IonQ (IONQ) — Company Research
Last Updated: 10 October 2026
IonQ builds trapped-ion quantum computers and, after more than ten acquisitions since 2025, also sells quantum networking, quantum-safe security, sensing, satellite and, since closing its purchase of SkyWater Technology on 31 Jul 2026, semiconductor foundry services. Revenue tripled to $130.0m in FY2025 and reached $80.1m in Q2 2026 (+287% YoY), and management now guides to $450–460m for FY2026 including SkyWater. This refresh rebuilds every figure from the FY2025 10-K, the Q2 2026 10-Q and earnings release, and SEC XBRL data. Follow the live price on our Live Charts page and the macro backdrop on the Economic Calendar.
1. Company Snapshot
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Ticker | NYSE: IONQ |
| Sector | Technology — quantum computing, networking, sensing, security and semiconductor foundry |
| Headquarters | College Park, Maryland, USA (founded 2015) |
| CEO / Leadership | Niccolo de Masi (Chairman & CEO; CEO since 26 Feb 2025, Chairman since Aug 2025); Inder M. Singh (CFO & COO since 4 Sep 2025) |
| Employees | 1,132 (31 Dec 2025, FY2025 10-K; excludes SkyWater, acquired 31 Jul 2026) |
| Revenue (FY2025) | $130.0m (+201.9% YoY) |
| Net loss (FY2025) | $(510.4)m attributable to IonQ; GAAP diluted EPS $(1.82) |
| Revenue (Q2 2026) | $80.1m (+287% YoY); GAAP net loss $(1,867.7)m including a $1,649.1m non-cash warrant charge |
| Market cap | ~$16.2bn (9 Oct 2026 close of $39.89 × ~405.1m shares: 381.0m at 29 Jul 2026 plus 24.1m issued for SkyWater) |
| Cash and investments | $2,959m at 30 Jun 2026, no debt; company estimates ~$2.0bn pro forma after the SkyWater cash payment |
| FY2026 guidance | Revenue $450–460m including SkyWater from 31 Jul 2026 (raised 8 Sep 2026) |
| Dividend | None |
2. Bull Case vs Bear Case
Bull Case
- Hypergrowth with rising guidance: Revenue rose 202% to $130.0m in FY2025 and 287% to $80.1m in Q2 2026, and FY2026 guidance has been raised three times since February, most recently to $450–460m including SkyWater.
- Vertical integration through SkyWater: Owning a US foundry lets IonQ make its own electronic qubit-control chips for the Superion line, and the company says chip design cycles have fallen from nine months to two.
- Technical milestones landing early: IonQ reached #AQ 64 on Tempo three months ahead of plan, reported 99.99% two-qubit gate fidelity in 2025 and was advanced to Stage C of DARPA's Quantum Benchmarking Initiative on 7 Oct 2026.
- Debt-free balance sheet: Cash and investments were $2,959m at 30 Jun 2026 with no borrowings, and remaining performance obligations rose to $485m.
Bear Case
- Deepening operating losses: Adjusted EBITDA was $(120.3)m in Q2 2026 and the TTM GAAP operating loss was about $1.0bn, against FY2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance of $(330)m to $(310)m.
- Dilution and stock-based pay: Stock-based compensation of $312.0m was 240% of FY2025 revenue, and 2025 acquisitions used $2.54bn of IonQ stock on top of $3.0bn raised in two 2025 equity offerings.
- Acquisition-heavy growth: SkyWater and the other deals change the revenue mix towards foundry and services work, making organic quantum growth harder to track.
- Very high sales multiple: At ~66x TTM revenue the shares price in years of rapid growth, and the stock has fallen more than 50% from its 52-week high.
