Are you noticing more electric vehicles driving by on your daily commute? It’s not just you. The US EV market just breached 6.7% in the first half of 2022, up from just 1.8% in 2019. And, new data suggests this is just the start as recent US climate initiatives put the US EV market into overdrive.
US EV market set to accelerate by 20% due to IRA bill
With an expected 1.64 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide (GtCO2) in 2022, North America has the highest emissions from transportation globally, according to a new study from BloombergNEF.
Over the past several years, the United States has been slower than China and Europe when it comes to zero-emission electric vehicle adoption. China was responsible for over half (56%) of global EV sales, while Europe accounted for 28% in the first half of 2022.
Several countries in Europe have experienced explosive growth in EV market share from 1H 2019 to 1H 2022. For example:
Germany: 3% to 26%
UK: 2.2% to 24%
France: 2.8% to 21%
Why has the United States lagged, you ask? For one, the deployment of publicly available fast chargers (and EV chargers in general) has been much quicker in other countries. Furthermore, stricter policies and mandates have accelerated the transition.
Fast publicly available chargers globally, 2015-2021 Source: IEA
Meanwhile, recent climate initiatives and updated fuel economy standards in the United States are pushing the EV market to new heights. The Inflation Reduction Act, passed in August, provides a tax credit of up to $7,500 for new light-duty EV purchases, $4,000 for used EVs, and $40,000 for heavy-duty commercial electric vehicle purchases.
BloombergNEF’s study notes that the US EV market outlook has changed drastically over the past year:
Recent regulatory changes in the US – the Inflation Reduction Act and revised fuel economy regulations – are expected to accelerate EV uptake in the country and bring it closer to the EV ‘leaders.
BNEF estimates 64% of EVs sold in the United States in the first half of the year qualify for at least a part of the new EV tax credit compared to 31% under the old policy.
On top of this, the IRA bill includes “powerful incentives” to speed up domestic battery manufacturing. The IRA bill has already attracted over $40 billion with 15 new EV battery plants or expansions.
Perhaps, more important, the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, part of Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, supplies $5 billion in funding to create a national EV charging network to promote EV adoption across the United States. All 50 states now have approved plans to build the network.
As a result of the recent US climate initiatives, BNEF predicts:
The US EV fleet will be over 20% larger by 2030 than previously forecasted.
Electrek’s Take
The data from BNEF confirms incentives and policy changes work to drive zero-emission EV adoption. The recent initiatives in the United States are already starting to pay off, with EV sales hitting new records each month.
Take California, for example, which has rolled out charging infrastructure much quicker than other states. The state has nearly 30% of the EV chargers in the United States and also holds an 18% EV share, almost triple that of the US average.
With new incentives and policy changes driving adoption, 2023 should be a big year for most US states in terms of EV adoption, and buy-in should progress even more toward the end of the decade.
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Venmo, long a centerpiece of PayPal‘s growth story but often criticized for its lack of monetization, is becoming a bigger contributor to the business.
PayPal said Tuesday in its first-quarter earnings release that revenue at Venmo increased 20% year-over-year in the first quarter, though the company didn’t provide a dollar figure. PayPal acquired Venmo in 2013 through the acquisition of parent company Braintree.
While it’s long been a popular consumer service for sending money to friends, Venmo’s ability to drive meaningful revenue has been a major question mark for investors, especially as competition from rivals like Zelle and Square Cash has intensified.
Venmo’s total payment volume rose 10% from a year earlier, but revenue grew twice as fast, reflecting the business opportunity. Venmo only gets revenue from specific products like Pay with Venmo at online checkout, Venmo debit cards, and instant transfers, but not from peer-to-peer payments.
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Ahead of the earnings report, Jefferies analysts noted that Venmo revenue growth appeared to be “accelerating sharply” and flagged its rising contribution to branded checkout as a key area to watch. Compass Point analysts similarly said that while competition from Zelle and Square Cash remains fierce, Venmo’s traction with debit cards and online checkout could “open up new monetization avenues” if adoption trends continue.
The company added nearly 2 million first-time PayPal and Venmo debit card users during the quarter, and total debit card payment volume across PayPal and Venmo climbed more than 60%. Meanwhile, Pay with Venmo transaction volume surged 50% year over year, and Venmo debit card monthly active users grew about 40%.
PayPal reported better-than-expected earnings for the quarter but missed on revenue. The company reaffirmed its full-year guidance, citing macroeconomic uncertainty.
CEO of PayPal Alex Chriss speaks during the Semafor 2025 World Economy Summit at Conrad Washington on April 24, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Alex Wong | Getty Images
PayPalreported better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter, but the company missed on revenue and reaffirmed its guidance for 2025 due to macro uncertainty. The stock fell about 2% in pre-market trading.
Here’s how the company did compared with Wall Street estimates, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
Earnings per share: $1.33, adjusted vs. $1.16 expected
Revenue: $7.79 billion vs. $7.85 billion expected
While sales increased just 1% from $7.7 billion a year earlier, PayPal said the results reflect a strategy to prioritize profitability over volume, rolling off lower-margin revenue streams.
Transaction margin dollars, the company’s key measure of profitability, grew 7% to $3.7 billion, marking the company’s fifth consecutive quarter of profitable growth under CEO Alex Chriss.
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PayPal shares are down 24% this year, while the Nasdaq has dropped 10%
Total payment volume, an indication of how digital payments are faring in the broader economy, missed estimates, coming in at $417.2 billion, versus the nearly $418 billion analysts projected. The number of active accounts rose 2% from a year earlier to 436 million.
