Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Quantum computing may not be at the top of every investor's mind right now due to the prominence of artificial intelligence (AI) investing. However, I think it's something investors should keep in mind. By 2030, there could be commercially viable quantum computing available, and that could shake up tech even more than AI has. If quantum computing is all that it has been hyped up to be, then maintaining some exposure to stocks in this field is just as important as AI investing.

Fortunately, several stocks cross over into both categories, making investing in both trends at the same time easy. Three stocks that I'm bullish on in the quantum field are Alphabet (GOOG +0.24%) (GOOGL +0.58%), Nvidia (NVDA -1.01%), and IonQ (IONQ -3.61%). Two of these are also major AI players as well. By maintaining solid exposure to this trio, you'll be able to capture the upside of AI while also hedging your bets on a quantum computing future.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Alphabet Alphabet is a major player in computing, and as new computing technologies emerge, it wants to control its own destiny with in-house quantum computing. That will keep it from having to pay exorbitant prices for computing units, as it does now for Nvidia's graphics processing units (GPUs). As a result, Alphabet is plowing a ton of resources into its quantum computing division, and its Willow quantum computing chip has had some incredible breakthroughs.

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Alphabet ran one of its quantum algorithms on its Willow chip and demonstrated a verifiable advantage over traditional computing. This algorithm is similar to the one used to process MRIs and could have significant applications in drug discovery and materials design. Alphabet has also unearthed several other quantum algorithms, such as one that could break cryptocurrency encryptions.

Alphabet is a major player in the quantum space and has major resources that few can compete against. As a result, it's an odds-on favorite to reach viable quantum computing before anyone else.

2. Nvidia Nvidia may seem like an odd pick here because it's explicitly not developing a quantum processing unit. Instead, it's focusing on its traditional accelerating methods, as it sees incredible demand right now from AI hyperscalers. However, it's not ignoring quantum computing either. What it's doing is launching a range of tools to help the quantum industry succeed on Nvidia hardware. Nvidia sees a future where quantum and traditional accelerated computing work side by side. Ensuring that its peers' quantum computing units plug into existing infrastructure is key.

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So, Nvidia has launched several key products, like its NVQLink, a generative AI model for improving error correction, and updated its CUDA software to include quantum operations. That's a solid strategy and will allow Nvidia to profit from the rise of quantum computing.

3. IonQ Last is IonQ (IONQ -3.61%), a pure play in the quantum computing space. It has no other business units funding the company. It's only funding sources are the money it can raise from potential clients and any systems it can sell at an early stage. This makes it an incredibly risky investment option, but it also means huge upside if this stock pans out.

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IonQ is currently the world record holder for two-qubit gate fidelity, a common accuracy measure used by quantum computers to assess their products. With IonQ leading the way in the one area where quantum computing is lacking, it's a no-brainer horse to back in the race.

Still, there's no guarantee that IonQ's solution will pan out, so investors should keep their exposure limited on IonQ's stock, while Nvidia and Alphabet will be just fine if quantum computing doesn't pan out. However, I think a decade from now, investors will look back and see this trio absolutely crushing the market from both quantum computing success and AI proliferation.

Key Takeaways Rigetti is projected to post 40% earnings growth and 173% revenue growth for second-quarter 2026.QUBT is expected to deliver 16.7% earnings growth and 7,733% revenue growth in second-quarter 2026.Rigetti and QUBT's average price targets imply 103.6% and 131.7% upside, respectively. After an explosive second quarter, July has been a reality check for quantum computing stocks. Pure-play names such as Rigetti Computing (RGTI - Free Report) and Quantum Computing Inc. (QUBT - Free Report) or QCi, D-Wave Quantum (QBTS - Free Report) and IonQ (IONQ - Free Report) have pulled back sharply as investors locked in profits and rotated away from high-beta technology stocks. Yet Zacks' short-term price targets continue to imply triple-digit upside for these companies, highlighting Wall Street's optimism despite the recent pullback. Let's get into the details.

Profit-Taking and Macro Concerns Trigger July PullbackThe sell-off appears to have been driven more by macroeconomic and market-wide factors than by any deterioration in company fundamentals. Throughout July, investors grew increasingly cautious about lofty valuations across AI- and quantum-related stocks amid concerns over the sustainability of surging AI infrastructure spending and renewed profit-taking following the sector's strong second-quarter rally.

