IONQ Q2 Earnings Miss Estimates, Revenues Beat, Stock Rises

Following the announcement yesterday, IONQ shares gained 1.13% in the after-market session.

IonQ Broadens Its Revenue Base

International customers generated approximately 50% of quarterly revenues, helped by deployments in South Korea and Switzerland. IonQ now delivers solutions in more than 50 countries across six continents.

Commercial customers, which exclude U.S. government customers, accounted for roughly 60% of revenues. Multi-product sales increased 40% year over year and represented about 25% of the total, reflecting customer purchases across computing, networking, sensing and security.

IONQ's Backlog Adds Revenue Visibility

Remaining performance obligations (RPOs) reached $485 million at quarter-end, up from $470 million in the first quarter and $122 million a year earlier. The increase indicates that new contract activity more than replenished revenues recognized during the quarter.

Management noted that potential business tied to memorandums of understanding with Anduril and Sandia National Laboratories was not included in RPOs. These relationships remain at an early stage and could involve defense, national security and quantum co-design opportunities.

IonQ's Costs Keep Profitability Under Pressure

The adjusted cost of revenues, excluding depreciation and amortization, totaled $44.8 million, resulting in adjusted gross profit of $35.3 million on revenues of $80.1 million. Adjusted gross margin was 44.1% in the second quarter of 2026.

GAAP operating expenses totaled $417.3 million. Research and development was the largest component at $160.6 million, followed by general and administrative expenses of $117.6 million, depreciation and amortization of $46.1 million, and sales and marketing expenses of $32.9 million.

Adjusted EBITDA loss was $120.3 million compared with a loss of $36.5 million a year ago. The result included $24.7 million in R&D costs related to the commercial relationship with SkyWater. Excluding that spending, the adjusted EBITDA loss would have been $95.6 million.

IonQ’s Financial Details

IonQ ended the second quarter with substantial financial flexibility. Cash, cash equivalents and investments totaled $3.0 billion as of June 30, 2026, supporting continued investment in quantum-system development, manufacturing capacity and global deployments.

On a pro forma basis following the SkyWater acquisition, cash, cash equivalents and investments were $2.0 billion. Management said this capital position, along with no debt, supports the parallel development of IonQ’s 256-qubit and 10,000-qubit systems.

IONQ Raises Its 2026 Revenue Outlook

IonQ lifted its 2026 revenue guidance to $280-$290 million from the earlier $260-$270 million range. The outlook excludes any contribution from SkyWater and retains management's expectation for 100% year-over-year organic revenue growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues currently stands at $267.5 million.

Our Take

IonQ exited the second quarter of 2026 on a mixed note, with a wider-than-expected adjusted loss, while revenues beat estimates. The largest contributor to the quarter's revenue outperformance was continued momentum in fifth-generation quantum computing systems.

Commercial momentum extended beyond computing. IonQ began subsystem shipments for Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, advanced final assembly of a fifth-generation system for QuantumBasel and expanded the number of on-orbit optical communications terminals to a record high of 84. The company also signed memorandums of understanding with Anduril and Sandia National Laboratories for potential defense and national-security applications.

Supported by solid quarterly revenues, expanding RPOs and broad demand across its quantum platform, management raised its 2026 revenue outlook, which is highly encouraging.

IONQ’s Zacks Rank and Key Picks

IonQ currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks from the broader Computer and Technology sector are Advanced Micro Devices AMD, AMETEK, Inc. AME, and Vertex VRTX.

Advanced Micro Devices, currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), reported a second-quarter 2026 adjusted EPS of $1.66, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.1%. Revenues of $11.54 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.9%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

AMD has an earnings growth rate of 75.1% in 2026 compared with the industry’s 7.7% growth. The company surpassed earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 6.74%.

AMETEK, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present, posted second-quarter adjusted EPS of $2.09, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5%. Revenues of $2.04 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.5%.

AME has an earnings growth rate of 9.7% in 2026 compared with the industry’s 4.2% growth. The company’s earnings outpaced estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 4.93%.

Vertex, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2, reported second-quarter earnings of $0.2 per share, which topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.26%. Revenues of $203.9 million outperformed the consensus mark by 0.98%.

VRTX has an earnings growth rate of 26.6% in 2026 compared with the industry’s 20.4% growth. The company’s earnings outpaced estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 2.88%.

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