3. Business Segments
IonQ reports one operating segment and discloses revenue by type of product or service. The table shows the FY2025 split of $130.0m from the 10-K revenue disaggregation note; Q2 2026 was 58% hardware and 42% services.
| Segment / category | % of revenue | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Quantum hardware | 53.8% ($69.9m) | System sales (Forte Enterprise, Tempo, Superion), quantum key distribution hardware from ID Quantique, sensors and optical terminals |
| Platform, consulting and support services | 46.2% ($60.1m) | Cloud access via AWS, Azure and Google Cloud, government R&D contracts, satellite data, consulting and support |
By customer location, the US provided 66.9% of FY2025 revenue and Switzerland 12.8%. In Q2 2026 Korea contributed 22%.
4. Business Model & Moat
How it makes money. IonQ sells complete quantum systems to governments, universities and companies, and charges for cloud access, consulting and government research contracts. Acquisitions add networking and security hardware (ID Quantique, Lightsynq, Skyloom), satellite radar data (Capella), atomic clocks and sensors (Vector Atomic) and, from 31 Jul 2026, third-party wafer manufacturing (SkyWater).
Technology edge. Trapped-ion qubits are naturally identical and connect all-to-all. The Oxford Ionics electronic qubit control replaces lasers with on-chip electronics, which IonQ says allows the 256-qubit Superion system and a roughly 10,000-qubit design built on cryo-CMOS. The 2030 target is 2m physical and 80,000 logical qubits.
Customers and contracts. Key relationships include a $54.5m Air Force Research Lab contract, a $22m EPB agreement in Chattanooga, a QuantumBasel contract above $60m, KISTI in Korea, and Superion 256 orders from the University of Cambridge, Horizon Quantum and Florida International University. DARPA QBI Stage C is worth up to $300m through 2029, subject to appropriations.
Moat assessment. The moat rests on trapped-ion know-how, patents, a growing installed base and now in-house manufacturing. Quantum computing is still pre-commercial at scale, so the technology lead is not yet proven against superconducting, neutral-atom and photonic rivals.
5. Financial Health
Annual figures come from IonQ's 10-K filings and Q4 earnings releases, cross-checked against SEC XBRL company facts. IonQ reported no revenue in FY2020, so the FY2021 growth rate is not meaningful.
| Fiscal Year | Revenue ($m) | YoY % | GAAP EPS | Adjusted EPS | Dividend/share | Long-term debt (YE) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2021 | $2.1m | n/m | $(0.77) | $(0.77)† | $0.00 | $0m |
| FY2022 | $11.1m | +430.3% | $(0.25) | $(0.25)† | $0.00 | $0m |
| FY2023 | $22.0m | +98.0% | $(0.78) | $(0.78)† | $0.00 | $0m |
| FY2024 | $43.1m | +95.4% | $(1.56) | $(0.50) | $0.00 | $0m |
| FY2025 | $130.0m | +201.9% | $(1.82) | $(0.60) | $0.00 | $0m |
† IonQ did not publish an adjusted EPS figure for FY2021–FY2023, so GAAP diluted EPS is repeated. Adjusted EPS for FY2024 and FY2025 is IonQ's own non-GAAP measure, which excludes stock-based compensation, warrant fair-value changes, D&A and acquisition costs. IonQ had no borrowings at any year end from FY2021 to FY2025 or at 30 Jun 2026.
| Quarter / Half | Revenue | Adjusted EPS | GAAP EPS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $80.1m | $(0.33) | $(5.08) |
| Q1 2026 | $64.7m | $(0.34) | $2.07 |
| Q4 2025 | $61.9m | $(0.20) | $1.93 |
| Q3 2025 | $39.9m | $(0.17) | $(3.58) |
| Q2 2025 | $20.7m | $(0.08) | $(0.70) |
| Q1 2025 | $7.6m | Not disclosed‡ | $(0.14) |
| FY2025 total | $130.0m | $(0.60) | $(1.82) |
‡ The Q1 2025 release reported adjusted EBITDA but not adjusted EPS. Quarterly GAAP EPS swings between large profits and losses because IonQ marks about 80m private warrants (strikes $99.88 and $155) to market each quarter; the warrant liability was $3,052m at 30 Jun 2026. FY2025 operating cash flow was $(283.2)m, capital expenditure was $16.4m and D&A was $82.0m. At 30 Jun 2026 IonQ held $1,235.7m of cash, $883.2m of short-term and $840.4m of long-term investments.
