What happened
Shares of Energous (WATT 0.74%), a developer of wireless charging technology, soared on Tuesday after the company announced a high-power, Near Field charging solution for electronic devices. Energous claims the solution can provide devices with up to 10 watts of power. The stock was up about 23% at market close.
So what
Energous' new solution is aimed at smartphones, tablets, smart speakers, game controllers, drones, and other small electronic devices. It's a reference design, adding to the company's catalog of reference designs that span a wide range of power levels and use cases.
A WattUp Near Field transmitter plugged into a laptop. Image source: Energous.
Energous President and CEO Stephen Rizzone commented on the new solution:
We continue to grow our WattUp wire-free charging ecosystem with reference design solutions that will support the technology adoption in an even broader range of customer products. Extending the high-power capabilities of Near Field WattUp charging enables many different types of devices to be charged from multiple transmitter options. By continuing to expand the portfolio of reference designs available to customers, we are able to support increasing requests from our various partners for additional options and power levels.
Now what
It's important to note that Energous generates next to no revenue at this point. During the second quarter, revenue totaled just $300,000, with the company spending over $13 million on operating costs, including about $8.7 million on research and development. With a market capitalization of roughly $275 million after Tuesday's surge, investors are taking a leap of faith that this technology will eventually take off.
The company did disclose in its second-quarter report that it received the first orders for production quantities of its chipsets from three customers, with anticipated shipment in the third quarter. But the jury is still out on whether Energous will ever deliver meaningful revenue and profits.
