Insider Brief
- IonQ reported third-quarter revenue of $173.8 million, up 336% from a year earlier, and raised its full-year revenue forecast to between $505 million and $515 million.
- IonQ advanced to Stage C of DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, announced a planned Superion 256 deployment at NVIDIA’s research center and expanded its security business by acquiring Elisity.
- The company reported a $564 million quarterly profit reflecting noncash changes in warrant values, while its adjusted loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization totaled $133.6 million.
IonQ raised its full-year revenue forecast as record quarterly sales and new computing, manufacturing and security agreements expanded its quantum technology business, according to a company statement .
The company reported third-quarter revenue of $173.8 million, up 336% from a year earlier, marking its sixth consecutive record quarter. It increased its 2026 revenue outlook to between $505 million and $515 million and said it expects quantum computing revenue to grow 110% for the year.
IonQ Platform revenue rose 127% to $90.3 million, supported by global deployments of its Tempo quantum computers. SkyWater Foundry Services contributed $83.5 million in revenue, while its revenue from quantum customers other than IonQ increased more than 30%, the company said.
“I am pleased to report that IonQ delivered its sixth consecutive quarter of record results and the strongest quarter in our company’s history,” Niccolo de Masi, Chairman and CEO, said in the statement. “Third quarter revenue of $173.8 million reflects increasing demand for our quantum technologies and the benefits of our vertically integrated quantum manufacturing capabilities through SkyWater .”
de Masi continued, “Recent developments have provided meaningful validation of our technology and commercial strategy. We are deeply proud that IonQ is the only trapped-ion company to advance to DARPA Stage C. This final stage of DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative includes a potential program value of up to $300 million. In addition, NVIDIA will deploy a Superion 256 system as the first on-premise quantum computer at its Accelerated Quantum Research Center – connected directly to its AI supercomputing infrastructure. Both decisions underscore IonQ’s relentless focus on leading the industry with deployable quantum computers – built for data centers and designed to work with classical computing.”
IonQ reported quarterly net income attributable to the company of $564 million, or $1.42 a share. The profit reflected a noncash accounting effect from changes in the value of warrants. Its adjusted loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization was $133.6 million, and its adjusted loss per share was 29 cents.
Computing Orders and Research Milestones
Trapped-ion computers use individual electrically charged atoms to store and process quantum information. The DARPA initiative is intended to assess progress toward useful quantum computing.
Recent commercial agreements included a $33 million contract with SDT to deploy a Superion 256 quantum computer and a quantum memory platform. Quantum memory is designed to hold quantum information for later use in computing or networking.
Florida International University signed a separate $25 million contract to deploy a Superion 256 system.
The company also disclosed a $28 million contract through DARPA’s It’s About Time program to deliver 25 optical atomic clocks, which use precise atomic signals to measure time. The agreement includes a $30 million option for 100 additional production units.
IonQ received $7.5 million in follow-on funding from the Air Force Research Laboratory to advance quantum networking, which aims to connect systems that exchange quantum information.
It also signed a memorandum of understanding with Northrop Grumman covering potential work in supply chain optimization, materials science, quantum computing, networking and chemistry. A separate strategic partnership with Carahsoft is intended to help federal agencies and their industry partners adopt quantum technology.
Security Business Expands
IonQ said its acquisition of Elisity extends its quantum security platform by adding capabilities to identify vulnerabilities, control access and help customers change cryptographic protections as threats evolve.
Elisity’s technology supports zero trust, an approach that requires users and devices to establish that they are authorized to access network resources. It also adds cryptographic agility, or the ability to replace encryption methods without rebuilding an entire system.
The acquisition broadens IonQ ’s offering as organizations prepare for future quantum computers that could threaten widely used encryption methods.
Separately, IonQ signed an $8.2 million agreement with Congruity360 to deploy post-quantum cryptography and quantum key distribution for enterprise customers across the United States.
Post-quantum cryptography uses mathematical methods designed to withstand quantum attacks. Quantum key distribution uses quantum signals to share encryption keys and help detect interception attempts.
Foundry Business Adds Customers
SkyWater ’s results reflected demand for manufacturing services from other quantum hardware developers, extending IonQ ’s commercial reach beyond its own computing systems.
Alongside its $83.5 million in quarterly revenue, the business reported more than 30% year-over-year growth in revenue from non- IonQ quantum customers and launched SkyWater Quantum Solutions.
SkyWater expanded its manufacturing collaboration with D-Wave through a multiyear agreement supporting D-Wave’s two-platform superconducting technology roadmap, according to the release.
It also secured a multiyear commercial foundry contract with Qolab, a new quantum customer, for SkyWater ’s SC250 superconducting platform.
A foundry manufactures chips for other companies, giving hardware developers access to production facilities and processes without requiring them to build their own factories.
SkyWater also launched its SC250 and SP90 quantum manufacturing platforms and an OnRamp initiative intended to bring early-stage quantum hardware companies into the foundry.
Cash Position Strengthens After Offering
IonQ ended September with $1.7 billion in cash, cash equivalents and investments.
That amount would have been $3.7 billion after including a $2 billion equity offering that closed Oct. 16, after the quarter ended, the company said. The larger amount is a pro forma figure showing the effect of the subsequent fundraising.
“I am thrilled that we continued our growth trajectory in the third quarter, with revenue up 336% year-on-year. Major drivers included global deployments of our IonQ Tempo quantum computers, deliveries of our quantum sensing and space-based solutions, and closing on our acquisition of SkyWater , which had a very strong quarter of its own,” Inder Singh, COO and CFO, said according to the statement. “Our Remaining Performance Obligations more than doubled to $1.2 billion, even as we converted our backlog into record third quarter revenues. This was an especially strong quarter in quantum computing, which represented approximately two-thirds of new contract dollars signed by our IonQ Platform segment, driven by Superion 256 demand. We are pleased to raise our full-year 2026 revenue guidance to an industry record of more than half a billion dollars.”
Singh continued, “ IonQ ’s strong balance sheet, including $3.7 billion in cash and equivalents pro forma with our recent equity offering, gives us incredible financial firepower to continue investing in our technology, manufacturing infrastructure, and commercial capabilities as we scale the business and capitalize on the growing demand for quantum solutions.”
One thing investors should note is that the quarterly profit largely came from a change in the value of warrants, rather than money earned from sales. Warrants give holders the right to buy shares at a set price, and changes in their value can boost reported profit without bringing money into the company.
IonQ attributed its quarterly net income to that noncash valuation effect. Its adjusted earnings measures, which exclude certain items included under generally accepted accounting principles, showed a loss.
The company’s higher full-year revenue forecast covers its broader business, including foundry services. Its expectation for 110% annual growth applies specifically to quantum computing revenue.
The commercial highlights span both the third quarter and more recent developments, including signed contracts, funding, partnerships and options for additional orders, according to the statement.