The weakness was evident across the broader quantum computing theme. The Defiance Quantum ETF (QTUM), which provides diversified exposure to quantum computing and related enabling technologies, declined nearly 12% between June 1 and July 23, reflecting broad-based selling across the sector.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Economic Fundamentals Continue to Support Risk AppetiteThe broader economic backdrop remained resilient despite moderating momentum. According to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), the Manufacturing PMI eased to 53.3 in June from 54.0 in May, remaining above the 50 threshold for the sixth consecutive month and signaling continued expansion in U.S. factory activity. New orders and production continued to grow, albeit at a slower pace, while input cost pressures moderated. The data suggest that manufacturing activity remains healthy even as growth normalizes from earlier strength.

Importantly, the quantum computing industry's long-term investment thesis remains intact. Governments and enterprises continue to increase spending on quantum technologies, while commercial adoption is gradually expanding beyond research into optimization, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and drug discovery. Recent quarterly results from leading pure-play companies also reflected strong customer demand through expanding bookings, growing commercial partnerships, rising remaining performance obligations and healthy liquidity positions.

Long-Term Fundamentals Remain Intact Despite Near-Term VolatilityFor investors, however, valuation remains the key consideration. Most quantum pure-plays continue to trade at levels that imply years of future execution, making them highly sensitive to shifts in interest-rate expectations and overall market sentiment. Consequently, periods of macro-driven risk aversion tend to produce outsized corrections even when company-specific fundamentals remain unchanged.

2 Quantum Stocks With Significant Upside Potential
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Rigetti: Shares of Rigetti have declined 42.1% since June. Despite the recent pullback, Rigetti remains one of the more compelling pure-play quantum computing investments. In the last reported first-quarter 2026, the company reported revenue growth of nearly 199% year over year, driven by increased government and commercial activity. The company successfully maintained a strong liquidity position with approximately $569 million in cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale investments. Rigetti continues to advance its superconducting quantum roadmap, with management reiterating plans to launch its 108-qubit Cepheus-1 system in 2026 and emphasizing improvements in qubit fidelity and scalability. The company's expanding collaborations with government agencies and enterprise customers position it to capitalize as commercial quantum adoption accelerates.

For the to-be-reported second quarter of 2026 ending June, Rigetti is projected to report earnings growth of 40% on revenue growth of 173%. The average price target of $31.00 represents an increase of 108.8% from the last closing price of $14.85. The stock carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

QCi: Shares of QUBT have lost 36.6% since June. The company also appears well-positioned despite the recent share-price weakness. QCi reported first-quarter 2026 revenues of $3.7 million, up sharply from $39,000 a year earlier, primarily reflecting contributions from the Luminar Semiconductor and NuCrypt acquisitions, which expanded its photonics and quantum technology capabilities.

The company ended the quarter with $1.4 billion in cash, cash equivalents and investments, providing significant financial flexibility to support product development and commercialization. With an enhanced technology portfolio and a strong balance sheet, QCi is well-positioned to pursue new enterprise opportunities.

For the second quarter of 2026, QUBT is projected to report earnings growth of 16.7% on revenue growth of a significant 7733%. The average price target of $18.33 represents an increase of 133.2% from the last closing price of $7.86. The stock also carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Quantum computing is a technology that's coming quicker than most expect, and it could cause some industry stocks to skyrocket, outperforming big tech by a wide margin over the next few years. If that's the case, then investors would be smart to start scooping up some quantum computing stocks now, and one that's massively on sale is IonQ (IONQ -1.26%).

IonQ is generally recognized as a leader in quantum computing and has taken a unique approach that has attracted several clients recently. This makes IonQ a smart stock pick for the quantum revolution, and it could lead to incredible returns over the next few years.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

IonQ is rapidly expanding The quantum computing field is still fairly immature, and several approaches are being pursued to determine which is the best option. The most popular is superconducting, which involves cooling a chamber containing a particle to nearly absolute zero, then using its quantum mechanics for calculations. IonQ is taking a slightly different approach: It uses a laser to pinpoint and cool a particle, then an electromagnetic trap to perform quantum computing.

