What happened

Electric vehicle charging network company ChargePoint Holdings (CHPT 0.79%) reported its first quarterly earnings as a public company last night. Friday morning, its shares were down 9% as of 10:15 a.m. EST.

So what

The report is the first glimpse investors get of the company's future estimates after the initial presentation it made when it announced it was merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) to go public. The company's initial presentation estimated 2020 calendar year earnings to be $135 million, and the company came in above those estimates at $146 million. Investors, however, might be slightly disappointed that ChargePoint didn't raise 2021 revenue estimates.

students walking by ChargePoint charging station in parking lot

Image source: ChargePoint.

Now what

The company has said it expects a surge in growth as electric cars become more widespread. ChargePoint president and CEO Pasquale Romano said in a statement that his company's prospects are "bolstered by policy trends that continued to accelerate the shift to electric in North America and Europe." 

But investors today may not be happy that the company predicted the upcoming year's revenue to be between $195 million and $205 million. That is in line with its prior estimate of $198 million it provided before joining the public markets, and represents 37% year-over-year growth. 

That shouldn't be too surprising, since the initial estimates were only put out late last year. But with so much potential in the electric vehicle market, and the company being valued at more than $7 billion, perhaps investors wanted more.