IonQ, Inc.

Сильный индекс, значительно вырос. Быки резко укрепили уверенность в своих позициях.

Strong index, significantly up. Bulls sharply strengthened confidence in their positions.

Слабый индекс, незначительно вырос. Рынок на стороне быков.

Weak index, slightly up. The market is on the bulls' side.

Сильный индекс, значительно упал. Отток средств из лонгов увеличился и находится на высоком уровне.

Strong index, significantly down. The outflow of funds from longs has increased and is at a high level.

Key Points
IonQ and Rigetti use different technologies in their quantum computers.
Rigetti generated $5.1 million in second-quarter sales, while IonQ produced $80.1 million.
Both companies have large sums of cash and investments on their balance sheets, but their operating losses have grown since last year.
Investors view quantum computing as the next frontier hardware play in the wake of artificial intelligence. Many companies in the sector are building quantum computers using different technologies. This makes it difficult to know which of the myriad approaches will prevail as the tech moves from research circles to widespread adoption.
Take IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) and Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ: RGTI). The former develops ion-based quantum devices, while the latter employs superconducting machines.
Missed AI’s "Act 1"? Act 2 Could Be 15x Bigger. Most investors think they missed the AI boat because they didn't buy Nvidia in 2005. But according to our analysts, we’re only at the end of "Act 1"—the R&D phase. "Act 2" is the global rollout. Continue »
Both offer reasons to invest, so which is the better choice? I decided to buy shares in IonQ. Here's a look at each company to help you evaluate them.
A look at Rigetti Computing
Rigetti Computing boasts several strengths. It is a vertically integrated, pure-play quantum computer company, laser-focused on superconducting machines, the prevailing industry modality used by tech giants, including IBM. Its capabilities encompass in-house control over the entire end-to-end quantum computer construction process, from chip design and manufacturing to the software that operates the system.
To generate revenue, the company provides access to its quantum machines via the cloud and sells them. In a sign that Rigetti's tech shows promise, the company was awarded $100 million by the U.S. Department of Commerce in September. It's also working with Hewlett-Packard to integrate quantum devices into current supercomputers to create a hybrid computing solution.
Rigetti is experiencing sales growth in 2026. Its second-quarter revenue reached $5.1 million, up from $1.8 million in 2025.
Despite the substantial increase, Rigetti remains deeply unprofitable. Its Q2 operating loss totaled $28.1 million, up from $19.9 million in 2025, an indication that costs to run its business are rising.
Rigetti's cash burn would be a concern if not for a substantial stockpile of cash, cash equivalents, and investments totaling $541.3 million as of the end of Q2. This sum and the $100 million government award can sustain operations in the short term as it evolves its technology to achieve greater customer adoption.
The case for IonQ
IonQ's ion-based quantum computers are slower than Rigetti's superconducting approach, but possess the world record for fidelity, a measure of the accuracy and reliability of quantum calculations. While speed is important, the output is only helpful if it's accurate, making fidelity a critical success metric.
This accuracy contributed to the company gaining traction with customers. Its Q2 revenue hit $80.1 million, a sum that not only exceeds Rigetti by a wide margin but is also nearly double the second-quarter sales of all other pure-play quantum computer companies combined.
This is no fluke. IonQ has grown revenue every year since it became a public company in 2021. It expects that trend to continue in 2026, with forecast sales between $280 million and $290 million, more than double 2025's $130 million.
Also, IonQ's platform is robust. Its acquisition of SkyWater Technology this year gives it a foundry for the construction of its quantum computer chips. On Oct. 12, IonQ announced it was acquiring cybersecurity business Elisity to strengthen its quantum cryptography.
That said, IonQ's aggressive acquisition strategy has produced rapidly rising costs. It exited Q2 with an operating loss of $337.2 million compared to a loss of $160.6 million in 2025.
IonQ's cash, cash equivalents, and investments totaled a substantial $3 billion at the end of Q2, but ideally, it will look to rein in its acquisitions. The deal for Elisity involves stock valued at up to $1.3 billion, which presents a significant dilution impact for shareholders.
Rigetti or IonQ?
Between Rigetti and IonQ, I think the latter is the better investment. The reason I chose to buy IonQ stock is that it shows a consistent trend of rising revenue, indicating that customers value its technology.
Moreover, Rigetti's share price is sky-high compared to IonQ's, and that's after its price-to-sales ratio has steadily declined throughout 2026.
As the chart shows, Rigetti's sales multiple is more than six times IonQ's, suggesting the latter is the better value. This, combined with IonQ's far larger revenue, comprehensive platform, and a hoard of cash and investments totaling $3 billion on its balance sheet, positions the company for long-term success.
While Rigetti's sales in the first half of 2026 hit $9.5 million, which already exceeds 2025's total revenue of $7.1 million, that sum pales in comparison to IonQ. Until Rigetti can show it can meaningfully increase revenue and sustain that trend over time, its superconducting tech is at risk of being overshadowed by deeper-pocketed rivals such as IBM.
Should you buy stock in IonQ right now?
Before you buy stock in IonQ, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and IonQ wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $350,756!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,363,905!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 922% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 213% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of October 23, 2026.
Robert Izquierdo has positions in International Business Machines and IonQ. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Hewlett Packard Enterprise, International Business Machines, and IonQ. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

IonQ vs. Rigetti Computing: Which Quantum Computing Stock Is the Better Buy?

