Shake Shack Inc, a burger chain, has filed for its very first initial public offering. The company started out as a hot dog venture In the Madison Square Park of New York, and today it had grown into this big chain. The timing for the filing of IPO could not have been better, for the offerings by restaurants have proved to be quite popular among the investors these days.

Shake Shack was established back in 2001 by Daniel Meyer. The venture got popular due to its mega size shakes and Shackburgers, which come with a hot dog and flat top. This restaurant has developed quite a following during the past decade.

The Union Square Hospitality Group LLC (USHG) of Meyer runs some other famous eateries too, including Gramercy Tavern, Blue Smoke, and Union Square Cade. These eateries will not be offered in the first IPO of Shake Shack.

It is important to mention here that the initial public offerings by eateries are getting quite successful.  Earlier this year, Zoe’s Kitchen Inc. (NYSE:ZOES) and El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:LOCO) had also gone public. Although Zoe’s Kitchen saw a shaky year, but the stocks of the company are trading at double the price that they offered during IPO. Similarly, the stocks of El Pollo are being traded at 38 percent higher than their IPO prices.

Moreover, the stocks of Habit Restaurants Inc (NASDAQ:HABT), a burger chain, went up by 100 percent during the last month. According to the reports, Shake Shack had hired some managers in the months of August to plan out its first public offering and to file all the papers.

Shake Shack’s investors include USHG- which is the majority owner- Leonard Green & Partners- a private equity company- and Select Equity Group- a fund sponsor company that is owned by its employees.

Shake Shack owns 63 restaurants. Where most of its operations are restricted to the east coast of United States, the restaurant also acquires some outlets in the major international locations, including Dubai, Istanbul and London. According to the management of Shake Shack, the company will be using the income from its IPO to buy some common stocks in SSE Holdings LLC. SSE Holding LLC will be supporting Shake Shack financially, as it has been doing since its inception.

The preliminary reports released by the restaurant suggest that Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, and Goldman Sachs will be its financial consultant for this offering. The IPO filling of the company does not suggest as to how many shares the company plans on selling and at what price. But rumors have it that the company wants to generate around $100 million through its first offering.

But then again, the final size of the offering cannot be determined yet, for most of the companies write different sizes in order to check for the registration fees. The net income of the company, for the year 2014, was down by 20 percent on yearly basis. The revenues, on the other hand, increased by 41 percent and reached to $83.76 million.

Within the first couple days of public trading, the camera maker’s shares rose by 55 percent. The stock saw no end to its growth until early July, when the price of the stock fell by 10 percent over the following two weeks. At the end of the month, the stock shot up again by 23 percent. Since then, the stock has fallen again by 8.6 percent.

Just a few weeks ago GoPro reported its quarterly results, which were better than the estimates by analysts. However, since then its shares have decreased by 7.2 percent. If things continue going the way they are for the camera manufacturer, the company doesn’t look like an appealing investment.

Second Quarter Performance

GoPro posted year over year increase of 38 percent in revenues to $244.6 million. This beat out anaylsts’ expectations of $238.1 million. It shipments increased by 30.8 percent to 854,000 units. According to the company, it was positively affected by the increase in demand of its products and also the strengthening of its relationships with larger distributors.

The company’s net loss swelled from $5.1 million one year ago in 2013, to $19.8 million in the second quarter of 2014. Excluding the effects of one off times, the adjusted metrics come out to be a profit of $11.8 million, which is a huge improvement from the loss of $3.2 million one year ago.

The profit margin of GoPro increased from 32.1 percent in 2013 to 42.1 percent in the second quarter of 2014.

For the third quarter, GoPro predicted revenues to reach between $255 million and $265 billion, and earnings per share to hit between $0.06 and $0.08 per share.

Market Share

GoPro’s most powerful asset are its dominant brand and its share of the market. According to estimates from the IDC, the company holds over 30 percent of the video camera market, and more than 47 percent of the action camera markets. This means that GoPro is far ahead of its closest competitor, Sony (NYSE:SNE), who hold only 21 percent of the market for video cameras and just 6.5 percent of the market for action cameras.

