So, here's the thing about earnings season: sometimes a company can do one thing right and still get punished for another. That's the story for ChargePoint Holdings Inc (CHPT) on Wednesday evening.
The electric vehicle charging network operator reported its fourth-quarter numbers, and the market's reaction was a classic case of "yes, but..." The stock was down more than 6% in after-hours trading, sliding to around $6.09. Let's unpack why.
On the positive side, ChargePoint brought in more money than Wall Street thought it would. Revenue hit $109.32 million, which was nicely above the consensus estimate of $104.70 million. That's a 7% increase from the same quarter last year. Digging into the details, the revenue from its network charging systems grew 10% year-over-year to $57.6 million, and subscription revenue—the recurring, hopefully sticky stuff—grew 11% to $42.5 million. The company also reported having $141.6 million in cash and equivalents at the end of the quarter.
But here's the "but." The company's loss was a lot bigger than analysts had penciled in. ChargePoint reported a quarterly loss of $1.85 per share. The expectation, according to market data, was for a loss of $1.03 per share. That's a pretty significant miss on the bottom line, and it's the kind of number that tends to overshadow a revenue beat, especially for a growth company still trying to prove its path to profitability.
CEO Rick Wilmer struck an optimistic but measured tone. "While the broader market remains dynamic, our focus on execution, efficiency, and strategic partnerships positions us well as charging demand continues to grow," he said. "We made meaningful operational progress over the past year and are committed to building on that momentum."
Perhaps adding to the after-hours selling pressure was the look ahead. For the current first quarter, ChargePoint expects revenue to land between $90 million and $100 million. That's a range whose high end is still below the analyst consensus estimate of $104.08 million. It suggests the company is being cautious, or perhaps seeing some near-term headwinds, as management discussed the results on a conference call Wednesday afternoon.
In the end, the market's message was clear: beating on the top line is good, but missing badly on the bottom line and guiding softly for the next quarter is a combination that gets you a lower stock price, at least for now.