Key Points
Next to the artificial intelligence infrastructure build-out, no trend is capturing the attention of investors quite like the evolution of quantum computing.
Form 4 filings show that quantum computing insiders have been decisive sellers of their company’s stock over the last half-decade.
Additionally, insider buying has been virtually nonexistent, and history may explain why.
Although artificial intelligence has been the talk of Wall Street over the last four years, it's not the only game-changing trend that's helped lift the major stock indexes to new heights. The evolution of quantum computing is also playing an important role.
Four pure-play quantum computing stocks have skyrocketed over the last two years. IonQ (NYSE:IONQ), Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI), D-Wave Quantum (NASDAQ:QBTS), and Quantum Computing Inc. (NASDAQ:QUBT) have delivered respective gains of 154%, 1,180%, 1,030%, and 738% over the trailing two-year period, as of Oct. 16.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
Image source: Getty Images.
On the one hand, the practical applications for quantum computing, coupled with several newly signed contracts for these pure-play companies, have investors seeing dollar signs. However, the people who know these rapidly growing quantum computing companies best are sending all the wrong signals to Wall Street.
Insiders have been heading to the exit for years
Wall Street analysts are paid to know the ins and outs of the companies and industries they cover. But no individuals understand a company better than its insiders.
An "insider" is a high-ranking executive, board member, or beneficial owner of at least 10% of a company's outstanding shares who may possess non-public information. For the sake of transparency and to comply with securities law, insiders are required to file Form 4 with regulators anytime they buy or sell their company's stock.
According to the trailing five years of Form 4 filings, insiders at Wall Street's most heralded quantum computing companies have been decisive sellers:
IonQ: $576,620,769 in net selling
Rigetti: $82,993,683
D-Wave: $331,331,615
Quantum Computing: $33,893,854
In aggregate, pure-play quantum computing insiders have sold $1.02 billion more in shares than they've purchased since Oct. 16, 2021.
The potential silver lining to this net-selling activity is that not all stock sales are inherently bad news. Executives and board members are commonly compensated with stock and/or options, often requiring these individuals to sell a portion of their holdings to cover federal and/or state tax liability. Tax-based selling, or sales to diversify an insider's investment portfolio, shouldn't be a concern for investors.
But this is really only half of the story. The other side of the coin, insider buying, is just as relevant.
Over the trailing five-year period, insider purchases have been practically nonexistent:
IonQ: $3,349,000 in insider buying
Rigetti: $625,000
D-Wave: $309,080
Quantum Computing: $0
Collectively, insiders have purchased less than $4.3 million of their company's stock since mid-October 2021. While there are several reasons to sell a stock, there's only one reason for insiders to buy: the expectation of share price appreciation. Clearly, insiders aren't buying.
Valuation could be a reason for this dynamic. All four pure-play quantum computing stocks are trading well above 30 times trailing 12-month sales. Historically, a price-to-sales ratio above 30 has been a beacon for locating bubbles on Wall Street.
Historical precedent may also be cause for concern. There hasn't been a game-changing tech innovation in more than 30 years that's avoided an early-innings bubble-bursting event. These bubbles continue to form and subsequently burst because investors overestimate the pace of optimization for tech innovations.
While quantum computing has an exciting future, it'll likely take many years before businesses optimize this technology to boost their sales and profits.
Should you buy stock in IonQ right now?
Before you buy stock in IonQ, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and IonQ wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $380,363!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,315,732!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 919% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 211% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of October 20, 2026.
Sean Williams has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends IonQ. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

IonQ, Rigetti Computing, D-Wave Quantum, and Quantum Computing Inc. Are Shaking Wall Street to Its Core With This $1 Billion Warning

Key Points
The company's trapped-ion technology separates it from that of the industry's larger players.
Its financials resemble that of a start-up, so this is a higher-risk stock pick.
In recent years, investors have closely followed quantum computing. If successful, the technology could increase computing speeds exponentially.
The problem with this technology is the delicate nature of quantum bits (qubits) and high error rates. Such challenges mean that widespread commercial viability is likely several years away.
Missed AI’s "Act 1"? Act 2 Could Be 15x Bigger. Most investors think they missed the AI boat because they didn't buy Nvidia in 2005. But according to our analysts, we’re only at the end of "Act 1"—the R&D phase. "Act 2" is the global rollout. Continue »
However, companies of all sizes are working to make the technology viable, and if successful, it could dramatically transform companies and the tech industry at large. Knowing this, if I could only invest $1,000, I would choose IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) as my quantum computing stock. Here's why.
What about other quantum computing companies?
To be clear, I regard this as one $1,000 investment within a diversified portfolio. IonQ is a risky choice, and I would consider this a speculative investment.
Long-time tech investors might remember that numerous internet information companies emerged before Google's parent company, Alphabet, became the dominant search engine. Likewise, the quantum computing industry is likely to undergo a similar shakeout.
This poses a significant risk to IonQ and to start-up peers such as Rigetti Computing and D-Wave Quantum. These companies, IonQ included, are all-in on the technology, and it is unclear how they will survive if they fail to become top players in the quantum computing industry.
For the more risk-averse investors, Alphabet and IBM are also quantum computing investment options. The fact that these are established tech businesses bodes well for the stocks. Still, they only earn a negligible amount of revenue from the technology, which makes it debatable whether one can call them "quantum computing stocks" in any meaningful sense.
The state of IonQ
IonQ's competitive advantages have also eased many of my concerns about the company. It has taken a different path than Google or IBM by utilizing trapped-ion technology. The trapped ions can hold their quantum states longer. That reduces error rates and differentiates the company from its more established competitors.
Moreover, it operates as a quantum-as-a-service (QaaS) model. Thus, it is the only provider natively integrated with Google Cloud, Microsoft's Azure Quantum, and Amazon's Braket.
Additionally, IonQ is a partner of the industry's top chip company, Nvidia. IonQ seems to be following Nvidia's playbook in quantum, which makes the agreement appropriate.
Under the terms of the deal, Nvidia will link its AI supercomputing rack with IonQ's Superion 256 system. They will also orchestrate joint workloads on Nvidia's CUDA-Q platform, allowing Nvidia's GPUs and IonQ's QPUs to work seamlessly with one another, giving it an edge over competitors.
Despite these attributes, IonQ remains financially risky. Even with a 412% yearly revenue increase in the first half of 2026, it experienced $273 million in negative free cash flow during the same period.
IonQ has more than $2.1 billion in liquidity for now. That would imply nearly four years' worth of liquidity at current burn rates. Still, with commercial viability years away, it may need to eventually issue more shares or debt.
Furthermore, its valuation bears little relation to its condition. Its price-to-sales (P/S) ratio is 44, and the 26 forward P/S ratio offers little comfort to those looking for a better value.
However, if IonQ successfully leverages its competitive advantages and partnerships, the stock could experience considerable gains over time. That alone could make it worthwhile to risk $1,000 on IonQ's future.
Moving forward with IonQ stock
It could be worth it for risk-tolerant investors to invest $1,000 in IonQ stock.
As a start-up, IonQ is not in a strong financial position, and since it has no obvious Plan B if it fails to succeed in quantum computing, investors face a serious risk of losing their investments.
Nonetheless, many investors are comfortable taking a $1,000 chance on a speculative stock within a diversified portfolio. Despite its limited resources, it has shown promising results using its trapped-ion technology. Moreover, the fact that it persuaded Nvidia to partner with it dramatically increases its chance of success.
Ultimately, if one has the appetite for risk and the foresight to back a technology with limited commercial viability in the foreseeable future, it may be worth taking a chance on IonQ stock.
Should you buy stock in IonQ right now?
Before you buy stock in IonQ, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and IonQ wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $380,363!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,315,732!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 919% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 211% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of October 20, 2026.
Will Healy has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, International Business Machines, IonQ, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

