YouTuber becomes GoPro's largest shareholder
According to filings with the stock market regulator, YouTube star "Markiplier" holds 8.5 percent of GoPro. This has caused the stock price to soar, but has also sparked criticism due to conflicts of interest.
YouTuber Mark "Markiplier" Fischbach is getting involved with GoPro. The 37-year-old has purchased enough shares to become the action camera manufacturer's largest individual shareholder with an 8.5 percent stake. This is according to filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, as reported by "Bloomberg", among others. Following the news, the stock price temporarily rose by nearly 50 percent, even though it remains far from its all-time highs.
GoPro is suffering from a struggling core business. In recent years, smartphones, DJI, and Insta360 have taken market share away from the once-dominant provider. Additionally, memory prices have risen due to the AI boom. In June, GoPro therefore warned in a financial report that there were "substantial doubts about its ability to continue as a going concern".
Fischbach justifies his investment by stating that GoPro is undervalued on the stock market. "Markiplier" became famous for his gaming videos on indie and horror games. He is now one of the most successful YouTubers, with nearly 39 million subscribers. In early 2026, he released his first self-financed feature film, "Iron Lung," which grossed more than 50 million US dollars on a budget of under 5 million dollars. "Iron Lung" was partially documented behind the scenes using GoPro cameras.
His closeness to the brand is also evident in product marketing. Shortly before his stake became public, Fischbach released a review of the GoPro Mission 1 ILS. In it, he praises the camera highly and compares it to the significantly more expensive Red Komodo-X. The video includes an affiliate code for the camera. However, Fischbach does not mention his shareholder status. Tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee criticized this lack of transparency, calling it a "line that is rarely crossed."
For GoPro, "Markiplier's" entry could be helpful in the short term. His multi-million dollar investment acts as a signal of confidence, generates attention within the creator scene, and ideally facilitates the marketing of new products like the Mission 1 series. At the same time, this does not solve the structural problems. The manufacturer continues to struggle with competition from China and a declining core business.
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