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TickerTalks›$IONQ
IOIONQ

IonQ, Inc.

$IONQ·$17B·Computer Hardware·Technology
$37.82-3.8%YTD-9.3%1Y-8.6%
Mentions · last 7 days
2026-08-22: 106 posts2026-08-23: 96 posts1,249-0%
Price updated 12m ago·X counts updated 9d ago
IOIONQ
$IONQIonQ, Inc.
$37.82-3.79%1.2k posts-0%
AI analysisFundamentalsVoices on X
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AI verdict & sentimentAI analysisGenerated by AI from underlying data

Top X posts

Today's AI verdict on what's driving $IONQ, plus how loud the X conversation is and which way it's leaning.

AI analysis

TickerTalks’ read on the fundamentals and what’s driving the move.

Driven by hypeSelling offAI verdict · as of 2026-08-31

Falling on heavy selling — points lower unless it turns around.

The quantum-hardware bet has stalled while it swallows Oxford Ionics — vertical integration is the pitch, and the 256-qubit demo is what has to arrive to restart it.

IonQ is a pure-play trapped-ion quantum-computing company that has spent the last year absorbing the Oxford Ionics acquisition and pivoting toward vertical integration — building its own chips, systems and cloud stack rather than partnering. The equity is down 9% year-to-date after a summer of underperformance and now sits in the bottom quarter of the 52-week range.

  • Revenue growth is a small-base optical illusion: Q1 revenue was $65M off a $7.5M year-ago base, which reads as +755% year-over-year but is really just the Oxford Ionics deal consolidating — the underlying organic run-rate is much smaller, and consensus doesn't model $269M until FY26 finishes.
  • The margin picture is what the market is really pricing: operating margins run in the -400% to -700% range because the company is spending on scaling qubit counts and manufacturing simultaneously — the vertical-integration pitch requires those losses to peak and then improve, and there is no evidence that has started.
  • The technical signals from the field are legitimate: a 408-logical-qubit demonstration with real-time error decoding and staff comments that the 256-qubit machine is 'ready' are the kinds of milestones a quantum bull needs — but until any of them convert into a commercial revenue line item, they support a story, not a print.
  • Insider action has quieted: two fresh independent directors received A-Award grants Aug 26, and there are no officer open-market sales this window — a stop-selling signal after prior clusters, but not stepping-up buying either.

The path if it works is the 256-qubit machine landing on a public roadmap date and Q3 revenue crossing $75M organic — then the tape reprices the Oxford Ionics thesis and the current 12% below the 200-day looks like the bottom. The path if it doesn't is another quarter where operating losses widen without a commercial milestone, at which point the breaking-down trajectory extends and the quantum-cycle beta gives back the summer's gains.

Agrees with X sentimentThe bull X take — the 408-logical-qubit demo with real-time error decoding, insider selling having stopped, Quantinuum trading at 411x sales versus IonQ at 59x — captures the operational milestones and relative-valuation argument correctly; the minority-bear read (fresh 8% sector drop, break below the 50-day) is the trajectory piece the crowd underweights, which is why 'stopped selling' isn't the same as 'buying'.

What to watch: The Nov 4 Q3 print — any commercial milestone with the 256-qubit system on a public roadmap date and organic revenue crossing $75M is what restarts the story; another quarter of widening losses without a commercial line item is what confirms the breakdown.

On the calendar: 2026-11-04 — Q3 2026 earnings

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X sentiment

What the X crowd is saying right now — descriptive, summarised from the day’s posts.

Bullish sentiment153 posts analyzed · as of 2026-08-31

IonQ chatter runs dominantly bullish into the September 8 Analyst Day, citing '84 optical terminals on orbit' via Skyloom, the Delfosse team's 408-logical-qubit error-correction paper running on laptop cores, insider selling that 'stopped' in 2026, and a new Treasury quantum-readiness task force. Bulls stack the SkyWater, Oxford Ionics, and Lightsynq deals as building 'the only US-based full-stack quantum foundry.' Bears push back that 'shorts keep printing' and call quantum 'utter garbage,' but volume is one-sided long.

Read the AI verdict + X sentiment for $IONQ

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  • X crowd read with bullish/bearish call + post volume
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What it does

Plain-English summary of the business — what they sell and how they make money.

Builds trapped-ion quantum computers accessible via cloud, selling quantum computing services to enterprises and governments.

Industry overviewAI analysisGenerated by AI from underlying data

Where Computer Hardware sits in its cycle right now — and what that implies for $IONQ.

Computer Hardware · Technology

AI server infrastructure buildout drives compute shipment volumes; Dell and HPE are riding the same hyperscaler capex wave that lifted NVDA. Non-AI commercial refresh remains soft, so the bull case is concentrated in AI infrastructure exposure.