If I Could Only Buy 1 Quantum Computing Stock With $1,000, It Would Be This One.

Key Points
IBM is effectively funding its $10 billion, five‑year quantum push from its mainframe and software cash flows.
IonQ is the only pure‑play quantum computing company with meaningful revenue, but it's still burning a lot of cash and issuing a lot of new shares.
D‑Wave and Rigetti are leaning on secondary stock sales and government support.
Over the last few years, the development of quantum computing has mostly been bankrolled by stock sales and legacy cash flows, not by customers, and the latest quarterly filings from the biggest names in that race show just how wide that gap remains. For investors, the real question isn't which companies have the coolest qubits, but which ones have the financial capacity to stay afloat for the years it will take for their quantum computing revenues to start mattering.
Three numbers from the most recent quarter, straight from some quantum computing companies' own filings, show how far "someday" still is from "now."
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) booked $80.1 million in revenue for the second quarter. D-Wave Quantum (NASDAQ: QBTS) booked around $3 million. Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ: RGTI) booked $5.1 million. None of those revenue figures covered the millions the companies spend annually on hardware. So, for investors interested in this niche of the tech sector, the real question is which quantum computing stock is closest to running on revenue rather than on the next stock or debt sale.
Revenue today: IBM and IonQ
IBM (NYSE: IBM) doesnt reportits quantum computing revenue separately, and that tells you most of what you need to know: Within the multibillion-dollar business that is IBM, the quantum computing operation still amounts to a rounding error. What IBM has instead is scale and patience. It runs 13 utility-scale quantum computing systems (100-plus qubits each), has booked more than $1 billion in cumulative quantum business, and is putting $10 billion behind its efforts to develop the technology over five years. But that effort is funded by the tens of billions of dollars in free cash flow its mainframes and software throw off every year. CEO Arvind Krishna said in a July interview on CNBC that quantum computing won't move the profit needle for his company until 2028 or 2029. But IBM can wait that long.
IonQ doesn't have that luxury, but it's the one pure play in the space that's booking real revenue: $144.7 million in the first half of 2026, up from $28.3 million in the prior-year period. So what does that growth cost? The headline quarterly loss was $1.87 billion, though $1.65 billion of that was a noncash charge from revaluing warrants. The number that matters more is operating cash burn: $254.8 million over six months, nearly triple the $85.6 million it burned in the first half of 2025. IonQ had $3 billion in cash and investments on its books as of June 30, or about $2 billion once its recent SkyWater acquisition is paid for. That gives it a few years of runway at this pace, not a few quarters. But the bill is being paid in shares: The weighted average count of shares outstanding jumped by 47% year over year, from 251 million to 368 million. Each shareholder now owns a noticeably smaller piece of the company than they did a year ago.
Revenue soon, and what "soon" costs: D-Wave and Rigetti
D-Wave and Rigetti are smaller and earlier -- and their own numbers show exactly how early. D-Wave's second-quarter revenue was flat at $3.1 million, but bookings (signed orders not yet counted as revenue) hit $35.5 million for the first half of 2026, up over 1,120% from a year earlier. D-Wave says commercial customers made up 67.7% of its revenue in the first half of 2026, up sharply from 16% a year earlier. But within its cloud business specifically, only 37.3% of revenue came from production use; the rest came from pilot projects and testing, a reminder that "commercial" doesn't necessarily mean "in production" yet.
Its cash cushion stood at $546.2 million as of June 30, down $273.1 million from a year ago, primarily due to cash paid for its Quantum Circuits acquisition, not to operating losses. D-Wave has leaned heavily on at-the-market stock sales to fund that gap, under a standing arrangement that lets the company sell new shares straight into the market whenever it needs cash. That keeps it funded, but steadily reduces the value of each existing share.
Rigetti's story is similar. Quarterly revenue rose to $5.1 million from $1.8 million a year earlier, and it holds roughly $541 million in cash with no debt. But it has also been issuing new stock through repeated at-the-market offerings, so like D-Wave, it isn't paying the bills with customer sales yet; it's buying time with equity.
The enablers: Google and Nvidia aren't selling quantum yet
Alphabet and Nvidia are excluded from this scorecard because neither sells quantum computers as a business line today. Alphabet's Willow chip has achieved some impressive test results, but access to it outside the company is still limited to select researchers, per The Quantum Insider. Nvidia isn't building qubits at all. It's focusing its efforts instead on providing key support systems -- chiefly NVQLink, a system that connects quantum processors to Nvidia's GPUs; and CUDA-Q, the software platform that allows unified programs to be run across hardware that combines quantum and classical processors.
More than a dozen supercomputing centers and 17 quantum hardware makers have adopted NVQLink, but Nvidia doesn't break out what that's worth, because right now, it probably isn't much.
Both Alphabet and Nvidia are positioned to profit once quantum computing works at commercial scale. Neither offers proof that it does yet.
So, what does all this mean for quantum computing investors? IBM has the balance sheet to fund a long wait. IonQ has real, fast-growing revenue, but it bought those sales with heavy cash burn and serious dilution. D-Wave and Rigetti have promising bookings, but their revenues are still tiny next to their cash burns, and they're covering the gap by printing new shares. Alphabet and Nvidia are well positioned bystanders, not yet quantum revenue stories. In my opinion, the numbers favor IBM for balance sheet durability, IonQ for actual commercial traction, and perhaps Nvidia if it lets investors look into its quantum operations over the next couple of years.
Should you buy stock in International Business Machines right now?
Before you buy stock in International Business Machines, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and International Business Machines wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $391,581!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,334,780!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 936% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 213% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of October 16, 2026.
Micah Zimmerman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, International Business Machines, IonQ, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Quantum Computing Is Still Years Away. These 6 Stocks Show Who Is Closest to Real Revenue.

