Blink Charging Shifting Revenue With Multiple Business Model And Channel Checks Keeps Analyst At Sidelines

Needham analyst Chris Pierce reinstates Blink Charging Co BLNK with a Hold.
Pierce maintains growth conviction ahead for U.S. public EV charging infrastructure.
However, the analyst believes BLNK's shifting revenues with its four-pronged business model creates uncertainty.
The uncertainty bred from recent growth in direct hardware sales and triggered bullishness given that longer-term consensus growth expectations rely on Charging Service revenue in the U.S. market.
BLNK is pursuing multiple business models, including selling power directly to U.S. EV drivers, and the analyst's BLNK Charging Revenue estimates are below consensus.
ChargePoint Holdings, Inc CHPT has established a dominant position in L2 charging selling equipment and software to site owners, perhaps speaking to U.S. site owners' preferred model. Pierce believes BLNK's recent growth in hardware sales validates this cleaner approach.
Lastly, the analyst's EV charger field checks in Northern California and BLNK findings left him with more questions than answers.
Specifically, Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL Google Maps pointed Pierce towards BLNK chargers installed at multiple McDonald's Corporation MCD locations. Still, after visiting these locations and speaking with McDonald's employees, it appears they removed the chargers, making him question BLNK's product momentum and its ability to generate charging revenues by selling power to EV drivers.
The analyst believes the McDonald's relationship is still intact, as BLNK referenced it as a partner on its 4Q22 earnings call. Still, overall his finding left him less optimistic on the margin.
Pierce tracked Apple Inc AAPL App store rankings, ratings, and reviews for BLNK and its peers and found BLNK's rankings, ratings, and reviews inferior to its competitors.
Price Action: BLNK shares traded lower by 5.37% at $8.63 on the last check Thursday.
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