One of the major problems with quantum computing is that it isn't as accurate as traditional computing, and errors can compound, wrecking calculations. However, IonQ's technique is the most accurate in the world, as it holds the world record for the highest two-qubit gate fidelity at 99.99% -- a commonly used industry metric. It also has a blueprint for building a 10,000-qubit computer on this technology, which would lead to a commercially viable computer that could revolutionize computing.

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If IonQ can do this, then it will be a wildly successful company, and its stock could easily skyrocket over the next few years. Because quantum computing is such an early-stage technology, the success of stocks within that industry is mostly dominated by the market's risk appetite. Currently, the market has no such appetite for risk, and the stock is down over 50% from its all-time high. This makes right now the perfect buying opportunity.

During Q1, IonQ's revenue grew by an incredible 755% year over year, and if it can keep that up for a bit longer, it will be a great investment pick if it can develop a viable technology. There's still no guarantee that IonQ's approach to quantum computing is the right one, but with a solid strategy, a plan to produce a commercially viable computing platform, and increasing early-stage customers, I think IonQ is one of the top investment options to consider in this space.

Let's see how quantum computing stocks QBTS & IONQ are positioned ahead of Q2 earnings as commercial momentum and execution take center stage.

In many respects, IonQ (IONQ -2.34%) looks like an intriguing investment. The potential for growth in the quantum computing industry naturally draws a lot of interest, and the company's approach to the technology holds the potential to define the industry.

There are numerous companies attempting to develop quantum computers, and they're using an array of disparate technologies to create the qubits (quantum bits) that sit at the heart of all such systems.

IonQ uses trapped-ion technology, meaning every qubit is created using a single charged ytterbium atom, held tightly in place using electromagnetic forces and manipulated using lasers. Those ions can be held in a stable quantum state for a relatively long period, so that approach seems to have given IonQ an advantage over other platforms.

Moreover, its all-to-all connectivity allows all qubits within an ecosystem to communicate with each other regardless of location. In contrast, other systems require the qubits to be next to one another to interact directly with each other.

However, potential does not necessarily translate into long-term success for quantum computing stocks.

One way to gauge how likely it is that IonQ will ultimately succeed is to take a look at history -- specifically, the history of other start-up companies in past emerging industries. And based on that history, there are good reasons to think IonQ is not a no-brainer buy.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

History and IonQ's financials Given the potential of IonQ's technology and the buzz about the possibilities of quantum computing in general, investors might forget that this company is a start-up. This comes with numerous disadvantages.

The most obvious challenge is its dependence on its technology. Although trapped-ion qubit technology and all-to-all connectivity are competitive advantages, buying IonQ stock is basically an all-in bet that it can succeed with those technologies.

Another major hurdle is the company's financials. In the first quarter, it reported $65 million in revenue and $272 million in operating losses. This means it depends on outside capital to stay in business.

Thanks to prior capital raises, it holds just over $2 billion in liquidity, which should sustain it through a couple more years of losses. IonQ has not taken on significant debt; it raised capital by issuing more shares. In the last year alone, IonQ's outstanding share count rose by 15%, significantly diluting its prior shareholders.

From a historical standpoint, this approach is not unusual. If the company's financial situation improves, it could bolster a stock price that has risen by more than 220% since its 2021 IPO. However, history also shows that such start-ups can fall into penny-stock status if they have trouble raising money and cannot turn profitable.

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Competing with other companies Worse, it has to stand out from other quantum computing pure plays such as Rigetti Computing and D-Wave Quantum, which employ their own unique approaches to the technology in hopes of gaining a competitive advantage. From today's investor perspective, it is unclear if IonQ or any of these companies will become industry leaders.

Additionally, it competes with established tech giants such as Alphabet and IBM, which are pursuing their own projects in the quantum computing space. These companies have plenty of money to dedicate to R&D, and could potentially buy or replicate IonQ's technology if they wanted to. Similar situations boded poorly for many small companies during the internet boom.

Nonetheless, companies like IonQ are taking unusual approaches to this speculative new technology, and small nimble start-ups can display more openness to innovation than large established companies. The internet boom gave the world examples of well-established companies that failed to seize the opportunities in front of them.

Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in 1994, the year after Sears shut down its catalog business rather than moving it online. Lucent Technologies was originally Bell Labs, the innovation arm of the original AT&T. Despite its supposed advantages, Lucent failed to develop the Internet Protocol (IP) technology that spawned the growth of Cisco. Consequently, Alcatel (which Nokia later bought) acquired what was left of the one-time innovation leader.