Key Points
Innodata currently occupies the top position in revenue, having generated consistently higher sales than IONQ across all eight of the comparable quarters evaluated in this financial comparison.
Both organizations established a continuous pattern of quarter-over-quarter expansion, although IONQ displayed a distinctly steeper upward trajectory starting from a significantly smaller base.
Investors should monitor whether the revenue gap between these two growing companies continues to narrow or begins to stabilize in upcoming quarters.
Innodata: Gradual Upward Momentum in Quarterly Revenue
Innodata (NASDAQ:INOD) primarily generates revenue by supplying global enterprise clients across the financial, insurance, and technology sectors with specialized data engineering services, digital transformation strategies, and proprietary software platforms designed for training artificial intelligence and complex machine learning algorithms. It recently announced a planned leadership transition in its chief executive officer position, and it subsequently opened a new motion-capture research laboratory in New York City to generate high-accuracy training data for humanoid robotics.
IONQ: Rapid Acceleration From a Smaller Base
IONQ (NYSE:IONQ) primarily generates revenue by building advanced, general-purpose quantum computing hardware systems and providing commercial access to those processing resources through major third-party cloud computing service providers, including Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, as well as its own proprietary network. It recently introduced its sixth-generation quantum computing hardware platform for immediate commercial deployment, while executing a definitive agreement to acquire an enterprise security infrastructure company in an all-stock transaction valued at $1.3 billion.
Why Revenue Matters for Investors
Revenue serves as a fundamental baseline measure of total overall commercial demand for an organization's products or services before any operating expenses, taxes, or capital costs are deducted. It reveals whether a company is successfully attracting customers and growing its overall business volume over time.
Innodata vs. IONQ Revenue over the last 8 quarters.
Comparing Quarterly Revenue Trends for Innodata and IONQ
Q3 2024
$52.2 million (quarter ended Sept. 30, 2024)
$12.4 million (quarter ended Sept. 30, 2024)
Q4 2024
$59.2 million (quarter ended Dec. 31, 2024)
$11.7 million (quarter ended Dec. 31, 2024)
Q1 2025
$58.3 million (quarter ended March 31, 2025)
$7.6 million (quarter ended March 31, 2025)
Q2 2025
$58.4 million (quarter ended June 30, 2025)
$20.7 million (quarter ended June 30, 2025)
Q3 2025
$62.5 million (quarter ended Sept. 30, 2025)
$39.9 million (quarter ended Sept. 30, 2025)
Q4 2025
$72.4 million (quarter ended Dec. 31, 2025)
$61.9 million (quarter ended Dec. 31, 2025)
Q1 2026
$90.1 million (quarter ended March 31, 2026)
$64.7 million (quarter ended March 31, 2026)
Q2 2026
$92.1 million (quarter ended June 30, 2026)
$80.0 million (quarter ended June 30, 2026)
Data source: Financial Modeling Prep. Data as of Oct. 13, 2026.
Foolish Take
Both Innodata and IONQ operate in cutting-edge fields, the former in artificial intelligence and the latter in quantum computing. Looking at their revenue trends provides insights for investors to understand how each business is performing.
In that regard, IONQ's sales trajectory is impressive, given quantum computers are still an emerging technology and have yet to achieve widespread adoption. Its revenue over the past year has soared, and now, it's on the verge of catching up to Innodata. The outstanding revenue growth indicates IONQ's technology is winning customers. The strength of its quantum computers was further validated by the company advancing to the final round of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Quantum Benchmarking Initiative on Oct. 7.
Meanwhile, Innodata's strong quarter-over-quarter sales growth seen in 2025 seems to have slowed down in 2026, a disappointing trend amid the rapid expansion of the AI market. This combined with a leadership transition this year in both the CEO and CFO roles have contributed to a share price decline, with the stock down about 35% over the past 12 months through Oct. 13.
Should you buy stock in Innodata right now?
Before you buy stock in Innodata, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Innodata wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $379,986!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,404,152!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 948% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 215% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of October 14, 2026.
Robert Izquierdo has positions in IonQ. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Innodata and IonQ. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Innodata vs. IONQ: A Look at Revenue Trends Between Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing Innovators