Venmo revenue rose 20% year over year, though the company didn’t provide a dollar figure. Total payment volume for Venmo increased 10% to $75.9 billion. Pay with Venmo transaction volume climbed 50% in the quarter and Venmo debit card monthly active users increased by about 40%.
Chriss has focused on better monetizing key acquisitions like Braintree and Venmo. DoorDash,Starbucksand Ticketmaster are among businesses now accepting Venmo as one way that consumers can pay.
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Ahead of PayPal’s earnings report, some analysts had struck a cautious tone despite the company’s focus on margin expansion. Morgan Stanley analysts warned in a note on Monday that investor sentiment remained bearish due to the potential impact of tariffs, competitive pressure from Apple and Shopify, and the risk of a long-term slowdown in branded checkout growth.
Jefferies analysts highlighted PayPal’s China cross-border exposure as an emerging risk tied to potential new tariffs and changes to the de minimis exemption.
For the second quarter, PayPal issued better-than-expected guidance, forecasting adjusted earnings per share of $1.29 to $1.31, above the average analyst estimate of $1.21. Transaction margin dollars will increase 4% to 5% to between $3.75 billion and $3.8 billion, the company said.
However, for the full year, PayPal chose to reaffirm its guidance, citing “global macroeconomic uncertainty.” The company expects earnings per share of $4.95 to $5.10 for the year and free cash flow in the range of $6 billion to $7 billion.
PayPal shares are down 24% this year, while the Nasdaq has dropped 10%.
British oil and gasoline company BP (British Petroleum) signage is being pictured in Warsaw, Poland, on July 29, 2024.
Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images
British oil giant BP on Tuesday posted slightly weaker-than-expected first-quarter net profit, following a recent strategic reset and a slump in crude prices.
The beleaguered oil and gas major posted underlying replacement cost profit, used as a proxy for net profit, of $1.38 billion for the first three months of the year. That missed analyst expectations of $1.6 billion, according to an LSEG-compiled consensus.
BP’s net profit had hit $2.7 billion a year earlier and $1.2 billion in the final three months of 2024.
The results come as the energy major faces fresh pressure from activist investors less than two months after announcing a strategic reset.
Seeking to rebuild investor confidence, BP in February pledged to slash renewable spending and boost annual expenditure on its core business of oil and gas.
BP CEO Murray Auchincloss told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Tuesday that the firm was “off to a great start” in delivering on its strategic reset.
“We had a great operational quarter. We had our highest upstream operating efficiency in history. Our refineries in the first quarter ran at the best they’ve run in 24 years. We had six exploration discoveries in a row, which is really unusual and we started out three major projects,” Auchincloss said.
For the first quarter, BP announced a dividend per ordinary share of 8 cents and a share buyback of $750 million.
Net debt rose to $26.97 billion in the January-March period, up from $22.99 billion at the end of the fourth quarter. BP had previously warned of lower reported upstream production and higher net debt in the first quarter, when compared to the final three months of last year.
Shares of BP fell 3.3% on Tuesday morning. The firm is down roughly 8% year-to-date.
Activist pressure
BP’s green strategy U-turn does not appear to have gone far enough for the likes of activist investor Elliott Management, which went public last week with a stake of more than 5% in the London-listed firm.
The disclosure makes the U.S. hedge fund BP’s second-largest shareholder after BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, according to LSEG data.
Elliott was first reported to have assumed a position in the oil and gas company back in February, driving a share price rally amid expectations that its involvement could pressure BP to shift gears back toward its oil and gas businesses.
BP’s Auchincloss declined to comment on interactions with investors when asked whether the firm was under pressure from the likes of Elliott to go beyond the plans announced in its February pivot.
Notably, BP suffered a shareholder rebellion at its annual general meeting earlier this month. Almost a quarter (24.3%) of investors voted against the re-election of outgoing Chair Helge Lund, a symbolic result that reflected a sense of deep frustration among the firm’s shareholders.
Mark van Baal, founder of Dutch activist investor Follow This, told CNBC last week that he hoped the shareholder revolt means Amanda Blanc, who is leading the process to find Lund’s successor, will look for a new chair who is “climate competent” and “will not respond to short-term activists so quickly.”
Lund is expected to step down from his role next year.
Takeover candidate
BP’s underperformance relative to industry peers such as Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Shell has thrust the energy major into the spotlight as a prime takeover candidate. Energy analysts have questioned, however, whether any of the likeliest suitors will rise to the occasion.
BP’s Auchincloss on Tuesday said that he wouldn’t speculate on whether the company is a takeover target, but confirmed the oil major had not asked for any sort of protection from the British government.
“What I will say is we’re a strong, independent company and we’ve got sector-leading growth. And if we can deliver the sector-leading growth, and the first quarter is a fantastic example of that, then I have no concerns. I think we’re going to do great,” Auchincloss said.
Murray Auchincloss, chief executive officer of BP, during the “CERAWeek by S&P Global” conference in Houston, Texas, on March 11, 2025.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Oil prices have fallen in recent months on demand fears. International benchmark Brent crude futures with June delivery traded at $65.19 per barrel on Tuesday morning, down more than 1% for the session. That’s lower from around $84 per barrel a year ago.
Asked whether weaker crude prices could put the some of the firm’s reset plans in jeopardy, Auchincloss said, “Not really. We have a balance of products that we think about that generate revenue for us. So, oil, natural gas and refined products as well.”
— CNBC’s Ruxandra Iordache contributed to this report.