GoPro Touts Media Ahead of IPO for Higher Value Than Cameras

If it walks like a camera maker and talks like a camera maker, why is GoPro Inc. pitching itself as a media company in its initial public offering?

An extra $2 billion in market value, for starters. GoPro -- which made its $1 billion in revenue from selling wearable cameras and accessories -- is commanding a valuation more in line with media companies like Walt Disney Co. than with its consumer-hardware peers. With almost three years’ worth of footage uploaded last year by customers filming their exploits, GoPro has emerged as one of the hottest new brands, in the league of punk-culture video producer Vice Media Inc., which is said to be valued as high as $3 billion.