Why GoPro Inc. Stock Popped Today

What happened

Shares of GoPro Inc. (NASDAQ: GPRO) were up 13.4% as of noon EDT Thursday after the action camera and drone maker announced strong preliminary third-quarter 2017 results.

More specifically, GoPro now expects revenue and gross margin for its third quarter to arrive at the high end of its previous guidance. GoPro only just provided that outlook along with its impressive second-quarter results early last month, calling for revenue in the range of $290 million to $310 million and gross margin of 36% to 38%.

So what

GoPro also expects to return to non-GAAP profitability in the third quarter, fulfilling the company's open promise to do so by the end of the year. It won't be profitable based on generally accepted accounting principles, however, which includes items like restructuring expenses and stock-based compensation.

Finally, GoPro reiterated its expectation for its new HERO6 line and Fusion spherical camera to launch later this year.

"Consumer demand for GoPro products is strong," added GoPro chief operating officer, CJ Prober. "Channel inventories have been reduced and we're incredibly excited about the upcoming launch of two great new products, HERO6 and our 5.2K spherical camera, Fusion."

Now what

As it stands, GoPro won't officially release its third-quarter 2017 results until early November. So unless we receive further business updates between now and then, investors will need to wait another couple months for more color on how the quarter turns out. But with a few weeks left in Q3 (which ends on Sept. 30), it's encouraging that GoPro has already seen enough to make this optimistic prediction.

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Steve Symington has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends GoPro. The Motley Fool has the following options: short January 2019 $12 calls on GoPro and long January 2019 $12 puts on GoPro. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.