Unfortunately for IonQ, both Alphabet and IBM have invested heavily in quantum computing technologies. Hence, they are much less likely to become the Sears or Lucent of this new tech industry.

Still, neither tech giant is pursuing trapped-ion qubit technology. If that approach leads to a more consistent and less error-prone performance than Alphabet's or IBM's superconducting qubits, IonQ could make investors a fortune.

Ultimately, looking at the history of companies that were once in similar positions to the one IonQ occupies today reveals why it's far from a no-brainer buy. Investors who want to add it to their portfolios should treat it as a speculative investment, and size their positions accordingly.

Yes, it has potential, if everything goes right. Unfortunately, companies that consistently report massive losses and depend too heavily on outside capital can run out of time for things to go right. Such conditions likely mean that IonQ's technology will really have to stand out above the rival offerings of both the large tech sector incumbents and the many other start-ups for the company to succeed.

Although IonQ uses an approach that could redefine its industry, Alphabet, IBM, and a host of other players have also invested heavily in quantum computing. If they match or outperform IonQ's technology, IonQ may struggle to survive. As such, investors should approach this stock cautiously.

IonQ faces mounting pressure as deep losses, long revenue cycles and execution risks test whether growth can keep pace with its ambitious quantum roadmap.

Key Takeaways Middle East tensions lifted oil prices while AI-led tech weakness dragged broader markets lower. Inverse leveraged ETFs tied to chip and AI stocks dominated the week's top-performing funds. PayPal buyout speculation boosted PYPU, while SpaceX and semiconductor weakness reshaped ETF trends. Wall Street delivered a downbeat performance last week. The S&P 500 Index fell 1.6%, the Dow Jones fell 0.9%, the Nasdaq Composite plunged about 2.9% and the Russell 2000 retreated 0.5% last week.

The renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the tech slump mainly led to the slump. Oil prices jumped last week, with the United States Oil Fund LP (USO - Free Report) gaining 10.7% due to the flare-up in tensions between the United States and Iran.

Hormuz Tensions DeepenPresident Trump announced last week that the United States would reimpose a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and levy a 20% fee on cargo passing through the strategic waterway, escalating tensions in the Middle East.

The blockade was set to begin at 4 P.M. ET on Tuesday, July 14, with U.S. Central Command saying it would enforce restrictions on vessels traveling to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas (read: Leveraged Oil ETFs Likely to Surge as Hormuz Tensions Deepen).

Meanwhile, the U.S. military said a service member was killed after an Iranian attack in northern Iraq on Saturday, a day after an attack on a base in Jordan killed two U.S. soldiers, as quoted on BBC.

Inside the Tech SelloffsInvestors are becoming increasingly cautious about the AI trade as concerns over the sustainability of corporate spending on AI weigh on sentiment. The technology sector, particularly semiconductor stocks, has led the recent market weakness as rising concerns over AI-related capital expenditures and rich valuations dampen investor sentiment.

AI Inflation Fears IntensifyRising expectations that AI could fuel inflation are expected to keep investors on edge. Goldman Sachs cautions that the rapid adoption of AI is likely to fuel inflation globally as supply struggles to keep pace with soaring demand for critical AI components, including memory chips and semiconductors.  The United States is likely to be hit the hardest, as quoted on Business Insider.

SK Hynix’s Shares Flat SK Hynix's recent U.S. debut has sparked a wave of new leveraged ETFs likeDirexion Daily SK Hynix Bull 2X ETF (SKHL). However, SK Hynix Inc – ADR (SKHY) shares remained flat (read: Tap SK Hynix's Memory Leadership With These New Leveraged ETFs).

SpaceX NosedivesShares of another recent IPO hot-star,SpaceX (SPCX - Free Report) , also slumped 14% last week. On July 16, SpaceX's Starship rocket triggered a last-second ‌abort before liftoff ???for its 13th flight test from Texas, which wiped off about $100 billion from the company's market ???value, per Reuters, as quoted on Yahoo Finance.

Leveraged ETF Winners Against this backdrop, below we highlight a few winning leveraged ETFs of last week.

