Electric vehicle (EV) charging station stocks have taken a massive beating since the February 2021 EV stock selloff but I'm still long on the disruptive EV movement. Many of you have asked whether you should buy EV charging stocks right now as prices continue to fall every day. In this article, I'll do my best to give you a comprehensive breakdown of the entire EV charging station sector along with my top EV charging station stock picks.
Table of Contents
- The EV Sector Gold Rush: Invest in “Picks and Shovels”
- The Bullish Case for EV Charging Stocks
- Why Invest in Electric Vehice Charging Stocks?
- List of Best EV Charging Station Stocks
- Largest EV Charging Companies by Market Cap
- 1. Tesla (TSLA): Best Overall EV Stock
- 2. Chargepoint (CHPT): Best American EV Charging Station Stock
- 3. Blink Charging (BLNK): Best Small Cap EV Charging Station Stock
- 4. TPG Pace Beneficial Finance Group (TPGY): Best European EV Charging Station Stock
- 5. Newborn Acquistion Corp (NBAC)
- 6. Climate Change Crisis Real Impact I Acquisition Corp (CLII)
- 7. Tortoise Acquisition II Corp (NYSE: SNPR)
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- Conclusion
The EV Sector Gold Rush: Invest in “Picks and Shovels”
Just a year ago, most investors didn't know anything about EV cars or the fast growing EV charging station industry. That was until Tesla entered the public eye and racked up an impressive 700%+ return for Tesla shareholders in 2020.
Nowadays, every major outlet covers new and upcoming EV makers in search of the next Tesla. The truth is many of these new EV makers will fail or dilute their shareholder base in a futile attempt to increase their production output.
There's a strong bullish case to ignore many of these newer EV SPACs and focus on the picks and shovel sellers of the EV industry, EV charging station companies.
During the 1840's California Gold Rush, Americans rushed to California in search of gold but many people lost their entire savings and went home empty handed.
However, people who sold picks and shovels to these ambitious gold miners became millionaires. Instead of picking and choosing which EV maker will thrive, why not invest in “picks and shovels” and profit handsomely? EV charging stocks offer massive upside with limited downside risk if you invest in companies with a robust number of charging ports, growing subscriber base, solid management team, and growing EV charging footprint.
The Bullish Case for EV Charging Stocks
The Electric Vehicle charging station movement is a huge catalyst for the renewable energy industry because millions of EVs will need charging on a regular basis.
We're talking about a long list of electric vehicles that must rely on electric charging as a power source like:
- Passenger vehicles
- Commercial vehicles
- Buses
- Tractors
- Delivery Vans
- etc
There are currently 1 million EVs in the US and that number is expected to grow at a 30% CAGR to over 13 million EVs by 2030.
On top of that, US President Joe Biden proposed a massive renewable energy plan to fight climate change and build over 500,000 EV charging stations in America by 2030.
EV adoption will soar as more consumers embrace smart electric cars just like everyone switched to smartphones after Apple launched the iPhone.
Why Invest in Electric Vehice Charging Stocks?
- New disruptive technology that will replace outdated gas station refills
- High growth opportunities fueled by EV sales and changing consumer tastes
- Highly scalable companies with built-in flywheel effect
- Easy to understand businesses with recurring revenue & customer loyalty
- Undervalued when compared to more mature valuations in 2025 and beyond
- Fight against climate change and benefit from good karma effect
In this article, we'll cover the best electric vehicle charging station stocks to buy and profit from the rising EV movement.
List of Best EV Charging Station Stocks
These rising stars are:
- Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA)
- Chargepoint (NYSE: CHPT)
- Blink Charging (NASDAQ: BLNK)
- TPG Pace Beneficial Finance Group (NYSE: TPGY)
- Newborn Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ: NBAC)
- Climate Change Crisis Real Impact I Acquisition Corp (NYSE: CLII)
- Tortoise Acquisition II Corp (NYSE: SNPR)
Largest EV Charging Companies by Market Cap
| Price ($) | Market Cap ($ Billion) | |
|---|---|---|
| Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) | 709 | 663 |
| Chargepoint (NYSE: CHPT) | 25 | 5.39 |
| Blink Charging (NASDAQ: BLNK) | 30 | 1.48 |
| TPG Pace Beneficial Finance Group (NYSE: TPGY) | 16 | .762 |
| Tortoise Acquisition II Corp (NYSE: SNPR) | 10 | .396 |
| Climate Change Crisis Real Impact I Acquisition Corp (NYSE: CLII) | 12 | .345 |
| Newborn Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ: NBAC) | 12 | .115 |
| Tortoise Acquisition II Corp (NYSE: SNPR) | 10 | .380 |
1. Tesla (TSLA): Best Overall EV Stock
Tesla is known as the world's most valuable EV car maker but the truth is Tesla is a diversified clean energy company.