What this means for $IONQ

Partial — cloud infrastructure exposure benefits indirectly from hyperscaler capex; core business is IonQ, Inc.

Top industry ETF

$SOXXiShares Semiconductor ETF
+75.7%YTD
+110.5%1Y

Fundamentals & catalyst

Profitability, valuation, and the next earnings event — at a glance, with rule-of-thumb signals.

Key ratios

P/E
73.5How much investors are paying per dollar of profit the company actually earned in the last 12 months. Lower means the stock looks cheaper relative to earnings.~15–25 is typical for the S&P 500; high-growth names trade 30+; hyper-growth or speculative can be 100+ or negative.
ROIC
-12.7%What percentage return the business earns on every dollar of capital (equity + debt) deployed in operations. The cleanest measure of business quality.Above ~15% is high-quality; consistently above 25% suggests a real moat. Below the company's cost of capital is value-destroying.
Op margin
-443%Operating profit (after sales, marketing, R&D, and overhead but before interest and taxes) as a percentage of revenue. The clearest view of how well the underlying business is run.Mature business above 20% is healthy; software businesses can run 30%+; commodity / retail businesses operate in single digits.
FCF yield
-2.0%Free cash flow (operating cash flow minus capex) divided by the company's market cap. The cash-on-cash return you'd get owning the whole business at today's price.Above ~5% is attractive; below ~2% means you're paying up for growth. Capital-light businesses (software) run higher than capital-heavy ones (utilities).
P/S
113.3Same idea as P/E but per dollar of revenue. Useful for companies that aren't profitable yet, where P/E is meaningless.Under ~2 is cheap; software / SaaS often runs 8–15; well above 20 implies the market is pricing in very high future growth.
ROE
9.1%Net income as a percentage of shareholders' equity. Similar to ROIC but counts only the equity side.Above 20% is strong, but can be inflated by leverage — a heavily indebted company can show high ROE with weak underlying ROIC.
Gross margin
38.1%Revenue minus the direct cost of producing what was sold, as a percentage of revenue. The first read on whether the product is structurally profitable.Software / SaaS is typically 70%+; consumer goods 30–50%; commodity / hardware businesses can be under 20%.
D/E
0.0Total debt divided by shareholders' equity. Measures how much the business runs on borrowed money versus owner capital.Under 1 is conservative; 1–2 is typical for mature businesses; over 2 is leveraged and more sensitive to interest rates.

Past earnings

QuarterReportedActualEstimateSurprise
Q2 2026Aug 5, 2026$-0.33$-0.29-13.8%
Q1 2026May 6, 2026$2.07$-0.46+548.5%
Q4 2025Feb 25, 2026$1.93$-0.48+502.1%
Q3 2025Nov 5, 2025$-3.58$-0.44-713.6%
Next earningsWed, Nov 4·consensus EPS $-0.75

Quarterly trend

QuarterRevenueYoYGrossOpEPSFCF
Q1 FY26$64.7M+754.7%23.8%-420%$2.24$-159.4M
Q4 FY25$61.9M+428.5%56.5%-392%$2.13$-83.3M
Q3 FY25$39.9M+221.5%48.0%-423%$-3.58$-127.2M
Q2 FY25$20.7M+81.8%8.5%-708%$-0.70$-54.9M

Forward consensus

5-year forecast · up to 10 analysts
FYRevenueRangeEPSRangeAnalysts
FY26$268.9M$266.4M – $275.5M-$0.31-$0.43 – -$0.1610
FY27$386.1M$326.8M – $545.1M-$1.96-$2.67 – -$0.6310
FY28$599.7M$504.1M – $758.4M-$2.22-$2.51 – -$1.937
FY29$813.1M$722.3M – $1.0B-$2.02-$2.75 – -$1.723
FY30$1.3B$1.1B – $1.7B-$1.48-$2.01 – -$1.266

Setup & momentum

Volume, range, and moving-average position — the technical setup driving short-term moves.

Right now

Vol vs 30dToday's traded share volume divided by the average over the prior 30 trading days. ≥3× signals unusual interest; below 1× is quiet.1.0×Today's traded share volume divided by the average over the prior 30 trading days. ≥3× signals unusual interest; below 1× is quiet.
52w rangeWhere the latest close sits between the 52-week low (0%) and high (100%). Above 80% is extended; below 30% is basing or in a downtrend.23%Where the latest close sits between the 52-week low (0%) and high (100%). Above 80% is extended; below 30% is basing or in a downtrend.
vs 50d MALatest close vs the 50-day simple moving average. Positive = short-term trend is up.-8.6%Latest close vs the 50-day simple moving average. Positive = short-term trend is up.
vs 200d MALatest close vs the 200-day simple moving average. Positive = long-term trend is up.-11.9%Latest close vs the 200-day simple moving average. Positive = long-term trend is up.

