Shares of electric vehicle (EV) charging network company ChargePoint Holdings (CHPT 0.93%) popped this week. The stock jumped 16.5% as trading came to a close Thursday afternoon, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
That move brought ChargePoint shares off the lowest level of the year. And there could be more to come based on the reason for the sharp move. Before investors get too excited, though, realize that shares are still lower by 36.5% year to date.
NYSE: CHPT
Key Data Points
EV charging leadership change
ChargePoint's move didn't come from anything the company specifically did. There was no major news or Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings from the company. But there was some seemingly major, and surprising, news from EV leader Tesla (TSLA 0.88%). Tesla's Supercharger network is so dominant that its North American Charging Standard (NACS) system is becoming the official standard in North America.
But the company shocked investors and Tesla owners this week by laying off most or all of its Supercharger segment employee base. That comes after Tesla announced agreements with many other EV makers last year to allow their customers access to the network.
So investors were trying to make sense of it. And one explanation -- or at least outcome -- could be that third-party charging network companies will now be the ones to build out much of the future North American charging network. Tesla could conserve capital by letting others build out the network that Tesla vehicle owners can still utilize.
That could be a huge shot in the arm to companies like ChargePoint. And it needs one. Revenue growth has hit a wall for ChargePoint after several years of strong increases. It projects revenue for the fiscal 2025 first quarter (ended April 30) will be lower both sequentially and year over year.
But ChargePoint and other charging network companies have reputations for quality and reliability issues. That needs to be overcome. Investors probably shouldn't jump into ChargePoint on this news until all of those questions get more definitive answers.