While most investors are familiar with Tesla's growing EV revenue, you may not be aware that Tesla owns and operates its own EV charging stations, too.
Tesla's supercharger network is the largest global fast charging network in the world. Superchargers can add up to 200 miles (321 km) of range in just 15 minutes.
As of Q1 2021, Tesla operates 2,699 supercharger stations across the world (Up 41% YoY) and has increased that number by a few hundred stations every quarter. Total supercharger connectors is 24,515 (Up 41% YoY).
While Tesla isn't a pure electric vehicle charging station company, I believe it's the best overall EV play for investors due to its disruptive technology, world class leadership, and ability to innovate years ahead of the competition.
In 2020, Tesla delivered just under 500,000 vehicles and Elon Musk revealed a goal to produce 20 million EVs in 2030. That means Tesla needs to grow its supercharger network to accommodate the massive rise in Tesla cars on the road.
The future looks bright for Tesla but it hasn't been smooth sailing so far in 2021. Tesla stock is down 12% YTD due to the EV stock bubble and global chip shortage issues.
I still HODL Tesla shares and think it's the safest overall EV charging station stock pick because Tesla will continue to grow and gain influence as long as Elon Musk pushes the company forward as the #1 EV innovator in the world.
2. Chargepoint (CHPT): Best American EV Charging Station Stock
Chargepoint, the largest EV charging network in North America, completed its SPAC merger with Switchback Energy to create the best EV charging network stock in my opinion.
Chargepoint has over 135,000 charging points and owns a 73% market share in America, well ahead of competitors like Semaconnect and Blink.
Chargepoint generated revenue of $146.5 million in 2020 with a proposed 58% CAGR over the next 5 to 10 years.
As an early innovator, Chargepoint began building out its charging network years ahead of the competition.
This early worm syndrome is similar to Apple (early smartphone innovator) and Tesla (early EV maker) because they dominated disruptive industries before competitors started to catch on to consumer behavioral trends.
Chargepoint's CEO Pasquale Romano is a Harvard educated engineer who can help turn Chargepoint into a massively successful company.
Chargepoint makes money by selling its hardware to 3rd parties and generates recurring income from its software and per Kwh charging services.
The company also has a highly rated app with over 100k downloads and 4.6 star ratings in the Google Play store.
On top of that, Chargepoint has a top selling Level 2 home charger on Amazon..
With around $146 million in annual revenue, Chargepoint should continue increasing revenue as more people purchase EV vehicles and start driving again after COVID-19 fears ease. The company expects around $200 million in revenue for 2021 and things are looking bright for my favorite EV charging station stock.
I have a long term price target of $3,000 per share by 2030.
Why $3,000? Chargepoint projects a 58% CAGR and I entered these numbers to predict the share price appreciation during this decade.
If Chargepoint continues to grow just under 60% CAGR then $3,000 is a realistic split adjusted price target (assuming no massive dilution or stock splits).
3. Blink Charging (BLNK): Best Small Cap EV Charging Station Stock
Blink Charging is a much smaller but decent competitor to Chargepoint in the American market.
Blink has over 190k members in its charging network and operates over 24,000 charging stations through the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.
Blink has a slightly different business model than Chargepoint because they own and operate 100% of its charging stations.
Of course, this makes it harder to Blink to reach scale but still makes it an attractive investment since all EV charging station stocks should perform well in 2021 and beyond.
Blink is on track to do around $5 million in 2020 revenue so it's trading at a pretty high 300 P/S ratio based on its future growth.
Blink Charging CEO Michael Farkas founded the company, which is a great sign since founder led companies tend to outpeform all other stocks in the long run.
Since Blink is a small cap stock, Blink relies on stock offerings to fund its growth and expansion.
When companies issue stock to raise capital, stock offerings cause a dilutive effect for existing shareholders.
Not all stock offerings are bad though. Tesla is the largest EV car company in the world and Elon Musk uses stock offerings frequently to increase overall EV production and deliveries.
Blink is one of the smaller EV charging station stocks in America but I like its plans to expand and grow its membership base.
4. TPG Pace Beneficial Finance Group (TPGY): Best European EV Charging Station Stock
TPGY is set to merge with EVbox, the largest EV charging network in Europe.
EVbox has over 190k charging ports across 70 countries, making it a market leader in the European market.
Based out of Norway, EVbox along with Chargepoint represent the two biggest brands in the EV charging station industry.
The company generates revenue by sales of equipment as well as recurring-revenue software subscriptions, services, and transaction processing fees.
EVbox offers both AC level 2 and DC fast charging stations ranging from 3 to 300 kw. The SPAC merger is expected to close in Q2 2021 with a total market cap of $1.3 billion.
