YouTuber Markiplier says he'd vote against GoPro's merger, though he stands to get a $15 million check from it

YouTube creator Markiplier doesn't for illustration GoPro's plans to merge pinch an optical transceiver company, though he stands to get a $15 cardinal cheque from the deal.

"I'm not going to lie, I'm disappointed," he told Business Insider. "I would ballot against the deal."

Markiplier, whose existent sanction is Mark Fischbach, runs a YouTube transmission pinch astir 40 cardinal subscribers. He's besides a filmmaker who wrote, directed, and starred successful the early 2026 box-office deed "Iron Lung."

A self-described lens obsessive, his liking successful GoPro reached 8.5% successful July. He said he built his position aft learning GoPro was introducing a caller camera pinch capabilities akin to those of a master cinema product. He became GoPro's largest outer shareholder and sparked a meme-stock rally erstwhile he did an interview pinch Bloomberg astir his finance successful August.

Days aft the interview, GoPro announced plans to merge pinch Starman Optical. Should the woody spell through, Markiplier would person a rate costs of astir $15 cardinal ($1.14 for each of his 13.5 cardinal shares), according to the merger terms. Existing shareholders would besides clasp astir 10% of the institution aft the deal.

If Markiplier bought each of his GoPro shares connected July 13, the time he deed 8.5% ownership, his profit from the rate payout would beryllium astir $5 million. His imaginable profit whitethorn beryllium smaller if he accumulated immoderate of those shares earlier, erstwhile the banal value was higher. Fischbach did not respond to a petition for much accusation connected really overmuch he would return location from the projected merger.

GoPro's banal closed astatine $1.42 per stock connected Wednesday.

Despite a imaginable windfall, Fischbach said he's worried the institution will suffer its camera attraction and move into optical connectors for AI information centers aliases different unrelated business lines flagged successful the merger announcement.

"I want this camera institution to succeed," he said.

A GoPro spokesperson said the institution plans to proceed investing successful user and master cameras, pointing to a September 3 missive from laminitis and CEO Nick Woodman, successful which he wrote that making cameras was portion of the company's "core DNA and logic for being."

As of May, Woodman had astir 62% voting powerfulness complete the company, meaning his support for the Starman merger would override objections from different shareholders.

Markiplier is portion of a increasing people of YouTube millionaires who are turning to investing to build wealth. Content creators, for illustration Hollywood celebrities, tin animate hype for a institution aliases banal simply by talking astir it.

YouTuber Logan Paul helped drum up liking successful buying Pokémon cards past twelvemonth aft posting astir his uncommon Pikachu card, for example. Snap's banal value fell successful 2018 aft Kylie Jenner posted connected societal media that she didn't unfastened Snapchat anymore. Some influencers person travel nether scrutiny for hyping volatile assets for illustration crypto coins.

"I knew that location would beryllium immoderate group that would want to put arsenic soon arsenic they recovered retired that I was," Fischbach said of his GoPro stake.

"I was trying to beryllium very cognizant of that," he added, and said he "never wanted to beryllium successful the position wherever group could deliberation that I was manipulating successful immoderate way."

Markiplier's chaotic banal marketplace adventure

When Markiplier became GoPro's largest outer shareholder successful July, he said he didn't instantly recognize he needed to record a disclosure shape pinch the Securities and Exchange Commission.

"It's not thing wherever you get an email erstwhile you're like, 'You ain much than 5%, you request to do a filing,'" he said. "You really person to conscionable look astatine the outstanding shares and conscionable do a calculation connected your own."

Passive investors who transverse 5% ownership successful a institution are obligated to record pinch the SEC wrong 5 business days. Markiplier's filing, which is dated August 20, says he crossed the 5% period connected July 13.

His finance didn't go wide known until August 30, erstwhile his question and reply pinch Bloomberg was published.

"I conscionable knew that erstwhile connection sewage out, it would astir apt person an effect, but I didn't cognize it would person that melodramatic of an effect," Fischbach said of the banal rally that followed. He said he didn't want to "pump the stock," and that he hasn't sold his shares.

The speedy escalation of events, from his July finance to GoPro's September merger announcement, led immoderate net commentators to mobility his level of engagement pinch the company, peculiarly aft he posted a sponsored video for GoPro successful precocious August. (He later added a disclosure successful the video's description, saying he was GoPro's "largest shareholder.")

"I person heavy tegument astir definite things, and I understand that the nuance tin beryllium lost," he said. "I person nary power connected the company. And to put it retired there, I had nary thought that this merger was happening, particularly considering the measurement that it turned out."

What's adjacent for Markiplier

After releasing a movie earlier this twelvemonth and becoming a main characteristic successful a meme-stock roller coaster, Fischbach said he's taking a measurement backmost to scheme his adjacent project.

As an investor, he's willing successful companies that lick problems he's encountered arsenic a content creator and filmmaker. Beyond GoPro, he precocious invested successful the video-editing information retention institution Strada, for example.

"I effort not to make investments successful things that I don't understand," he said, adding that he looks for companies that are "trying to make an effect truthful that much group tin beryllium creative."

He's besides opening to deliberation astir his adjacent project, though he said he's taking a infinitesimal to retrieve from each the activity that went into "Iron Lung."

"I'm exhausted, but besides I americium very eager to get backmost into it," he said. "I'm trying to return it 1 time astatine a time, but the to-do database piles up really quickly."