Markiplier Becomes GoPro's Largest Shareholder

Mark Fischbach, the YouTuber known as Markiplier and one of YouTube's most-subscribed creators, is now the largest individual shareholder of GoPro. He built an 8.5 percent stake in the struggling camera company, a position reportedly worth around $9.3 million, after GoPro declined to give him an early look at its newest camera earlier this year. When Bloomberg reported the stake on August 31, 2026, GoPro's stock (NASDAQ: GPRO) jumped more than 46 percent in regular trading and kept climbing after hours, for a combined gain of over 128 percent in a single day.

How a Camera Snub Turned Into a Stock Play

The story starts at April's NAB Show in Las Vegas, where Fischbach stopped by GoPro's booth hoping for an early look at the Mission 1 Pro ILS, the company's first interchangeable-lens cinema camera. GoPro turned him down. According to Fast Company, Fischbach has since said that refusal is part of what pushed him to start quietly building a position in GoPro stock, because he wanted to see the company succeed.

He wasn't buying blind. Fischbach has used GoPro cameras on his own film work, including behind-the-scenes footage for his independently distributed horror movie Iron Lung, which turned a $3 million budget into more than $50 million at the box office. Days before his stake became public, he posted a YouTube review praising the Mission 1 Pro ILS as an accessible alternative to professional cinema gear, at one point noting that a bare camera handle from RED costs the same $699 as GoPro's entire camera. According to Fast Company, he has said he looked at where the stock was trading and concluded it looked undervalued.

A Struggling Stock Finds an Unlikely Buyer

GoPro has had a rough few years. Before the Markiplier news, the stock was down nearly 57 percent for 2026 and had lost more than 93 percent of its value over five years, trading for well under $1 a share. Twelve years ago, at its post-IPO peak, GoPro was valued at roughly $13 billion. Before Fischbach's purchase, the entire company was worth around $110 million.

• Stock down nearly 57 percent year to date before the news, and more than 93 percent over five years
• A $51 million loss last quarter
• Auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers raised "substantial doubt" about the company's ability to continue as a going concern
• CEO and founder Nick Woodman personally loaned the company $20 million
• Company valuation fell from about $13 billion at its peak to roughly $110 million

That backdrop is exactly why one buyer's purchase could move the stock so much. On August 31, GPRO shares rose 46.01 percent in regular trading, then added another 55 percent after hours, closing near $1.37, for a combined gain of more than 128 percent on the day, according to reporting citing Bloomberg's coverage of the stake.

What the Mission 1 Pro ILS Actually Is

The camera at the center of the story ships worldwide on September 2, 2026, the day after the stake became public. The Mission 1 Pro ILS is GoPro's first interchangeable-lens camera, pairing a 50-megapixel 1-inch sensor with GoPro's GP3 processor and a Micro Four Thirds mount. It's positioned as a compact, travel-ready alternative to professional cinema cameras from brands like RED, at a fraction of the price.

• Price: $699.99 to preorder, or $599.99 for GoPro subscribers renewing their plan
• Sensor: 50MP 1-inch sensor paired with GoPro's GP3 processor
• Lens mount: Micro Four Thirds, manual focus and manual aperture only, since the camera has no electronic contacts for autofocus lenses
• Video: up to 8K60, 4K240, and 1440p480, with Open Gate modes up to 8K30 and 4K120 using the full sensor
• Durability: weatherproof but not submersible like the standard Mission 1 Pro, since the exposed lens mount can't be sealed

According to Gizmodo's report on his review, Fischbach has said he plans to use the camera extensively in future projects and that its footage sometimes rivals what he gets from far more expensive gear.

“A YouTuber didn't just review a struggling camera company's newest product. He bought enough of it to have a seat at the table.”

— YouTubeSkool Creator Economy Desk

What This Means for Creators

This isn't a brand deal or a sponsorship. It's a creator using personal wealth built from YouTube and independent filmmaking to take a real ownership stake in a public company whose product he uses and reviews. That distinction matters, and it's likely to come up more often as top creators accumulate the kind of capital that used to belong only to venture funds and hedge managers.

• Gear reviews from creators with financial ties to a company deserve more scrutiny, even without a formal sponsorship
• Top creators increasingly have the capital to become real stakeholders, not just spokespeople, in the brands they depend on
• A single influential creator can now move a public company's stock price more than most institutional trades
• Struggling hardware brands may find an unconventional lifeline in creator goodwill rather than traditional investment

What Happens Next

The Mission 1 Pro ILS starts shipping September 2, right as GoPro tries to prove the camera can anchor a turnaround. Fischbach hasn't said whether he plans to take an active role at the company or simply hold the stock, and GoPro has not issued a formal statement addressing his stake.

For now, Markiplier's bet has already done something rare for GoPro: it got the market's attention. Whether that's enough to fix a company that lost $51 million in a single quarter is a very different question, one a viral stock pop can't answer on its own.