Tradr 2X Short SNDK Daily ETF (SNDQ - Free Report) – Up 76.4%

SanDisk (SNDK - Free Report) — the memory and AI-chip manufacturer — has been bogged down (down 25% last week) by a broad semiconductor selloff and general volatility in the NAND memory market. Valuation corrections could be a reason behind the move. As a result, the inverse leveraged ETF on SNDK surged last week.

Tradr 2X Short CBRS Daily ETF (CBRZ - Free Report) – Up 48.0%

The AI infrastructure companyCerebras Systems (CBRS - Free Report) shares were hit hard last week, having lost about 16.6%. We can see that it is another tech selloff candidate, which is why its inverse leveraged ETF jumped last week.

Direxion Daily PYPL Bull 2X ETF (PYPU - Free Report) – Up 45.4%

PayPal Holdings (PYPL - Free Report) shares advanced 20.4% last week amid buyout talks. Stripe and private equity firm Advent International have reportedly jointly offered to acquire PayPal Holdings in a deal valued at more than $53 billion, according to Reuters, as quoted on Yahoo Finance. The proposal marks one of the biggest potential transactions in the digital payments industry in recent years (read: Stripe, Advent to Buy PayPal in a $53B Deal? ETFs in Focus).

Defiance Daily Target 2x Short IONQ ETF (IONZ - Free Report) – Up 44.8%

IONQ Inc (IONQ) shares lost 17.3% last week as options markets turned cautious on the quantum-computing specialist. Trading data showed unusually heavy options activity, with put contracts outpacing calls and the put/call ratio rising well above typical levels, as quoted on Tip Ranks. Investors reassessed the broader quantum computing theme, where earlier hype is increasingly being tested against slow, real-world commercialization.

Tradr 2X Short IREN Daily ETF (IREZ - Free Report) – Up 44.6%

IREN Ltd. (IREN - Free Report) , which operates renewable-powered data centers for Bitcoin mining and AI cloud computing, fell 16.8% amid the broader selloff in AI and technology stocks. The weakness translated into strong gains for its double-leveraged inverse ETF.

Quantum computing harnesses the rules of quantum mechanics to process information differently than classical computers. Instead of bits locked as zeros or ones, quantum systems use qubits that can exist in superposition -- holding multiple states at once. In artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing stands out as a major frontier because hybrid quantum-classical systems stand to accelerate machine learning, improve generative models, and tackle problems in areas such as logistics or neural network design.

Management consulting firm McKinsey & Company estimates that quantum computing could unlock up to $2.7 trillion in global economic value by 2035. Prominent use cases span drug discovery, portfolio optimization and risk modeling, and supply chain efficiencies.

Early value will likely come from hybrid approaches that pair quantum processors with classical AI and high-performance computing. Against this backdrop, I see some parallels between IonQ's (IONQ 0.91%) quantum computing approach and Palantir Technologies' (PLTR 1.40%) ascent to dominating the AI software landscape.

Image source: Getty Images.

What makes IonQ unique? IonQ's approach to quantum computing is to build its systems around trapped ions -- individual atoms held in place and manipulated with lasers. This approach aims to deliver identical qubits with exceptionally high operational accuracy and flexibility, allowing any qubit to interact directly with one another.

Rather than focusing purely on hardware, IonQ has built a full-stack quantum platform spanning computing, networking, sensing, and security. The company has achieved this through a series of acquisitions that added photonic interconnects for scalable networking, advanced electronic control techniques to facilitate manufacturing, and quantum-safe communications capabilities.

The company's revenue growth has been striking: IonQ generated $130 million in 2025, representing 202% growth over the prior year and making it the first public quantum business to surpass $100 million in annual revenue. In the first quarter of 2026, IonQ brought in $64.7 million in sales and guided between $260 million and $270 million in revenue for the full year as remaining performance obligations (RPO) grew 554% to $470 million.

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Analyzing IonQ's valuation profile IonQ boasts a market capitalization of $13.2 billion. At the high end of its 2026 revenue guidance, this implies a forward price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of 49 -- well above typical technology hardware or software peers.

IONQ Cash and Short Term Investments (Quarterly) data by YCharts

While the company maintains ample liquidity on its balance sheet, IonQ remains consistently unprofitable. Heavy ongoing investments in research, scaling systems, and integrating acquisitions have driven ongoing EBITDA losses -- eating into the company's runway.