6. Valuation
Raw metrics, October 2026. Not opinions on whether the stock is cheap or expensive.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Market cap | ~$16.2bn (9 Oct 2026 close of $39.89 × ~405.1m shares) |
| Trailing P/E (GAAP) | n/m — TTM GAAP diluted EPS is about $(4.66) (Q3 2025 $(3.58) + Q4 2025 $1.93 + Q1 2026 $2.07 + Q2 2026 $(5.08)), dominated by warrant revaluations. TTM adjusted EPS of about $(1.04) is also negative. |
| P/E (forward) | n/m — losses expected in FY2026 (adjusted EBITDA guidance $(330)m to $(310)m) |
| P/S (TTM) | ~66x (market cap ~$16.2bn / TTM revenue $246.5m; TTM = Q3 2025 $39.9m + Q4 2025 $61.9m + Q1 2026 $64.7m + Q2 2026 $80.1m) |
| P/FCF | n/m — FCF is negative: FY2025 FCF ~$(299.6)m = operating CF $(283.2)m − capex $16.4m per FY2025 cash flow statement; TTM FCF to Q2 2026 ~$(483.9)m |
| Enterprise value | ~$13.2bn (market cap ~$16.2bn + total debt $0 − cash and investments ~$2.96bn per 30 Jun 2026 balance sheet). Using the company's ~$2.0bn pro forma cash after the SkyWater payment, EV is ~$14.2bn. |
| EV/EBITDA (TTM) | n/m — EBITDA is negative: TTM operating loss $(1,006.2)m + TTM D&A $154.0m (cash flow statement) = ~$(852)m |
| 52-week high | $84.64 (13 Oct 2025) |
| 52-week low | $25.89 (30 Mar 2026) |
| Short interest (% of float) | 10.68% (40.49m shares, settlement date 15 Sep 2026, MarketBeat) |
| Days to cover | ~2.2 (on 24.49m average daily volume) |
7. What Are They Building
- Superion systems: Launched at the 8 Sep 2026 Investor Day. Superion 256 uses electronic qubit control on chips made at SkyWater, with customer deliveries planned for 2027. Superion 10K, about 10,000 qubits on cryo-CMOS, is in development.
- Fault tolerance: IonQ targets a lab demonstration of fault tolerance in 2027 and a manufacturable commercial system in 2028. It published its "Walking Cat" architecture in April 2026 and a real-time error-correction decoder on 22 Sep 2026.
- Quantum networking: On 9 Oct 2026 IonQ reported a quantum memory-enhanced photonic interconnect with entanglement rates above 1 kHz, a building block for linking processors.
- Foundry: SkyWater Quantum Solutions, a merchant foundry service launched on 8 Sep 2026, signed Qolab as its first external customer. Sites are in Bloomington (Minnesota), Kissimmee (Florida) and Austin (Texas), alongside IonQ's Bothell, Washington system plant.
- Space and security: Skyloom had 84 optical terminals on orbit by 24 Aug 2026, and ID Quantique supplies quantum key distribution products for secure networks.
- AI and HPC: IonQ is supplying a QPU to NVIDIA's accelerated quantum research centre (23 Sep 2026) and is working with ORNL on hybrid AI optimisation.
