GoPro Is in Trouble: What's Happening and What It Means for Action Camera Buyers

This week, GoPro issued a formal warning stating it has "substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern." Shares fell 14% in a single day, and the company acknowledged it may breach its loan covenants. It's a serious signal for a brand that spent more than a decade as the definitive name in action cameras.

But to understand what's actually going on, you need to look one step back.

The problem isn't GoPro. It's memory.

DRAM chips (the component that allows any camera to record high-resolution video) have risen in price between 80% and 115% in a short period of time. The reason is straightforward: Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron, who together manufacture most of the world's memory, redirected their production toward high-end chips for artificial intelligence data centers. That memory yields margins of 70% or higher. Conventional memory for cameras and laptops yields between 20% and 30%. From a business standpoint, the decision is understandable. Someone else pays the price.

What does this mean for buyers?

If GoPro wants to survive without selling the company or shutting down, the most logical path is raising prices. A HERO camera that currently costs $400 could cost significantly more in the next generation, simply to preserve margins. The problem is that this puts GoPro in an uncomfortable position: more expensive, but competing against rivals with very different cost structures.

DJI's structural advantage

This is where things get complicated for GoPro. DJI is a Chinese company, and China has access to memory produced by domestic manufacturers like CXMT, which industry analysts say offer prices 15% to 20% lower than equivalent chips from Samsung or SK Hynix. On top of that, the Chinese government actively subsidizes domestic device manufacturers that use locally produced memory. That gives DJI a structurally lower cost floor than GoPro, which buys on the same global markets as everyone else.

The practical result: while GoPro faces a cost crisis threatening its existence, DJI can maintain competitive pricing — the Osmo Action 7 is expected to launch in a price range similar to its predecessor — without the same level of pressure.

What comes next

For now, GoPro is exploring several exits: a possible sale or merger, cutting 23% of its global workforce, and — in an unexpected move — entering the defense and aerospace market, where its rugged cameras could find military or surveillance applications. It's not an obvious pivot, but it reflects the urgency of finding better margins somewhere.

For action camera buyers, this isn't an abstract crisis. If GoPro disappears or gets acquired, the market becomes far more concentrated around DJI and Insta360, both Chinese companies. More competition has always been good for prices and innovation. Fewer players means less pressure to improve. And if GoPro raises prices to survive, buyers will have to decide whether the brand is still worth the premium against alternatives that already offer comparable quality at lower price points.

AI is transforming many industries. But it's also quietly transforming who can afford to manufacture the tools we use to create.