EVbox is also planning expansion into America in 2021 although I think Europe is its bread and butter market.
One of the good things about EVbox is that European governments are aggressively banning the sales of ICE vehicles to force residents to drive electric vehicles.
This will only help EVbox gain a larger market share and boost revenue in both the short and long term.
With over $120 million in annual sales, the EVbox merger will create a unique opportunity to own a high growth stock in a fast growing European market.
5. Newborn Acquistion Corp (NBAC)
6. Climate Change Crisis Real Impact I Acquisition Corp (CLII)
EVgo is set to merge with Climate Change Crisis Real Impact I Acquisition Corp to bring America's largest fast charging EV network to the public.
The good news is that EVgo already generates $14 million in annual revenue with plans to hit $1.2 billion by 2027.
The company already has a partnership with Tesla and other EV makers to integrate EVs into its fast charging network.
EVgo currently operates 800 fast charging stations across 34 states in the United States. EVgo plans to triple its charging stations under an agreement with General Motors plus has a partnership with Uber & Lyft as well.
Jim Cramer, host of CNBC's Mad Money, mentioned EVgo as his favorite EV stock pick on one of his past episodes:
7. Tortoise Acquisition II Corp (NYSE: SNPR)
Volta Charging is set to merge with Tortoise Acquisition II Corp to take Volta public with a total transaction value of $1.8 billion.
Volta plans to disrupt the entire ev charging sector with a diversified revenue strategy that focuses on selling advertisements at prime retail locations to increase brand awareness for nearby businesses.
While most EV charging companies only sell energy, Volta will sell ads and energy by luring in customers with a free 30 minute charging session.
Volta compares its disruptive technology to other growth companies like NEtflix, Amazon, Priceline, and AirBNB.
Volta currently has 1,507 EV charging stations installed with a goal to hit 26,242 stations by 2025.
The company projects $47 million in 2021 revenue with a goal to reach $825 million by 2025. Volta's lucrative advertising model could help them become profitable as early as 2023.
Once the SPAC merger is approved, Volta Charging will trade on the NYSE under the ticker symbol, VLTA. There will be around 203 million shares outstanding once the merger closes and Volta will receive $600 million in cash to grow its business.
Volta Charging is a bit expensive with a P/S ratio of around 40, although many EV charging stocks trade at higher valuations due to the industry's exposive growth potential.
If Volta grows revenue to just under $1 billion by 2025 then VLTA could easily be a $20 to $40 billion dollar company. That's around 10 to 20x upside from its current price levels.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Is It Too Late to Invest in EV Charging Stocks?
There is no right or wrong answer here since all of these stocks appear undervalued at the moment.
Think about the massive shift that is taking place in the world right now.
95% of all vehicles must be replaced with EVs but the change is happening slowly around the world.
It's still the 1st inning of the EV race and many legacy automakers like Ford and GM haven't really sold any EVs yet.
That means it's not too late to invest in EV charging stations. In fact, half the stocks on this list are still trading as SPACs pre-merger.
2021 is the best year to invest in these stocks because I think we'll see a lot of people fall in love with electric cars this year.
Which EV Charging Station Stock to Buy for First Time Investors?
Do some research on each of the stocks I listed and see which one fits your personal investment strategy the best.
It's also a good idea to “invest in what you know” and use your location & personal knowledge to choose the best investments for your portfolio.
I'm personally invested in Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) & Chargepoint (NYSE: CHPT) because I live in the United States and am very familiar with both companies. You can view my growth stock portfolio to see what I'm currently holding.
If you live in Europe then EVbox (TPGY) looks like a solid stock to buy. Tesla is also expanding in Europe and many Europeans purchase Tesla cars.
If you like investing in small cap stocks then Blink Charging (NASDAQ: BLNK) provides a lot of upside at a lower market cap.
Where to Buy These Stocks
Buying EV charging stocks is very easy. Open a brokerage account with one of the brokers listed above depending on where you live.
Already got a brokerage account? Great.
Log into your account and enter any of the ticker symbols to pull up the quote page.
You can buy any of these stocks during normal US stock market hours (9:30am EST to 4pm) or during extended hours depending on which broker you choose.
Place a market or limit trade to purchase shares in your favorite electric vehicle charging station stock and invest in the future.
What are my favorite EV charging stock resources?
I use the following websites & social media channels to stay on top of the EV charging sector:
- Trigger Energy: A Youtube channel dedicated to reviewing EV charging stations across America.
- Chargepoint's Twitter: Chargepoint's official Twitter feed
Conclusion
Now is a great time to invest in the EV industry. While I cannot guarantee that EV charging station stocks will go straight up, I do think patient investors will be handsomely rewarded.
Full Disclosure: I own shares of Tesla (TSLA) and Chargepoint (CHPT).