Key Points
Innodata provides mission-critical data engineering and AI training services to five of the world's largest technology companies.
IonQ is a leader in the high-growth quantum computing space, securing key hardware partnerships with major cloud providers.
Which of these two high-growth technology plays is the better buy for your portfolio in 2026?
As artificial intelligence demands more data and faster processing, investors are weighing the stability of Innodata (NASDAQ:INOD) against the moonshot potential of IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) to decide which stock is the better buy.
Innodata focuses on the human-in-the-loop data engineering required to train today's most advanced large language models. Meanwhile, IonQ is building the next generation of hardware through quantum computing, aiming to solve problems traditional computers cannot. While both are expanding rapidly, they occupy very different niches in the tech ecosystem.
The case for Innodata
Innodata sells data engineering, evaluation frameworks, and AI solutions to companies building generative AI, including some of the largest tech stocks. However, one customer in its Digital Data Solutions segment accounted for 58% of total revenue in 2025. Customer concentration like this adds a layer of risk to the business.
In FY 2025, revenue reached nearly $251.7 million, representing a significant growth of approximately 47.6% over the prior year. The company reported a net income of close to $32.2 million, resulting in a net margin of roughly 12.8%. This transition to profitability follows a period of heavy investment in its AI-driven service lines.
As of its December 2025 balance sheet, the debt-to-equity ratio was 0.0x and free cash flow reached $35.6 million. The current ratio sat at roughly 2.7x, indicating the company has enough short-term assets to cover its upcoming bills. Note that stock-based compensation represented roughly 23.8% of operating cash flow, which inflates reported cash generation since SBC is a non-cash expense added back in the cash flow statement.
The case for IonQ
IonQ develops quantum computing hardware and offers access to its systems through major cloud platforms. These partners include Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA). By providing quantum-as-a-service, the company allows clients to experiment with quantum algorithms without the high cost of owning hardware.
In FY 2025, revenue reached nearly $130.0 million, reflecting a massive growth rate of approximately 201.9% compared to the prior year. Despite this top-line surge, the company reported a net loss of roughly $510.4 million. This resulted in a net margin of negative 392.6%, as the firm continues to prioritize research and development over immediate profits.
On its December 2025 balance sheet, the company maintained a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.0x and a current ratio of approximately 15.5x. Free cash flow was negative at approximately $299.6 million, representing cash spent on operations and capital equipment. This capital-intensive spending is common for early-stage companies that are still scaling their proprietary technology.
Risk profile comparison
Innodata faces substantial revenue concentration, as a single customer accounted for 58% of its 2025 revenue. It competes in a crowded market against large rivals like Accenture (NYSE:ACN), Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH), and Infosys (NYSE:INFY). Operational risks include managing a global workforce and navigating ongoing litigation, alongside evolving data privacy laws that impact AI training.
IonQ operates with an unproven business model and has a history of significant operating losses. The technology itself faces immense hurdles, as the company must prove it can produce scalable, fault-tolerant quantum computers. It relies on third-party suppliers for critical components, and its reliance on government contracts introduces risks related to budget shifts and strict regulatory compliance.
Valuation comparison
Innodata appears significantly cheaper on a price-to-sales basis, while IonQ lacks a traditional Forward P/E due to its current net losses. The P/S ratio, which measures market value against sales over the past twelve months, also highlights a valuation gap.
Metric
Innodata
IonQ
Forward P/E
50.3x
N/A
P/S ratio
6.4x
60.4x
Valuation metrics include sourcing from Financial Modeling Prep (FMP) and may differ from other data providers.
Which stock would I buy in 2026?
I'd go with Innodata, though I'll admit IonQ is one of those stocks that is hard to walk away from. The promise of quantum computing is enticing, and IonQ is one of the most credible ways to own it. But when I look at what each company is actually delivering right now, the choice becomes clearer.
In Q2 2026, Innodata posted its 12th consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth, with revenue up 58% and adjusted EBITDA nearly doubling. A new big tech customer scaled rapidly to become the company's second-largest account in a single quarter, while the largest customer's share of revenue dropped significantly, in an important shift toward a more balanced customer base.
IonQ's backlog continues to expand across government, enterprise, and international customers, and quantum computing is arriving faster than most people expected. But the losses are substantial, and the timeline to commercial scale remains uncertain. If I'm choosing between a company already delivering and one still building toward a breakthrough, the former is the easier place to start.
Should you buy stock in Innodata right now?
Before you buy stock in Innodata, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Innodata wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $379,123!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,408,822!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 950% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 215% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of October 13, 2026.
Sara Appino has positions in Amazon and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Accenture Plc, Amazon, Innodata, IonQ, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends Cognizant Technology Solutions and recommends the following options: long January 2028 $260 calls on Accenture Plc and short January 2028 $280 calls on Accenture Plc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Innodata vs. IonQ: Which Technology Stock Is a Better Buy in 2026?

