The Electric: A Next-Gen Battery Maker Ignites an 82% Stock Price Runup With Real Revenue

Save the date: A year ago, we launched The Electric to cover one of the most important—and least reported—new sectors in technology: batteries and electric vehicles. On Sept. 8, we’ll celebrate our anniversary with a special event on perhaps the most important challenge facing the industry—building a battery supply chain that’s not reliant on China. My guest for this 3 p.m. ET live chat will be Robert Galyen, a foremost leader of the U.S. effort to establish an American battery industry, and formerly chief technology officer of China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd., the world’s largest battery manufacturer. RSVP here for this subscriber-only event. E-mail me directly if you’d like to invite a guest: [email protected].  

Shares of California-based Enovix, a silicon anode manufacturer, have surged 82% since last week, after the company reported its first commercial revenue. That’s a bullish indicator for how investors may treat other next-generation battery companies that can match the feat.  

Enovix reported revenue of $5.1 million for the second quarter. In an Aug. 10 conference call that followed the earnings release, Enovix executives disclosed a contract to supply custom battery cells to the U.S. Army for possible use in its field gear. Combat soldiers routinely carry some 20 pounds of batteries to power their various devices, and the Army has sought to improve the batteries’ power and reduce their weight. CEO Harrold Rust said that in all, the Army spends $350 million a year on such batteries.  

But Enovix also stoked investor enthusiasm with a tantalizing suggestion that it is on the verge of selling its batteries to four of the world’s largest technology companies. In the earnings call, Rust said three “megacap technology companies,” each with a market cap exceeding $200 billion, had finished evaluating its batteries. Two found them “the best battery they have tested and the third told us their goal is to move our technology across their portfolio quickly,” Rust said. In addition, Enovix is developing a product with a fourth megacap, and had already booked $5 million in revenue from this relationship, Rust said—representing almost all of the company’s second-quarter income. The company had previously said its battery would be incorporated into a commercial wearable device in the second quarter but has not named the brand.