ChargePoint Jumps 75% as CEO Calls It 'the Beginning'
ChargePoint stock rocketed nearly 75% intraday on Sept. 3 as its chief executive said a three-year turnaround plan lifting revenue and cutting losses is only starting to pay off.
ChargePoint (CHPT) shares surged 74.95% to 9.08 in intraday trading on Sept. 3, 2026, after the electric-vehicle charging company's CEO told CNBC the roughly 70% move 'is the beginning of the momentum' as the firm nears the end of a three-year plan that lifted revenue and sharply reduced losses.
Shares of electric-vehicle charging company ChargePoint (CHPT) went vertical on Thursday, changing hands at 9.08 as of 17:06 GMT on Sept. 3, 2026 — a gain of 74.95% against the previous close of 5.19. The stock traded as low as 6.54 and as high as 9.09 during the session, meaning even the day's worst print sat well above where the shares finished the day before.
The company's chief executive told CNBC Business that the roughly 70% surge "is the beginning of the momentum," pointing to a three-year business plan now approaching its conclusion. That plan, according to the company, has increased revenue and significantly narrowed losses.
A single session that resets the chart
Context matters for a move this size. The broad market was firm but unremarkable on the day: the S&P 500 tracker was at $772.86, up 1.01%; the Nasdaq 100 proxy at $717.36, up 1.14%; and the Dow tracker at $536.75, up 1.16%. Against a tape rising roughly one percent, a stock adding close to three-quarters of its value is doing something entirely idiosyncratic. This is not sector drift or an index rebalance. It is company-specific news being repriced violently in a few hours.
The shape of the trading day is instructive too. The low of 6.54 was already about 26% above the prior close, which suggests the gap happened at or near the open rather than building through the session. The high of 9.09 sits a cent above the last trade, meaning the stock was pinned near its best level of the day when the quote was struck — buyers were not fading into the move.
What a three-year plan actually has to prove
ChargePoint's turnaround thesis, as the company frames it, rests on two legs: revenue growth and loss reduction. Those are separate achievements and investors treat them very differently.
Revenue growth for a charging-network operator can come from hardware sales, from recurring subscription and software fees attached to installed chargers, and from services. The mix matters enormously. Hardware revenue is lumpy, capital-cycle dependent and low margin; subscription revenue attached to an installed base is the thing that eventually turns a network into a business. The company has not, in the material available here, broken out which leg did the work — and that is the first question any analyst should press on.
Loss reduction is the more immediately checkable claim. "Significantly cut losses" is management language, not an accounting standard. The distinction that decides whether this rally holds is whether the improvement came from cost discipline — headcount, facilities, inventory write-downs falling out of the comparison — or from operating leverage on a genuinely larger revenue base. The first is finite. The second compounds.
Fundamentals or a squeeze — the honest answer is both
Heavily shorted small-cap names with binary turnaround stories do not move 75% in a day on fundamentals alone. When a stock this beaten down produces news that invalidates the bear case even partially, mechanical short-covering amplifies the move far beyond what the underlying numbers justify on their own. That is not an argument that the news is unimportant; it is an argument that the price move on day one is a poor measure of how important the news is.
Heavily shorted small-cap names with binary turnaround stories do not move 75% in a day on fundamentals alone.
The useful test comes later. A re-rating driven by a genuine change in the economics of the business tends to hold its gains and build from a higher base, with volume decaying gradually. A squeeze gives back a large share of the move within days once forced buyers are done. Watching where the stock settles relative to the 6.54 session low over the following week will say more than anything said on television today.
The CEO's framing — that this is "the beginning of the momentum" — is a claim about the next several quarters, not about Thursday. It is also, unavoidably, the kind of statement a chief executive makes on a day like this. It should be weighed against the delivered numbers when the plan formally concludes.
Who is exposed to what happens next
Three groups have real stakes here. Existing shareholders who held through the drawdown now face a decision about whether to trim into strength — a 75% single-day gain is an exit liquidity event that beaten-down holders rarely get. New buyers are stepping in at a price where the easy part of the re-rating has already happened; the risk-reward at 9.08 is materially worse than it was at 5.19, whatever the story.
The third group is the EV charging sector more broadly. ChargePoint is one of the more visible pure-play names in public charging infrastructure, and a credible demonstration that the model can be run toward profitability changes how investors underwrite peers, private operators seeking funding, and the utilities and site hosts negotiating with them. If losses really have been cut structurally, the argument that public charging is a permanently subsidised business gets harder to make.
What to watch
Four things will settle the argument. First, the completion of the three-year plan and whatever quantified targets the company set against it — met, missed, or quietly restated. Second, the revenue mix: recurring versus hardware. Third, the path from reduced losses to actual free cash flow, which is a different and much harder milestone. Fourth, the share count — companies that spend years loss-making frequently fund themselves by issuing equity, and a stock trading at 9.08 after months near 5.19 is a tempting window for a raise.
Prices cited are intraday as of 17:06 GMT on Sept. 3, 2026, and the market was open at the time.
Key facts
- CHPT last trade: 9.08, +74.95% (17:06 GMT, Sept. 3, 2026)
- Previous close: 5.19
- Session range: 6.54 – 9.09
- Benchmark on the day: S&P 500 tracker $772.86, +1.01%
Frequently asked questions
How much did ChargePoint stock rise?
ChargePoint shares were quoted at 9.08 as of 17:06 GMT on Sept. 3, 2026, up 74.95% from the previous close of 5.19. The CEO described the move as roughly a 70% surge in comments to CNBC. The stock traded between 6.54 and 9.09 during the session, closing in on its intraday high at the time of the quote.
What did the ChargePoint CEO say?
The chief executive told CNBC that the stock surge "is the beginning of the momentum." The comment referenced a three-year business plan that the company is nearing the end of, which management says has increased revenue and significantly reduced the company's losses. No specific forward targets were given in the remarks reported.
Is ChargePoint profitable now?
No. The company describes its three-year plan as having significantly cut losses, not eliminated them. Reducing losses and reaching profitability are different milestones, and reaching positive free cash flow is harder still. Investors should look for the company to quantify the improvement when the plan formally concludes rather than rely on management characterisation.
Was the rally driven by short covering?
Both fundamentals and mechanics likely contributed. Heavily shorted small caps that report news undermining the bear case often see forced buying amplify the move well beyond what the underlying numbers justify. The distinguishing signal comes later: a fundamental re-rating tends to hold its gains, while a squeeze typically gives back much of the move within days.
How did the broad market perform that day?
The major benchmarks were higher but unremarkable. The S&P 500 tracker stood at $772.86, up 1.01%; the Nasdaq 100 proxy at $717.36, up 1.14%; and the Dow tracker at $536.75, up 1.16%, all as of 17:06 GMT on Sept. 3, 2026. ChargePoint's move was therefore entirely company-specific.
What should investors watch next in ChargePoint?
Four things: whether the three-year plan hits its stated targets at completion, the split between recurring subscription revenue and lumpy hardware sales, progress from narrower losses toward positive free cash flow, and any equity issuance. Loss-making companies frequently use a sharp share-price rally as a window to raise capital, which dilutes existing holders.
Sources
Photo: smart-me AG · Pexels Licence — source
