After a $13B Collapse, Markiplier Becomes GoPro's Largest Shareholder
And sent the stock up 46 percent in a day.
GoPro’s market value peaked near $12 billion after its 2014 IPO. This summer, it was worth about $110 million, and its auditor had warned of “substantial doubt” about its future.
On August 20, YouTuber Markiplier filed a Schedule 13G disclosing an 8.5 percent stake in GoPro, making him the company’s largest single shareholder.
Bloomberg reported the investment on August 30. GoPro’s stock closed up 46 percent the next day.
On September 1, GoPro agreed to a $285 million merger with Starman Optical.
Most SEC ownership filings are non-events, filed by investors. One study found the average stock reaction to a passive filing like this is only 0.59 percent.
Markiplier’s filing moved GoPro’s stock 46 percent in a day, to more than twenty times normal volume. He’d posted a sponsored camera review with an affiliate code days earlier and never mentioned his shares.
Marques Brownlee called it “not a line I see crossed very often.” A creator’s offhand opinion can now move a stock more than a press release.
For years, a creator’s product opinion was worth one flat sponsorship fee, no matter how right they turned out to be.
Ryan Trahan became a co-owner of candy brand Joyride instead of endorsing it for a fee. The company has since raised $30 million.
You know a product you have a stake in better than any brand paying you a flat rate to promote it. Markiplier’s move could encourage more creators to ask for equity as part of payment for sponsorships.