8. Peer Comparison
| Peer | Market cap (Oct 2026) | Key 2025 metric |
|---|---|---|
| Quantinuum (QNT) | ~$10.9bn (8 Oct 2026, CNBC) | Revenue $30.9m, net loss $192.6m (S-1 filed May 2026); IPO on Nasdaq 4 Jun 2026 |
| D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) | ~$5.4bn (9 Oct 2026 close of $14.57) | Revenue $24.6m (+178.5%), per D-Wave FY2025 release |
| Rigetti Computing (RGTI) | ~$4.7bn (9 Oct 2026 close of $14.03) | Revenue $7.1m, down from $10.8m, per Rigetti FY2025 results |
| Quantum Computing Inc (QUBT) | ~$1.7bn (9 Oct 2026, Morningstar) | Revenue about $0.68m, per FY2025 results |
| IBM (IBM) | ~$214bn (9 Oct 2026) | Total revenue $67.5bn; cumulative quantum book of business approaching $1bn since 2017; also in DARPA QBI Stage C |
| Alphabet (GOOGL) | ~$4.30trn (9 Oct 2026) | 105-qubit Willow chip ran the "Quantum Echoes" algorithm about 13,000x faster than a supercomputer (Nature, 22 Oct 2025) |
| IonQ (IONQ) | ~$16.2bn (9 Oct 2026) | Revenue $130.0m (+201.9%); RPO $370m at year end |
9. Insider Activity
Chairman and CEO Niccolo de Masi held about 1.12m shares after RSU tax withholding on 11 Sep 2026; the 2026 Form 4s reviewed for him show only tax-withholding transactions. Most recent filings are tax withholding on vesting awards and small director sales. Director W. Teuber bought shares in February 2026. Recent Form 4 filings:
| Name | Date | Type | Shares | Price | Value | Plan Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niccolo de Masi (Chairman & CEO) | 11 Sep 2026 | Tax withholding (F) | 16,121 | $37.09 | ~$598k | RSU vesting |
| Inder M. Singh (CFO & COO) | 11 Sep 2026 | Tax withholding (F) | 6,272 | $37.09 | ~$233k | RSU vesting |
| John W. Raymond (Director) | 10 Sep 2026 | Sale | 2,407 | $37.21 | ~$89.6k | 10b5-1 |
| John W. Raymond (Director) | 18 Jun 2026 | Sale | 3,815 | $55.01 | ~$209.9k | 10b5-1 |
| G. Toledano (Director) | 18 Jun 2026 | Sale | 2,757 | $55.01 | ~$151.7k | Not stated |
| K. Chou (Director) | 18 Jun 2026 | Sale | 2,757 | $55.02 | ~$151.7k | Not stated |
| R. Cardillo (Exec. Chair, IonQ Federal) | 06 May 2026 | Option exercise and sale | 3,773 | $49.90 | ~$188.3k | Not stated |
| W. Teuber (Director) | 27 Feb 2026 | Purchase | 3,000 | $38.38 | ~$115.2k | Open market |
10. Key Risks
- Cash burn and continuing losses: Operating cash outflow was $(254.8)m in H1 2026 and the accumulated deficit was $1,194.1m at 31 Dec 2025. Cash fell to about $2.0bn pro forma after paying for SkyWater.
- Acquisition integration: IonQ closed six deals in 2025 and four more in 2026, including the ~$1.8bn SkyWater purchase, which brings capital-intensive foundry operations into the group.
- Warrant-driven earnings volatility: About 80m private warrants are marked to market each quarter, producing GAAP swings such as the $1,649.1m Q2 2026 charge.
- Dilution: Equity issuance, stock-funded acquisitions and $312.0m of FY2025 stock-based compensation steadily increase the share count.
- Technology and competition: IonQ has not yet built a scalable fault-tolerant machine, and rivals using superconducting, neutral-atom and photonic qubits, including IBM, Google and Quantinuum, are well funded.
- Government dependence: Contracts such as AFRL and DARPA QBI can be terminated for convenience and depend on appropriations.
11. Recent Developments
- 09 Oct 2026 — Quantum memory interconnect. IonQ reported a world-first quantum memory-enhanced photonic interconnect with entanglement above 1 kHz.
