When the stock market is in flux, one of the best strategies is to start looking for something that seems to be a sure thing – or at least, as much of a sure thing that you can find today. In my view, interest in electric vehicle (EV) structure puts names like EVGo (NASDAQ:EVGO) firmly in that category. I still think EVGO stock is a solid bet despite today’s first-quarter earnings miss.
I think EV infrastructure is a sure win. Congress passed a $1 trillion infrastructure package earlier this year that includes $5 billion for a national network of 500,000 EV charging stations. The network is supposed to be up and running by 2030.
There’s a lot of work to do. The Energy Department says the U.S. currently has less than 46,000 EV charging stations. Going forward, it’s going to be prioritizing stations in rural, disadvantaged and hard-to-reach locations. That’s going to be important if the network is going to allow people with EVs to feel confident they can get around anywhere they need.
EVGo isn’t the biggest name in the space – that honor goes to ChargePoint (NYSE:CHPT). But EVGO stock is still a pretty good bet, particularly if you want to diversify your portfolio.
EVGo has more than 2,110 charging stations in the U.S. in operation or under construction. It recently made agreements with companies like Toyota (NYSE:TM) and Citi (NYSE:C) to expand its network to businesses and retail branch locations.
The company reported first-quarter earnings before the opening bell today. Revenue came in at $7.7 million, which was an increase of 86% from a year ago, and a loss of 21 cents per share. Analysts had expected revenue of $8.8 million and a loss of 12 cents per share.
The company also said it increased the network throughput to 8 gigawatt hours, an increase from 4.1 GWh in the first quarter of 2021.
“EVGo delivered a strong start to 2022, posting our strongest-ever quarter for new stalls in operation along with continued growth in customers and impressive growth in sites and stalls in our pipeline,” CEO Cathy Zoi said. “We continue to work with a number of partners to develop, and in some cases accelerate, plans for new EV charging stations across the U.S.”
Even though EVGO stock missed on both earnings and revenue, I think this is still a solid company with strong potential based on the upcoming infrastructure spending.
On the date of publication, Patrick Sanders did not have (either directly or indirectly) any other positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
