Blink (ticker: BLNK) will sell up to 41,500 units to the post office under an IDIQ contract, the company announcedon Thursday. IDIQ stands for indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity.
Even though timing isn’t certain, the numbers are large. Last year, Blink sold or deployed about 21,000 charging units.
The post office announced last month that it was buying equipment for 14,000 charging stations from three suppliers: Rexel Energy Solutions, Siemens (SIE. Germany), and Blink.
“The Postal Service’s recent announcement of purchasing more EVs and building the necessary charging infrastructure is another step in developing a complete transition in going electric,” said Blink CEO Michael Farkas in a statement. “This move towards electrification sets a precedent that we are hopeful all fleet owners will follow.”
In midday trading, shares of Blink were down 1.3%, to $7.65. The stock opened up more than 7%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were up—1.1% and 1.8%, respectively.
Why the stock fell while the market is up—given news of the contract—is a head-scratcher.
The contract details were disclosed by Blink on Thursday, but shares didn’t move when the USPS announced its plans in February. The stock is down more than 14% since then. The S&P is off about 2% over the same span.
Blink isn’t profitable yet and doesn’t generate positive free cash flow. Earlier-stage companies have been out of favor with investors as interest rates have risen. Blink stock is down about 88% from highs reached in early 2021.
The contract demonstrates the post office’s commitment to EVs. In December, the agency announced plans to deploy more than 66,000 EVs by 2028. At least 45,000 will be all-battery electric, according to the post office.
In all, the USPS plans to spend almost $10 billion electrifying its fleet of a fleet of more than 200,000 vehicles; 163,000 were purchased before 2002.