The S&P 500 Index ($SPX) (SPY) is down by -0.07% today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DOWI) (DIA) is up by +0.42%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX) (QQQ) is down -0.69%. December E-mini S&P futures (ESZ26) are down -0.05%, and December E-mini Nasdaq futures (NQZ26) are down -0.65%.
Stock indexes are mixed today, with the Dow Jones Industrials posting a 2.5-week high. The broader market is under pressure from higher crude oil prices, with WTI crude up more than +2% today on concerns about escalating tensions in the Middle East after repeated Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia from neighboring Yemen. Weakness in chipmakers and AI-infrastructure stocks is also weighing on the overall market today.
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Stocks have support from the prospect of solid quarterly earnings results that will begin this week. Goldman Sachs today raised its three-month view on global equity markets to overweight from neutral, saying. “Earnings growth remains supportive for equities and the recent valuation de-rating has improved asymmetry into the third-quarter earnings season.” Also, strength in software stocks and energy producers is supportive of the overall market.
Market activity may be below normal, as the cash Treasury market is closed today for the Columbus Day bank holiday.
According to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence, Q3 S&P 500 profits are expected to climb by +25% from a year earlier, up from a July estimate of 22%. Q3 earnings season begins this week when US money center banks report.
Nov WTI crude oil prices (CLX26) are up more than +2% today after Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen launched drone and missile attacks against Saudi Arabia over the weekend, raising the risk of escalation that could draw the US into the conflict. Also, there's been a recent escalation of drone and missile attacks against vessels traversing the Strait of Hormuz, limiting energy exports from the region. Limiting gains in crude are the prospects of Russia releasing diesel supplies into theglobal marketafter the US Treasury issued a waiver for previously sanctioned Russian fuel. Last Friday, Russia said it will partially lift its ban on diesel exports, allowing 500,000 MT of diesel fuel to reach international markets following an agreement between Russian President Putin and US President Trump.
Markets are discounting a 19% chance of a +25 bp Fed rate hike at the next FOMC meeting on October 27-28.
Overseas stock markets are mixed today. The Euro Stoxx 50 is up +0.44%. China's Shanghai Composite closed down -0.43%. Japan's Nikkei-225 Stock Average did not trade, as Japanese markets were closed today for the Health Sports Day holiday.
Interest Rates
December 10-year T-notes (ZNZ6) are down by -2.5 ticks today. The 10-year T-note yield is not trading today, as the cash Treasury market is closed for the Columbus Day bank holiday. Dec T-notes are under pressure today as higher crude oil prices raise inflation expectations.
European government bond yields are mixed today. The 10-year German bund yield is down -0.5 bp to 3.476%. The 10-year UK gilt yield is up +0.1 bp to 5.444%.
ECB Governing Council member Yannis Stournaras said the ECB may raise interest rates again to curb inflation but without rushing any action, suggesting an ECB rate hike this month is less likely than one in December.
Markets are discounting a 13% chance of a +25 bp ECB rate hike at the ECB’s next meeting on October 29.
US Stock Movers
Chipmakers and AI-infrastructure stocks are sliding today, weighing on the overall market. Lumentum Holdings (LITE) is down more than -7% to lead losers in the S&P 50 and Nasdaq 100, and Sandisk (SNDK) is down more than -6%. Also, Micron Technology (MU) and Marvell Technology (MRVL) are down more than -4%, and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), ARM Holdings (ARM), Intel (INTC), and Seagate Technology Holdings Plc (STX) are down more than 3-%. In addition, Lam Research (LRCX), KLA Corp (KLAC), Microchip Technology (MCHP), and Western Digital (WDC) are down more than -2%, and Applied Materials (AMAT), Broadcom (AVGO), and Qualcomm (QCOM) are down more than -1%.
Software stocks are climbing today, led by a +2% jump in Salesforce (CRM) to lead gainers in the Dow Jones Industrials after Bank of America Global Research double-upgraded the stock to buy from underperform with a price target of $285. Also, Workday (WDAY) is up more than +2%, and ServiceNow (NOW), Intuit (INTU), and Microsoft (MSFT) are up more than +1%.
Energy producers and service providers are moving higher today, with WTI crude oil up more than +2%. Diamondback Energy (FANG) is up more than +2%, and APA Corp (APA), Chevron (CVX), ConocoPhillips (COP), Devon Energy (DVN), ExxonMobil Holdings (XOM), and Occidental Petroleum (OXY) are up more than +1%.
IonQ (IONQ) is down more than -8% after agreeing to buy Elisity Inc. for as much as $1.3 billion in an all-stock transaction.
Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) is down more than -4% after Starbucks said it has no plans to acquire the company.
Enact Holdings (ACT) is down more than -1% after JPMorgan Chase downgraded the stock to underweight from neutral with a price target of $44.
Adobe (ADBE) is down more than -1% after Wells Fargo Securities double-downgraded the stock to underweight from overweight with a price target of $225.
First Tracks Biotherapeutics (TRAX) is up more than +6% after reporting topline results from an early-stage trial of its experimental therapy for celiac disease.
AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) is up more than +4% after Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to buy from hold with a price target of $93.
Biogen (BIIB) is up more than +3% after JPMorgan Chase upgraded the stock to overweight from neutral, with a price target of $300.
Earnings Reports (10/12/2026)
Liberty Live Holdings Inc (LLYVA) and SR Bancorp Inc (SRBK).
On the date of publication, Rich Asplund did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.