- 07 Oct 2026 — DARPA QBI Stage C. IonQ was advanced to the final stage of DARPA's Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, worth up to $300m through 2029. The shares fell 4.5% that day.
- 24 Sep 2026 — Florida International University order. FIU selected a Superion 256 system, and IonQ showed a radar change-detection demonstration.
- 23 Sep 2026 — NVIDIA research centre. IonQ will supply a QPU to NVIDIA's accelerated quantum research centre.
- 22 Sep 2026 — Real-time decoder. IonQ unveiled a real-time quantum error-correction decoder.
- 10 Sep 2026 — Nexus Photonics completed. IonQ announced completion of the Nexus Photonics acquisition to secure photonic component manufacturing.
- 08 Sep 2026 — Investor Day. IonQ launched the Superion roadmap and SkyWater Quantum Solutions, and raised FY2026 revenue guidance to $450–460m including SkyWater.
- 25 Aug 2026 — Board additions. Dr Eric Ball and former SkyWater chairman Timothy Baxter joined the board.
- 05 Aug 2026 — Q2 2026 results. Revenue rose 287% to $80.1m, adjusted EPS was $(0.33) and standalone FY2026 guidance rose to $280–290m.
- 31 Jul 2026 — SkyWater closes. IonQ completed its ~$1.8bn acquisition of SkyWater Technology for $741.3m cash and 24.1m shares.
12. Key Dates
- Expected 4 Nov 2026 — Q3 2026 results, the first quarter including SkyWater (date not yet confirmed by IonQ; Q3 2025 was reported on 5 Nov 2025)
- 31 Dec 2026 — FY2026 year end, against revenue guidance of $450–460m
- Expected 2027 — First Superion 256 customer deliveries and a lab demonstration of fault tolerance
- Expected Jun 2027 — Annual meeting (the 2026 meeting was held on 16 Jun 2026)
- Expected 2028 — Manufacturable fault-tolerant commercial system, per the Investor Day roadmap
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Disclaimer: This research is produced by ChartsView for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. All information is sourced from publicly available company filings, press releases, and official data. ChartsView does not use analyst opinions or third-party ratings. Always conduct your own due diligence and consider your personal financial situation before making investment decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
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13. Thesis Verdict
The central thesis. IonQ sells trapped-ion quantum computers, cloud access and government research work, and through a string of acquisitions now also sells quantum networking, security, sensing and satellite products and, since buying SkyWater on 31 Jul 2026, semiconductor foundry services. FY2025 revenue rose 202% to $130.0m and Q2 2026 revenue rose 287% to $80.1m, but the adjusted EBITDA loss widened to $(120.3)m in Q2; management has raised FY2026 revenue guidance to $450–460m including SkyWater. The main driver is the Superion roadmap, with chips made in-house at SkyWater and first Superion 256 deliveries planned for 2027, alongside DARPA QBI Stage C funding of up to $300m.
What would confirm or break it. Q3 2026 results tracking towards the raised guidance, a smooth SkyWater integration and on-time Superion milestones would confirm the bull case. The thesis would weaken if cash burn accelerates beyond the roughly $2.0bn pro forma cash pile, if acquisitions fail to integrate, or if dilution from equity and stock-based pay keeps outpacing revenue growth.
Watchpoints
- ConfirmsQ3 2026 earnings (expected 4 Nov 2026) (25 days) landing in line with or above management guidance.
- ConfirmsEvidence supporting the "Hypergrowth with rising guidance:" thesis continuing to build across subsequent filings.
- InvalidatesMaterialisation of the "Cash burn and continuing losses:" risk, or any disclosure that fundamentally alters the capital-return or growth profile stated by management.
Diagnostic grid
Generated by ChartsView research tooling. Thesis strength measures how well the evidence in this report supports the company's stated thesis — it is NOT a buy/sell rating or price target. ChartsView is not authorised by the FCA to provide regulated investment advice. Generated 10 Oct 2026.