However, GoPro may find it difficult to hold onto its lead in the market. The camera maker currently only has one core product, the Hero 3+. It’s second camera, the Hero 4+, is currently in development. The growing competition from other camera makers, like Polaroid and its cube cameras, as well as competition from technology moguls like Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), and Samsung (OTC:SSNLF) make it especially difficult for GoPro to retain its dominant position.

The Quest To Become A Media Company

GoPro has been constantly claiming to be something that it is not – a media company. However, it does have the opportunity to become one, given the vast collection of user generated videos and GoPro sponsored content.

In their most recent report, the company stated that they had seen an increase of 160 percent in the number of GoPro videos, and an increase of 200 percent in the number of views of its videos on Youtube.

Additionally, GoPro has released its own channel on Xbox One and Xbox 360, as well as a channel on Virgin America’s flights.

With a growing collection of video content, GoPro has a significant opportunity at its feet to earn money from ads, and sponsorship and distribution deals. According to individuals familiar with the company, GoPro may start licensing its video content soon.

However, it will be a while before these licensing deals will generate enough revenue to have any significant impact on the company’s bottom line. The company even announced that the revenues from its media content will not be meaningful to the company in 2014.

Another troubling fact is that despite the loyal and large customer base and huge growth rates on Youtube, the company’s channel has only 2.16 million subscribers. If the company hopes to get up to the ranks of the top 100 Youtube channels, it will need to have at least 5 million subscribers, more than double of its current user base.

Conclusion

For now, GoPro does not have its plans as a media company come to fruition yet. While the company leads the market, it has a tiny product portfolio. Increasing competition from bigger rivals will make it difficult for GoPro to maintain its current leading position in the market.

In terms of media, the company certainly has the capability to become a media company. However, it is not at that point yet.

It has become some sort of a trend in the credit cards market to woe customers with higher rewards and bonuses especially for those who apply for new accounts for credit cards. According to CEO of WalletHub.com and CardHub.com, Odysseas Papadimitriou, the average bonus for these sign ups is currently at its peak.

He mentions that if a person is a good credit card handler, it is easy to use this offer to the fullest. The ultimate challenge may be to locate the best rewards. This may include airline mileage, membership points and cash return offers.

It is common for cards to offer bonuses like mileage at the time of application.

Jelena Ewart, the GM of banking and credit at NerdWallet.com shares her opinion on giving rewards for a lifetime as consumers appreciate these kinds of offers. If not handled with care, a person may wind up with a card that doesn’t offer much.

It is vital for you to understand the kinds of spending habits you possess. Offers on cash back may require you to spot around two and sometimes even three categories that offer the most rewards. At other instances, card holders may choose these categories themselves for you. For instance, they may chose hotels, airlines, groceries and gasoline and then rotate them after a couple of months.

Ewart states that Capital One Gold Card Quicksilver Card prevails as the gold standard. The cash back may be used for anything you desire along with a $100 bonus after spending a minimum of $500 during the first quarter.

Other cards have better rewards but the issue with them is that they come bearing an annual fee. Sites like NerdWallet.com provide calculators that are a big help. They also help by directing you towards the best deals available on cards. They do this by taking every bit of detail into account which may include explanations, fees and pros and cons.

For those who prefer travel points and airline mileage, a frequent-flier card is your thing. Free times and first class ticket upgrades are a plus. However, you should be cautious when considering its restrictions.

Other cards may offer travel benefit convertible mileage points with endless restrictions and an unfavorable interest rate. At a few levels, redemption in membership points may occur.

Some people apply for cards in order to transfer balance to enjoy a lower interest rate. Card issuers are not always this generous without something in it for themselves. The point is that they think you will run back to old habits. If a monthly payment is missed or a balance is carried forward after the initial period then your APR may increase to 20 percent.

The spokesperson for National Foundation for Credit Counseling, Gail Cunningham reported than anyone can win the rewards, but it’s vital to know and play by the rules. A balance carried over by months will not get you anywhere. Experts also back up this statement that if you end up spending more than you needed to then you are not winning anything at all.