What happened
The stock of electric vehicle (EV) charging company Volta (VLTA) has itself charged higher this week. Volta shares are about 13% above last Friday's closing price early in the final day of this week's trading, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
So what
When the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed last year, it included about $5 billion to help build charging infrastructure throughout the United States to support the transition to EVs. Charging equipment companies like Volta soared this week after the first $900 million was approved to begin that process.
Now what
The Biden administration has said it wants to add 500,000 EV chargers across the country to alleviate the range anxiety that keeps some consumers away from making the switch to EVs. This week, the administration approved the plans submitted by more than two thirds of the states to begin that process. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement, "With the first set of approvals we are announcing today, 35 states across the country -- with Democratic and Republican governors -- will be moving forward to use these funds to install EV chargers at regular, reliable intervals along their highways."
Volta partners with retailers to offer advertising on its charging stalls with large digital display monitors. The media revenue brought in from that business model differentiates it from other charging station networks. Volta's media revenue increased 73% year over year in the second quarter.
While this week's news wasn't a surprise, getting the ball rolling with the first $900 million invested into building out the charging network was good news. There is more than $4 billion still allocated for EV charging infrastructure, and investors think the charging network companies will be able to move closer to profitability with the help of these investments.
