits reports. However, the report also explains that while the Karma drone is fairly new and exciting, its features are insufficient compared to the rival company’s drone DJI Mavic Pro, released just a few days after" GoPro" unveiled Karma.

"GoPro" has clearly been on the losing end of the camera industry. It has been long plagued with issues surrounding its production, the camera’s ease of use, not to mention the lack of product update. Now, it is apparent that "GoPro" is dipping its toes into the drone industry, which is a step towards generating more revenue in the years to come.