Stocks Pressured by Rising Crude Prices and Chipmaker Weakness

Key Points
IonQ is building a vertically integrated quantum computing platform.
While the company's revenue is soaring, much of its growth stems from acquisitions.
IonQ's operating losses are widening, and the stock is priced for perfection right now.
IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) has already made some investors a fortune. The quantum computing stock has transformed from a speculative small-cap company into one with soaring revenue, expanding backlog, and an increasingly diversified platform.
Wall Street expects IonQ's annual revenue to surpass $1 billion by 2028. While that sounds like a setup for attractive gains, there's a catch: Investors are already paying a premium for that future growth. Let's explore what a $5,000 investment in IonQ stock could actually be worth by 2028.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
IonQ offers more than quantum computers
Management consulting firm McKinsey & Company estimates the quantum computing market could generate between $43 billion and $71 billion in annual revenue by 2035. IonQ hopes to capture a meaningful slice of this market through trapped-ion quantum computing, which uses electrically charged atoms as qubits.
What most investors probably overlook is that IonQ isn't limiting itself to quantum processors. Through a string of acquisitions and internal development, the company has expanded its platform to include networking, sensing, cybersecurity, and semiconductor manufacturing.
Most recently, IonQ's $1.8 billion acquisition of SkyWater Technology is particularly important. SkyWater provides the company with semiconductor manufacturing capabilities, potentially helping IonQ accelerate product development and reduce dependence on external suppliers.
In addition, IonQ is developing the Superion quantum computing platform, with initial 256-qubit customer deployments targeted for 2027. These initiatives are meant to position IonQ as a vertically integrated supplier across several emerging pockets of the quantum landscape. But smart investors understand that technological leadership and grand ambitions do not automatically translate into attractive stock returns.
IonQ's revenue is soaring, but operating losses are a problem
IonQ's financial results demonstrate both the opportunities and the risks involved in investing in a pure-play quantum computing developer. During the second quarter, revenue surged 287% year over year to $80.1 million. Meanwhile, remaining performance obligations (RPO), representing contracted revenue not yet recognized, reached approximately $485 million, compared with $122 million one year earlier.
With the acquisition of SkyWater now closed, IonQ raised its 2026 revenue outlook to between $450 million and $460 million. Of course, investors should realize that much of the increase in sales comes from acquired semiconductor manufacturing revenue rather than accelerating demand for quantum computers.
Profitability is my main concern with IonQ. The company reported a second-quarter operating loss of approximately $337 million, up from $160 million in the second quarter of 2025. Although the company carried approximately $2.9 billion in cash and investments at the end of the second quarter, this might not provide as much financial flexibility as you'd think, given IonQ's burn rate.
$5,000 invested in IonQ might be worth less than you think
As of this writing (Oct. 8), IonQ stock trades around $40 and boasts a market capitalization of approximately $16 billion. Wall Street expects roughly $1.1 billion in revenue by 2028, representing extraordinary growth from 2025's $130 million.
Here's where things get interesting: Suppose IonQ actually achieves this forecast and trades at a 15-times price-to-sales (P/S) ratio. That would imply a market capitalization of approximately $16 billion. In other words, IonQ could increase revenue more than eightfold from last year and still trade at today's valuation.
Even in a more optimistic scenario where IonQ commands 20 times its 2028 sales, its market capitalization would reach $21.2 billion, representing about a 33% upside. This would turn a $5,000 investment into roughly $6,600. That's an attractive return in just two years but would require near-flawless execution by management and the market to assign a premium valuation multiple.
Both scenarios assume there is no meaningful change in shares outstanding, which hasn't been the case over the last year. IonQ has issued meaningful stock to fund its acquisitions, diluting shareholders in the process.
The theme here is that IonQ stock is already priced for considerable future success. I see IonQ stock as a speculative hold rather than a compelling buy right now. While the company could become a major beneficiary of quantum computing, investors may not necessarily be rewarded with multibagger returns.
Should you buy stock in IonQ right now?
Before you buy stock in IonQ, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and IonQ wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $379,123!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,408,822!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 950% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 215% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of October 11, 2026.
Adam Spatacco has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends IonQ. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Prediction: A $5,000 Investment in IonQ Could Be Worth This Much by 2028

Key Points
Quantinuum, backed by Honeywell's continued majority-voting stake, is still working through post-IPO price discovery following its June Nasdaq debut.
IBM's quantum bet is funded by its much larger, profitable core business, giving it a longer runway than smaller pure-play competitors.
Nvidia's NVQLink platform is being adopted across nearly the entire quantum industry, letting it benefit from the sector's growth regardless of which specific technology wins.
IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) and Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ: RGTI) get most of the attention whenever quantum computing comes up, largely because they were among the first to go public and have spent years building retail investor followings.
But the businesses I'd actually want exposure to this month aren't the loudest names in the room. These three are either newer to the public markets, backed by a much larger parent, or positioned to win no matter which quantum approach eventually comes out on top. Some of these tickers are typically correlated with something completely different from quantum computing, but they are making moves that are hard to ignore.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
1. Quantinuum: The newly public heavyweight with Honeywell's backing
Quantinuum (NASDAQ: QNT) made its Nasdaq debut in June, spun out of Honeywell International (NASDAQ: HON), combining decades of industrial engineering expertise with Cambridge Quantum's software expertise.
That lineage matters more than one might think. Quantinuum builds its quantum computers around trapped-ion technology, an approach that's generally regarded as producing cleaner, lower-error qubits than some rival methods, which matters enormously in a field where error correction is the single biggest obstacle to doing anything commercially useful. In other words, fewer mistakes per calculation mean Quantinuum incurs less computational overhead just to clean up after its own errors, which is the main thing standing between quantum computers and doing real, useful work today.
Honeywell retained roughly 48% of the voting power after the IPO, per CNBC, which tells me the industrial giant isn't walking away from this bet; it's still deeply invested in seeing it through.
What makes Quantinuum compelling to me right now is the timing. Freshly public stocks in a hyped sector often see real price discovery happen over their first several months of trading, as analysts initiate coverage and institutional investors build positions they couldn't touch during the IPO quiet period. That process is still playing out for Quantinuum, and I'd rather be positioned for it than watch from the sidelines.
2. IBM: The deep-pocketed incumbent betting on a 2029 breakthrough
IBM (NYSE: IBM) isn't a pure-play quantum stock, and that's exactly the point. IBM committed more than $10 billion to its quantum roadmap, funding a path from today's systems through to what it's calling the world's first large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer, targeted for 2029.
In August, IBM hit an engineering milestone, successfully connecting its first modular cryogenic systems, the refrigeration architecture needed to eventually link hundreds of quantum chips together into one far more powerful machine. IBM has also outlined specific hardware checkpoints along the way, including a multichip processor designed to combine thousands of qubits into a single working system within the next couple of years, per Quantum Insider.
The appeal here for me is straightforward: IBM doesn't need quantum computing to work tomorrow to keep funding this effort, because the rest of its business, such as software, consulting, and mainframes, keeps generating the cash to bankroll a decade-long science project. That's a very different risk profile than betting on a smaller company that needs quantum revenue to materialize just to keep the lights on.
3. Nvidia: The pick-and-shovel play that wins regardless of who's right
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) doesn't build quantum processors, and that's precisely why I think it deserves a spot here.
Nvidia built NVQLink, a technology that connects quantum processors directly to its GPU-powered supercomputers, enabling classical and quantum computing to work together in real time. At Nvidia's GTC conference this year, that technology went live for developers, and the list of companies building on top of it reads like a who's who of the quantum industry: IonQ is installing hardware at Nvidia's own research center, while other companies and government labs, including Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, have all announced integrations or are using the tech.
The bigger picture
In my opinion, quantum computing stocks tend to move in waves tied to conference season and fresh funding news, and fall brings both: Nvidia's GTC's momentum is still fresh, Quantinuum's post-IPO positioning is still shaking out, and IBM's cryogenic milestone just hit headlines in the last couple of months. I'd rather be positioned now across a newly public pure-play, a deep-pocketed incumbent, and an infrastructure layer that profits either way, than concentrated in the two names everyone already knows.
Should you buy stock in Quantinuum right now?
Before you buy stock in Quantinuum, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Quantinuum wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $379,123!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,408,822!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 950% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 215% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of October 11, 2026.
Micah Zimmerman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Honeywell Technologies, International Business Machines, IonQ, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends Nasdaq. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

