Why did NRGV's earnings surprise negatively in 2024?

NRGV's earnings surprise negatively in 2024 due to several key factors:

1. **Revenue Shortfall**: Energy Vault's revenue fell short of forecasts, with Q4 2024 revenue totaling $33.5 million, contributing to a full-year revenue of $46.2 million, slightly below guidance. This shortfall impacted investor sentiment and resulted in a larger-than-expected loss per share of $0.14.
2. **Earnings Per Share (EPS) Miss**: The company reported an EPS of -$0.32, which was a significant miss compared to analyst estimates. This further contributed to the negative earnings surprise.

|code|Ticker|Name|Date|Net Income YoY|Net Income|market_code|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|NRGV|NRGV.N|Energy Vault|2024 Q1|32.175056951262555|-2.1139E7|169|
|NRGV|NRGV.N|Energy Vault|2024 Q2|-0.1414264964452259|-2.6199E7|169|
|NRGV|NRGV.N|Energy Vault|2024 Q3|-40.51314539119417|-2.6616E7|169|
|NRGV|NRGV.N|Energy Vault|2024 Q4|-178.99603103012808|-6.1859E7|169|

3. **Net Loss Widening**: Energy Vault experienced a net loss of $135.8 million for the year, an increase of 38% from the previous year. This widening net loss highlighted the company's financial struggles.
4. **Profitability Challenges**: Despite improvements in gross margin to 13.4% in 2024, the company faced persistent profitability challenges with weak gross profit margins of 5.82% in recent quarters. This indicated inefficiencies in generating profit from revenue.
5. **Cash Flow Concerns**: The company's cash position was under pressure, with a reported $30 million in cash and no debt, but with ongoing project investments and no utilization of the ATM mechanism. This suggested that while the company had some liquidity, it was quickly being depleted by operational and investment needs.

In summary, Energy Vault's earnings surprise was negative in 2024 due to a combination of revenue shortfalls, EPS misses, widening net losses, profitability challenges, and cash flow concerns. These factors together painted a picture of a company struggling to generate sustainable profitability and cash flow, which likely led to a negative earnings surprise.