It’s good to be in charge… ChargePoint is the largest US EV-station operator by a country mile: it runs 29K of the 50K charging stations across the country (nearly 3X as many as Tesla). It sells to retailers (think: malls), landlords (think: offices), and even cities. Its revenue doubled last quarter, but it’s still losing $$. Now, ChargePoint’s reportedly pushing into advertising by turning its stations into digital billboards:
- Watch while you charge: ChargePoint plans to install its first 1K screens in the coming year. They’ll show short vids about news, weather, and culture — with ads in between.
- Premium ads… for premium audiences. The ads will give retailers a way to target high-earning EV owners. Think: Starbucks can plug $7 lattes to Tesla-heads.
EV stations are all over the map… especially in terms of biz strategy. Long term, it’s hard for charging companies to profit from hardware alone, because it’s a one-time sale. So while ChargePoint still makes about three quarters of its revenue from hardware, it’s investing in other moneymakers:
Just stick an ad on it… for an added revenue stream. Thanks to this month’s climate bill, EV stations could boom: the climate-focused IRA includes EV-station incentives, and President Biden’s infrastructure bill includes $5B in funding for a nationwide charging network. But fresh cash means fresh competition, and ads could help ChargePoint stay ahead of the energy pack.