IONQ Stock Falls Hard As Ballooning Losses Outweigh Record Sales, Raised Outlook — But Retail Bulls See Long-Term Value

• IonQ’s Q1 revenue increased 755% to a record $64.7 million, and the company raised its annual sales view by $25 million.
• The company reported net income of $805.4 million, compared with a loss of $32.3 million in the same period last year.
• Stocktwits sentiment for IONQ shifted to ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘bullish.’

IonQ, Inc. shares slumped over 6% in overnight trading heading into Thursday, after the quantum computing company’s first-quarter report. While the company posted stellar revenue growth and raised its full-year forecast, investors were concerned about the widening losses. 

Still, retail traders largely believe the company has the potential for multi-fold business and stock growth over the long term, with bullish sentiment ticking higher amid the dip.  

IonQ – the biggest company in the quantum computing space – builds computers using trapped-ion technology, aiming to solve complex problems far beyond the capabilities of traditional computers. Quantum computing is still an early-stage industry, with most commercial applications and large-scale practical systems still years away from full development. 

IONQ Q1 Results Recap

First quarter revenue rose 755% to a record $64.7 million, beating analysts' estimate of $49.7 million. Net income was $805.4 million, compared with a loss of $32.3 million in the same period last year. Adjusted core loss was $96.8 million, and adjusted per share loss was $0.34 – a record.

IonQ expects second-quarter sales between $65 million and $68 million, above Wall Street’s estimate of $54.9 million, and raised its full-year sales guidance by $25 million to a range of $260 million to $270 million.

The company maintained its core loss guidance for the year, at $310 million to $330 million.
 

IONQ CEO Outlines Technology Wins

“Securing our first 256-qubit system sale and receiving our first ion trap chip samples back from the fab this quarter marks a pivotal shift toward commercial scale. We are now moving from component-level testing to integrated, system-level testing of the full 256-qubit quantum compute,” IonQ Chairman and CEO Niccolo de Masi said. 

“These milestones, combined with the first-of-its-kind publication of our complete architectural blueprint for fault-tolerant quantum computing, prove that IonQ has the hardware and the roadmap to continually lead the quantum revolution,” de Masi added.

Interest in the quantum computing space picked up again last month, with Nvidia unveiling a suite of AI models aimed at improving calibration and error correction for quantum computers, amid speculative trading following the U.S. and Iran's agreement to a ceasefire.

Major companies in the space include D-Wave Quantum, Rigetti Computing, and Quantum Computing.

Retail View On IONQ Improves

On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment for IONQ shifted to ‘extremely bullish’ late Wednesday, up from ‘bullish’ the previous day, although traders debated their view on the stock.

“$IONQ don’t worry yet. Plenty of times this has gone down in after-hours only to recover nicely with gains in subsequent days. Quantum is over most people’s head. Initial reaction is not always the outcome. But this is still by far the most ambitious of the quantum companies… It’s a long runway here. Not trading or worrying about it. Long term play,” said a bullish user.

“The $805M ‘net income’ is fake — it’s almost entirely a $1.057B non-cash warrant liability gain. Strip that out and they lost $271M from operations… Bottom line: The revenue growth is real and impressive. But they’re burning nearly $150M cash per quarter operationally and the headline ‘profit’ is accounting fiction. Classic quantum bull trap — great story, brutal economics​​​​​​​​​​​​,” another trader wrote.

Year to date, IONQ shares are up 17% as of their last close.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

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