Insider activity

Recent open-market buys and sells by officers and directors — flagged when multiple insiders cluster.

Recent transactions

SellJun 18Kathryn K. ChouDirector2.8K sh$152KSellJun 18Gabrielle B ToledanoDirector2.8K sh$152KSellJun 18John W RaymondSpecial Advisor3.8K sh$210KSellMay 6Robert T. CardilloChair3.8K sh$188KSellApr 16Robert T. CardilloChair2.5K sh$112KSellMar 12John W RaymondSpecial Advisor2.8K sh$93K
+ 18 other (9 inkinds · 7 awards · 2 exempts) in window

See when $IONQ insiders are putting their own money in

  • Real-time open-market buys and sells from Form 4 filings
  • Cluster-buy detection when multiple insiders pile in at once
  • 30 / 60 / 180-day windows so you can spot building conviction
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SEC filings

Material 8-K, 13D, S-3, and 424B5 events from the last 180 days — the filings that actually move the price.

Recent material filings

8-KOfficer or director changeAug 288-K — Item 5.02: Officer or director change · Item 8.01: Other event
AI summary

IonQ appointed two new independent directors: Eric Ball to Class II (term through 2027 annual meeting) and Timothy Baxter to Class III (term through 2028 annual meeting), effective August 26, 2026; committee assignments are pending. IonQ also disclosed that its publicly traded warrants (exercisable at $11.50 per share) will expire on September 30, 2026, after which unexercised warrants will become worthless. Both additions bring relevant technology and commercial leadership experience to the Board. Warrant holders should note the imminent expiration deadline.

3New insider — initial holdingsAug 263
AI summary

A new director of IonQ, Inc. filed a Form 3 reporting direct beneficial ownership of 8,382 shares of common stock as of approximately August 26, 2026. This is a routine initial director ownership report upon joining the board, with no strategic implications.

3New insider — initial holdingsAug 263
AI summary

A new director of IonQ, Inc. filed a Form 3 reporting indirect beneficial ownership of 3,000 shares of common stock held through the Ball Axline Living Trust (a family trust for immediate household members); the reporting person is a joint trustee and disclaims beneficial ownership. This is a routine initial director ownership report.

8-KUnregistered equity saleAug 78-K — Item 3.02: Unregistered equity sale
AI summary

IonQ, Inc. (IONQ) disclosed an unregistered sale of equity securities (Item 3.02) on 2026-08-07. The sale involved 1,958,951 shares for aggregate proceeds of $0.0001 . Unregistered (private placement / PIPE) transactions are dilutive and typically done at a discount to market. Investors should assess pricing, lock-up terms, and whether the capital raise was necessity- or opportunity-driven.

8-KShareholder voteJun 228-K — Item 5.07: Shareholder vote
AI summary

Delaware 001-39694 85-2992192 disclosed voting results from its annual or special meeting. ng growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐ Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders. IonQ, Inc. (the “Company”) held its 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) o...

SC 13DActivist position (5%+)Apr 1SC 13D
AI summary

IonQ, Inc. filed an new Schedule 13D on IONQ disclosing beneficial ownership (4,230,118.00 shares) as of 2026-04-01. The filer's stated intent is passive investment with no plan to influence control of the company.

8-KOfficer or director changeMar 258-K — Item 5.02: Officer or director change
AI summary

IONQ disclosed a personnel change (8-K Item 5.02, dated 2026-03-25). An executive departure and a new appointment are both reported. Personnel changes are generally administrative; materiality depends on seniority and circumstances.

8-KUnregistered equity saleMar 118-K — Item 3.02: Unregistered equity sale
+ 23 other (3 13Gs · 3 routine 8-Ks · 3 425s · 2 10-Qs) in window

Recent news

Latest headlines from major outlets, sourced and timestamped — context for whatever just moved.

Why I Wouldn't Touch IonQ, Even With Quantum Computing Stocks Soaringfool.com·3d agoIonQ's Massive Shift: Vertical Integration Raises High-Stakes Executionfool.com·3d agoInfleqtion Rises 6% on a $20M NASA Quantum Gravity Award, IonQ Climbs 5%247wallst.com·5d agoD-Wave Sinks 8% as Its CFO Retires; Rigetti Slides 5%, IonQ Falls 3%247wallst.com·6d agoWall Street Analysts See IonQ (IONQ) as a Buy: Should You Invest?zacks.com·6d ago

In themes

Explore the broader themes this ticker is being talked about under.

Quantum Computing

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