Shares of action camera maker GoPro continued their volatile trading pattern on Tuesday, extending gains in pre-market trading after Monday's massive 46% rally. The stock at one point surged as much as 106% before settling to trade more than 60% higher in pre-market sessions. This rebound has pushed the share price back to levels not seen since May, though it remains well below the 52-week high of $3.05.
The buying frenzy was triggered by reports that Mark Fischbach, the YouTube sensation better known as Markiplier, has become the company's largest single shareholder. In an interview, Markiplier said: "When I looked at this stock's price, my initial reaction was that it appeared undervalued." He revealed that the investment had been "quietly building" because he genuinely wanted to see the company turn things around.
Interestingly, Markiplier just released a video last week praising GoPro's new Mission 1 ILS interchangeable lens cinema-grade camera, describing what it can accomplish in such a compact body as "mind-blowing," and has plans to use the device in upcoming film projects. With nearly 40 million YouTube subscribers, Markiplier earlier this year wrote, directed, and starred in his debut horror film "Iron Lung," which generated over $50 million in box office revenue from a $3 million budget. His investment in GoPro is being interpreted externally as part of a broader mission to make filmmaking more accessible.
On the fundamentals side, GoPro's second-quarter earnings report showed a loss of $0.21 per share for the quarter, wider than the $0.08 per share loss recorded in the same period last year. Revenue declined more than 31% year-over-year to $105 million, primarily weighed down by weaker hardware sales. Hardware revenue, which represents 72% of total revenue, fell approximately 40% to $75.95 million. Meanwhile, subscription and service revenue grew 11% year-over-year to $28.98 million, increasing its share of total revenue to 28%, including $2 million in contribution from GoPro's AI content licensing program.
Notably, short interest currently stands at 16.5% of GoPro's total float, indicating the stock still faces considerable short-squeeze pressure. Adding to the concerns, PwC has expressed "substantial doubt" regarding GoPro's ability to continue as a going concern—one of the most severe risk warnings in the auditing field, as reported by Gizmodo. As of the end of June, the company held $87.2 million in principal debt, of which $24.4 million is due within 180 days.