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The stock price for the EV charging company ChargePoint Holdings (NYSE: CHPT) went up dramatically this morningbut, for investors, that might not be good news. ChargePoint just implemented a measure called a reverse stock split, a move intended to artificially increase the share price of a company without actually boosting its overall value. Typically, a reverse stock split is used as an effort to prevent a company from being delisted from a stock exchange, and it often signals that said company is struggling financially. Investors are already demonstrating their wariness: As of this writing, ChargePoint stock is down more than 14% since market open this morning. Heres what to know about the companys reverse stock split: What is ChargePoint? ChargePoint Holdings is one of the largest EV charging networks in the world. The company operates more than a million chargers in the U.S. and Europe, many of which are free to use and easy to find via the companys app. In recent years, its signed partnerships with Starbucks and Airbnb and helped to electrify an entire village in Senegal. Despite these milestones, ChargePoint has been navigating a rocky financial period. It reported a net loss of $282.9 million in the fiscal year ending in January, and, on June 5, 2025, it shared that its first-quarter 2026 revenue was down 9% compared to the previous year. What is a reverse stock split? A reverse stock split happens when a company boosts the price tag of its stock by combining many shares into one. In the case of ChargePoint, the reverse split took place at a ratio of 1-for-20, meaning that the value of one share today is equal to 20 shares last week. A reverse stock split doesnt mean that the companys overall value has increasedit just means that there are now far fewer shares available, each at a higher cost. After the reverse stock split, ChargePoint investors will still own the same total value in the company, consolidated into fewer shares. The reverse split was approved by ChargePoints shareholders on July 8. Whats the point of a reverse stock split? Companies use a reverse stock split when, for a number of reasons, they need to artificially increase the price of their shares. According to a press release, ChargePoint took this measure to comply with the minimum trading price criteria for continued listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). On the NYSE, listed companies need to maintain an average closing price of at least $1 per share over 30 consecutive trading days in order to meet the exchanges trading price criteria. In July, ChargePoint consistently traded below that $1 thresholdmeaning that, without a reverse stock split, it might have been at risk of delisting. What does this mean for investors? ChargePoints decision, paired with its recently rough financials, is likely to be a red flag for investors. The stocks current plummet shows that lack of confidence playing out in real time, demonstrating that the company is in a rough spot and is taking extreme measures to prevent delisting. In the past several years, other companies including WeWork, Virgin Galactic Holdings, and Nikola have used a similar strategy to continue trading.
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E-Commerce
European Union wine and spirits producers could emerge among the few winners of a EU-U.S. trade deal agreed at the weekend that some European officials consider unbalanced. The high-level agreement, which imposes a 15% baseline duty for most EU goods entering the United States, is set to include tariff exemptions for some agricultural products, still to be hammered out. Alcoholic beverages could be among those, according to trade and industry officials. “We are optimistic that in the days ahead this positive meeting and agreement will lead to a return to zero-for-zero tariffs for U.S. and EU spirits products,” Distilled Spirits Council President and CEO Chris Swonger said in a statement in response to the U.S.-EU agreement. On Monday, French Trade Minister Laurent Saint Martin also said he expected the spirits sector to be exempted from U.S. tariffs. If confirmed, an exemption would offer a lifeline to alcohol players including the world’s biggest spirits maker, Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Remy Cointreau and Campari, all of which are very exposed to vast U.S. market and whose profits have already taken a big hit as consumers spend less on drink. Shares in Pernod, Diageo and Campari initially rose in early trade. But they stood 1.3%, 0.4% and 0.3% lower by 0707 GMT. Shares in Remy fell 2.2%. Alcohol is among the EU’s top exports to the United States, worth about 9 billion euros ($10.5 billion) in 2024, according to Eurostat data, with certain products like Remy Martin cognac and champagne required to be produced in specific European regions. About one-third of all exports of Irish whiskey such as Pernod Ricard’s Jameson are destined for the United States. Earlier in July, President Donald Trump had threatened a crippling 30% tariff that some industry experts said could stop flows of certain EU goods towards the United States. The United States accounts for about 18% of exports for another exclusively French product, champagne. Of all exports of cognac from its namesake region in France, about 43% end up in the United States. LVMH owns Hennessy Cognac. Remy Cointreau, which makes more than 70% of its sales from French-made cognac, is among the alcohol makers hit hardest by tariffs. It has pegged the hit from tariffs imposed globally at about 45 million euros. For cognac makers, the U.S. tariffs represent a fresh challenge after producers of the drink managed this month to avert the threat of duties of up to around 35% from China. For Spanish and Italian wines, around 14% and 24% of total exports, respectively, are sold in the United States. Beer brewers and makers of popular ready-to-drink cocktails will, however, continue to face tariffs on imported aluminum they may use for cans. Under the EU-U.S. deal struck on Sunday, Washington will continue to impose a levy of 50% on steel and aluminum entering the United States. ($1 = 0.8518 euros) Emma Rumney and Jessica DiNapoli, Reuters
