What happened
Shares of Blink Charging (BLNK 3.26%), a company building an infrastructure to support electric vehicles, were up 225.4% in November, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. While the stock was up modestly earlier in the month, it really started taking off after it reported results for the third quarter of 2020.
So what
The Q3 report showed results for the first nine months of 2020. Through the first nine months, Blink Charging's revenue was up a whopping 84% from the same period of 2019. However, this is big growth from a small starting point. Revenue for all of 2019 was only $2.8 million, and it generated revenue of only $3.8 million for the first three-quarters of this year.
Image source: Getty Images.
As might be expected, Blink Charging is very much in the early stages of its journey. It provides equipment for charging electric cars, which is useful considering the ongoing shift away from fossil fuels. However, the company has a long ways to go to building an infrastructure anywhere close to what exists for gas cars. But it's making progress.
Blink Charging added 668 charging stations in Q3 alone through a combination of selling, deploying, and acquiring. Speaking of acquisitions, the company announced its acquisition of U-Go Charging on Nov. 24, adding 44 new stations to its portfolio with the option for 45 more. Of course, this is all expensive work. Its net loss in Q3 was $3.9 million, exceeding its total revenue year to date.
Now what
If electric vehicles are poised for widespread mainstream adoption, then there must be a convenient network of charging stations. Therefore, one can appreciate investors' enthusiasm for Blink Charging stock. However, I wonder if this small-cap stock isn't getting ahead of itself. While its gains coincided with its quarterly report, many electric-vehicle stocks saw similar outsize gains in November, giving this entire space the appearance of a bubble.
A bubble doesn't mean there won't be long-term winners in the space -- indeed, I believe there will be. It just underscores the need to separate good business results from market hype.
