GoPro Can Go To A Lot Of Different Directions Beyond Action Captured Device: JMP Securities Senior Analyst

GoPro Inc GPRO posted better than expected first-quarter results on Tuesday. EPS for the quarter came at $0.24 on revenue of $363.1 million, versus analyst estimates of $0.18 and $341.1 million respectively.

Alex Gauna, JMP Securities senior analyst, was on CNBC post the results to weigh in on the earnings.

Social Media Helping Hardware

“In the near-term it’s really about the growth, the spectacular growth in demand for their action captured device,” Gauna said. “And I guess there is that virtual cycle or flywheel effect of the social media element of the story helping drive the hardware side of the story and we look out though and what Tony Bates started to touch on the call with their software investments.”

He continued, “We really do believe that there is a media, new media aspect to this story. The company made an investment in a private French company called Kolor, in augmented reality, virtual reality today and so GoPro can go to a lot of different directions beyond just the action captured device.”

It’s About International Markets

Gauna was asked what are the different levers that GoPro is testing to make the second-quarter better. He replied, “First and foremost they are getting into international markets in a bigger and a better way so it’s not unlike the success that Apple is having in taking its brand global and delivering a premium quality service to markets that really want it.”

“So, the emerging market growth Asia Pacific growth very strong levers for GoPro, completely unsaturated and so in the near-term because the seasonality is against it in North American western markets, it’s about the international markets,” Gauna concluded.