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E-Commerce
Businesses have spent the past decade or more amassing vast amounts of data on customers, sales, and nearly everything else measurable. Yet everyday employeesand even C-suite leadersoften struggle to work directly with these datasets, which typically require specialized technical skills to access, analyze, and query. Julius AI, a startup founded in 2022, claims to have a solution. It offers AI that allows users to ask questions in plain English, like Why is our revenue going up? or Can I see a pie chart of sales by region? The system then automatically generates code in languages like Python to deliver the required answer or data visualization, often within seconds, along with a written explanation of the process. Previously users would have needed to submit questions to their companys data science team, wait for clarifying questions, and then receive a response or link to a chart. Now they can simply talk to Julius. “They can just ask questions and get instant insights, says founder and CEO Rahul Sonwalkar. And then they [can] ask a lot of follow-up questions. So far, the tool has generated roughly 10 million data visualizations for users and produced an additional 4 million lines of code every day, Sonwalkar says. Its also the tool of choice in Harvard Business Schools Data Science and AI for Leaders class, now required for every incoming MBA student. [Image: Courtesy of Julius] For data scientists, Julius allows more time to focus on long-term projects, rather than handling a constant stream of ad hoc questions (and follow-ups) from colleagues. And when needed, they can use Julius themselves. The interface resembles a Jupyter notebook (commonly used by analysts for step-by-step workflows and visualizations) but with the added ability to input plain English, alongside code in Python, SQL, or R. This saves even experienced programmers the effort of looking up obscure syntax or remembering exact database table and column names. While those familiar with coding can edit the AI-generated code, most users dontand thats okay. [Image: Courtesy of Julius] Most of our users dont know what Python is, Sonwalkar says. Julius recently raised $10 million in a funding round led by Bessemer Venture Partners and now has nearly 2 million users. The company is continuously expanding its capabilities to better handle sprawling enterprise data. Initially, users had to upload files like spreadsheets, but the tool can now connect to popular database and data warehouse platforms such as PostgreSQL and Snowflake. The AI can analyze database layouts to understand whats stored where, share that information with users, and build deeper contextual knowledge over time, Sonwalkar says. Julius is currently preparing integrations with other key business data sources, like Googles advertising tools, as well as working toward compatibility with established business intelligence platforms, aiming to replicate and enhance analyses already in use. The company is also working on enhanced support for visualization dashboards, along with scheduled queries that automatically refresh with new data on a regular basis, both common features of business intelligence software. And for users weary of checking dashboards to see whether any numbers have gone up or down unexpectedly, Julius expects to add notifications that can let users know if something noteworthy appears in the data. [Image: Courtesy of Julius] Theres a dashboard fatigue in companies, Sonwalkar says. There are 50 dashboards that each team monitors every week, and most dashboards honestly dont change. But when they do, users will be able to ask Julius for an explanation and direct it to explore the underlying metrics, which traditional dashboards dont allow without manual coding. Julius isnt alone in pursuing AI-driven data science. Many data providers, from polling giant Morning Consult to various sales and marketing platforms, have added AI to help customers explore their datasets more intelligently. Established business intelligence tools are also layering in AI interfaces, while leading AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic have launched their own data analysis tools. Still, Sonwalkar contends that Julius offers more robust features and deeper data source integrations than the AI tools from the big labsand is built from the ground up to help everyday users interact intelligently with data, rather than layering AI onto existing legacy systems. Were rebuilding the experience from scratch, he says.
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E-Commerce
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