Is ChargePoint Stock a Buy Now?

With the market reeling over the past week, many investors are no doubt on the hunt for a few good deals. The electric vehicle market holds a lot of long-term promise, even if recent growth hasn't matched previous expectations, and one EV stock that's caught some investors' attention recently is ChargePoint Holdings (NYSE: CHPT).

ChargePoint makes EV charging stations, and with its share price down 58% over the past six months, some are wondering if now is the perfect time to buy some shares. Here's why that could be a mistake.

Image source: ChargePoint Holdings.

ChargePoint is already on shaky ground

Even before President Donald Trump's tariffs caused the stock market to hit the skids and made some economists bump up their recession predictions, ChargePoint wasn't exactly doing so well. The company's sales tumbled 18% in fiscal 2025 to $417 million.

Falling sales are obviously not a good direction for a growth company, and ChargePoint's management didn't provide much comfort when it issued first-quarter sales guidance of $100 million at the midpoint, which represents a 6.5% decline from the year-ago quarter.

It's also worth noting that the company's cash and cash equivalents dropped from $327 million in fiscal 2024 to $225 million in fiscal 2025. While ChargePoint doesn't have any debt maturities until 2028, it's still concerning to see its cash stockpile going down at the same time that its revenue is decreasing.

There's a lot of uncertainty ahead

ChargePoint's unimpressive growth is disappointing on its own. But it's made far worse by the fact that many automakers began questioning their all-in approach to EVs recently, and as the automotive industry has been thrown into turmoil amid recent U.S. trade policies.

Many automakers began paring back some of their EV plans last year, either by eliminating models or reducing their expectations for how many electric vehicles they expected to sell. For example, Ford Motor Company said last year that in 2021 and 2022 EV sales spiked but that demand hasn't kept the same pace since then. It canceled plans for a three-row electric SUV and a new EV pickup truck as a result.

Ford's moves were part of a broader pullback in EV investments from automakers over the past few years, as soaring vehicle prices pushed many buyers out of the EV market. The problem now is that automakers are facing potentially large tariffs that could create new financial pressures.

President Trump drastically raised import tariffs, then quickly reduced them down to 10% across most countries, except for China. But the erratic trade policies have left car companies wondering when and if additional tariffs will be reinstated. Most vehicles sold in the U.S. either have parts made in other countries or are partially assembled overseas. If automakers incur higher costs because of tariffs, they'll be far less likely to invest in new and expensive EV lineups.

ChargePoint operates in the U.S., Canada, and Europe and the company has said that tariffs won't impact the its manufacturing directly. But if automakers who make and sell cars in the U.S. slow down vehicle production -- as some already have -- then ChargePoint could feel the effects.

ChargePoint may look cheap, but it's not a good value

With ChargePoint's share price down 67% over the past 12 months, some investors may think the stock looks cheap. But with falling sales and a bleak outlook for the auto industry right now, investors will likely be better off leaving this stock alone.

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Chris Neiger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.