GoPro Q1 2018 results show a glimmer of hope

It's no secret that GoPro has been struggling, but the company saw a glimmer of hope during its first quarter of the year. The company announced a very modest unit growth of 3-percent, an increase that unfortunately wasn't joined by revenue growth. The company saw a fairly substantial drop in revenue compared to its first quarter in 2017.

According to GoPro, the company made $202 million during the first quarter of 2018. That's a 7-percent year-on-year drop in revenue, though it expects things to improve next quarter when Walmart and Target start selling its latest camera product. Company CEO Nick Woodman said the company's Q1 highlights "significant demand" for its products.

Of note, GoPro once again was the number one selling camera in the digital imaging category for the 17th straight quarter, in North America at least. GoPro claims it had 95-percent of the US market share for action cameras based on dollar volume, as well as 86-percent based on unit. The figures were lower but still notable for Europe.

The company partly attributes its first quarter results to the new $199 entry-level HERO action camera GoPro launched in late March. However, the maker's HERO5 and HERO6 Black cameras were GoPro's leading products. Woodman indicates that the lower price point could be a key part of increasing sales for the maker.

Cameras weren't the company's only driving force, though. GoPro says it saw a 17-percent increase in Plus subscriptions to 147,000 active customers since the end of December 2017. The company, oddly enough, also bragged about getting another 245,000 Instagram followers in the year's first quarter, bringing it to 15 million.

SOURCE: GoPro