GoPro crashes 13% to an all-time low after earnings whiff

GoPro shares just crashed to an all-time low.

Shares tanked by as much as 13% in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the company reported a miss on earnings.

The important numbers: Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.25, while analysts had estimated $0.29, according to Bloomberg. Revenues totaled $400.3 million, up 43% year on year, but missing the estimate for $433.6 million.

GoPro announced that its board has authorized a $300 million stock-buyback program, starting in the fourth quarter.

GoPro shares are down about 53% year to date.

CEO Nicholas Woodman said in the earnings statement, "I am proud of our year-to-date accomplishments in which we posted strong financial results and expanded our portfolio of products, however our business in the third quarter was clearly more difficult than anticipated."

The company launched a couple of products in the past quarter, including the Hero 4 Session, its smallest offering yet. Morgan Stanley analysts thought it was a flop. GoPro reduced the price by $100 to $299 after what they called "disappointing demand."

Other analysts sounded the alarm on competition from other manufacturers and were concerned about whether the company could significantly grow its user base outside the core group of enthusiasts. In the earnings statement, the company said its products made up five of the top 10 products in the digital-camera and -camcorder category in the US.

Then there was the brutal Barron's magazine article in September, which forecast that GoPro shares could plunge to as $25; shares dropped to as low as $26 in after-hours trading on Wednesday.

Again, the concern for Barron's Alexander Eule was competition.