What happened
Blink Charging (BLNK -0.86%) stock tumbled Tuesday, sinking 9.1% as of 12:50 p.m. ET today. It wasn't just the broader market weakness that hit the electric vehicle (EV) charging stock; investors were reacting to Blink Charging's second-quarter numbers that came out yesterday after market close, and they weren't happy to see the company's losses widen.
It doesn't matter that Blink Charging's revenue is growing at a blistering pace. The market wants more.
So what
With EVs selling out fast, EV infrastructure companies are on a roll. In its second quarter, Blink Charging sold or contracted for 5,631 EV charging stations, up 73% year over year.
Blink Charging earns revenue in two ways primarily: It either sells EV chargers (product sales) or installs and operates them for customers under long-term contracts in return for a fee or retention of a major portion of the charging revenue (service revenue).
The company's product sales shot up 170% while its service revenue surged 154% year over year in the second quarter. That, along with a couple of acquisitions, drove Blink Charging's total revenue higher by 164% to $11.5 million.
The problem is that operating costs are rising even faster, which is why the company's net loss jumped almost 70% last quarter to $22.6 million.
Yes, Blink Charging's second-quarter losses were nearly double its revenue, and that triggered a sell-off in the stock as investors realize larger and growing losses would mean a longer wait for them to see the company turn its first profit. That's not too encouraging for a company that's already commanding a market capitalization of $1 billion.
Now what
Investors in growth stocks typically focus on revenue growth, and that's especially true for investors in young companies that are only just getting started in the industry.
From that standpoint, the company's revenue is growing fast and hitting a record quarter after quarter. Yet profitability and cash flows eventually generate shareholder wealth in the long term, and Blink Charging isn't giving its investors much to look forward to on that front just yet.