3 Quantum Computing Stocks Poised to Outperform IonQ and Rigetti This Month

Key Points
Cerebras Systems is revolutionizing artificial intelligence workloads with its massive wafer-scale engine architecture.
IonQ is advancing the field of quantum computing through its proprietary trapped ion technology and cloud partnerships.
Which high-growth hardware innovator offers the best long-term potential for your portfolio?
Investors seeking exposure to the next generation of computing are often torn between Cerebras Systems (NASDAQ:CBRS) and IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) as these two companies tackle different ends of the performance spectrum.
Cerebras Systems provides massive specialized processors designed to accelerate the heaviest artificial intelligence tasks, while IonQ builds quantum systems meant to solve problems classical computers cannot handle. Both represent high-stakes bets on the future of specialized hardware, making them frequent targets for comparison among tech-focused investors.
The case for Cerebras Systems
Cerebras Systems has built its business around the Wafer-Scale Engine, which is the largest chip ever manufactured. By using an entire silicon wafer for a single processor, the company eliminates many of the communication bottlenecks found in traditional multi-chip clusters, as the demand for semiconductor stocks remains high. The company sells these on-premises systems and offers cloud-based access to developers in sectors like medical research, energy, and cryptography.
In FY 2025, revenue reached nearly $510.0 million, representing a substantial growth of approximately 75.7% compared to the prior year. The company reported net income of close to $237.8 million for the period, which resulted in a net margin of roughly 46.6%. This transition to profitability is notable given the company reported a significant net loss during fiscal year 2024.
As of its December 2025 balance sheet, the debt-to-equity ratio was roughly -0.5x, indicating that total liabilities exceed shareholder equity. The current ratio, which measures a company's ability to pay short-term obligations with its current assets, was approximately 2.1x. Despite the positive net income, Cerebras Systems reported negative free cash flow of nearly $392.8 million in FY 2025, reflecting the heavy capital investment required for its manufacturing and research efforts.
The case for IonQ
IonQ is a leader in the quantum computing space, focusing on trapped ion technology that uses individual atoms as qubits to perform calculations. The company has secured commercial agreements with major cloud providers such as Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) to offer its hardware to researchers and businesses globally. It also works with Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) to develop error-correction technologies that are vital for making quantum computers reliable for real-world applications.
During FY 2025, revenue grew by roughly 201.9% to reach approximately $130.0 million. However, the company continues to face high costs associated with its early-stage development, reporting a net loss of close to $510.4 million. This resulted in a negative net margin of roughly 392.6%, highlighting the significant gap between current sales and the expenses required to scale quantum hardware.
As of its December 2025 balance sheet, IonQ maintained a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.0x, showing it carries virtually no debt relative to its equity. The current ratio was exceptionally high at approximately 15.5x, suggesting a strong liquidity position to fund future operations. Free cash flow for FY 2025 was negative $299.6 million, which is typical for a pre-profitability tech firm building out a global physical infrastructure.
Risk profile comparison
Cerebras Systems faces risks related to its complex manufacturing process, as producing chips at the scale of an entire wafer leaves little room for error. The company must also compete against much larger rivals like Nvidia that dominate the artificial intelligence market. Furthermore, because its customer base is currently niche, a slowdown in high-performance computing demand could disproportionately impact its revenue growth and ability to remain net-income positive.
IonQ faces a different set of challenges, primarily its history of substantial operating losses and an accumulated deficit of over $1 billion. Scaling quantum hardware is technically difficult, and the company must compete with well-funded entities like Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), IBM, and Microsoft. Additionally, IonQ experiences high revenue concentration, meaning the loss of a single major contract or partnership could materially harm its financial results and investor confidence.
Valuation comparison
Cerebras Systems appears more mature due to its positive net income, while IonQ carries a slightly higher sales-based valuation despite its larger losses.
Metric
Cerebras Systems
IonQ
Forward P/E
141.2x
N/A
P/S ratio
61.1x
62.6x
Valuation metrics include sourcing from Financial Modeling Prep (FMP) and may differ from other data providers.
The P/S ratio measures a company's market value against its sales over the past twelve months. The Forward P/E compares the current share price to future earnings estimates to help investors judge if a stock is reasonably priced relative to its growth potential.
Which stock would I buy in 2026?
I'd go with IonQ. Both companies are early-stage with significant losses, so investors should be prepared for volatility with either pick. The choice here really comes down to the specific challenges each is navigating right now.
Cerebras has built chip architecture that delivers industry-leading AI training speeds, and partnerships with OpenAI and AWS signal serious institutional interest. But the stock has fallen more than 50% from its post-IPO peak, partly because recent reports indicated that OpenAI chose Nvidia hardware over Cerebras for its newest product. When a high-profile customer appears to be moving toward a competitor, it raises questions about the revenue pipeline that are not easy to dismiss.
IonQ's backlog has expanded dramatically, revenue is accelerating, and its customer base spans government, enterprise, and international markets. The commercial moment for quantum computing isn't here yet, but it's arriving faster than many investors expected a year ago, and IonQ is positioned as the leading pure-play in the space.
Between two speculative bets, IonQ has a more diversified customer base and fewer near-term competitive concerns. For investors comfortable with early-stage risk, that gives it the edge right now.
Should you buy stock in Cerebras Systems right now?
Before you buy stock in Cerebras Systems, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Cerebras Systems wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $385,972!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,416,196!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 951% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 214% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of October 9, 2026.
Sara Appino has positions in Amazon and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Intel, International Business Machines, IonQ, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.