What makes IonQ the next Palantir? Palantir turned big data analytics into mission-critical software for enterprises and government agencies alike. IonQ is attempting something analogous by creating an end-to-end quantum AI ecosystem. I think IonQ echoes Palantir's early trajectory as a specialized platform company tackling a transformative domain featuring both government and commercial traction, rapid top-line expansion, and a defensible technological edge.

Indeed, IonQ's valuation is undeniably stretched relative to near-term fundamentals. Nevertheless, the combination of the company's technological differentiation and its progress toward a comprehensive platform could make the premium more justified for investors with a long-term horizon.

With that said, IonQ stock is not a low-risk buy at current levels. While the company's unique profile and growth trajectory may render the valuation reasonable rather than completely detached from reality, investors should be convinced that quantum computing will deliver on its promise before blindly pouring into the stock.

In the latest trading session, IonQ, Inc. (IONQ - Free Report) closed at $35.10, marking a -6.42% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.51% loss on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 1.47%.

The company's shares have seen a decrease of 31.41% over the last month, not keeping up with the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 2.99% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.53%.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of IonQ, Inc. in its forthcoming earnings report. On that day, IonQ, Inc. is projected to report earnings of -$0.29 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 58.57%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $66.36 million, up 220.73% from the prior-year quarter.

IONQ's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of -$1.07 per share and revenue of $267.45 million. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +41.21% and +105.71%, respectively.

Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for IonQ, Inc. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. Right now, IonQ, Inc. possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

The Computer - Integrated Systems industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 5, positioning it in the top 3% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.

Jason Brown (@brownreport) says he's long-term bullish but short-term skeptical on the stock market, though he highlights three stocks he sees weathering the volatile tech storm. He names Alphabet (GOOGL) as a strong AI company backed by still-growing search revenue, likes Target (TGT) as it hits the bullseye on its comeback story, and tilts bearish on IonQ (IONQ) as he's skeptical on quantum computing demand.

, /PRNewswire/ -- Das Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) USA und FormationQ haben heute eine bahnbrechende Forschungspartnerschaft bekannt gegeben, in deren Rahmen die von IonQ entwickelte Quantencomputertechnologie auf Basis gefangener Ionen zur Erforschung einer der seit langem bestehenden Fragen der Verhaltensökologie eingesetzt werden soll: Warum üben manche Spezies tödliche Gewalt zwischen verschiedenen Gruppen aus, während andere friedlich mit ihren Nachbarn zusammenleben?

Das auf zwei Jahre angelegte Programm, das am Welt-Schimpansen-Tag startet – dem 66. Jahrestag der Ankunft von Dr. Jane Goodall in Gombe, Tansania, wo sie ihre Forschungen an wildlebenden Schimpansen begann –, baut auf mehr als sechs Jahrzehnten bahnbrechender Feldforschung auf und vereint fortschrittliche computergestützte Modellierung, hybrides quanten-klassisches Rechnen und Verhaltensökologie in einem neuen, zukunftsweisenden Rahmen für die gemeinsame Forschung.

Das Programm Ecology of War and Peace: Using Quantum-Enhanced Agent-Based Modelling to Explain Contrasting Intergroup Behaviour in Chimpanzees and Bonobos (Ökologie von Krieg und Frieden: Einsatz quantenverstärkter agentenbasierter Modellierung zur Erklärung gegensätzlicher Verhaltensweisen zwischen Gruppen bei Schimpansen und Bonobos) wird die erste Anwendung ihrer Art sein, bei der quantengestützte Berechnungen zur Erforschung von Ökologie, Evolution und Verhalten eingesetzt werden. Damit wird ein mutiges neues Kapitel in der jahrzehntelangen Tradition des Jane Goodall Institute USA aufgeschlagen, innovative Technologien zur Unterstützung langfristiger Forschung, Naturschutz und Bildung einzusetzen.

Das Programm wird das unvergleichliche wissenschaftliche Erbe des JGI, die von Forschern der University of Minnesota entwickelten Verhaltensmodelle, die Expertise von FormationQ bei der Konzeption und Durchführung anwendungsorientierter Programme sowie die Quantencomputing-Plattform von IonQ miteinander vereinen.

Im Mittelpunkt des Programms steht B3GET (Behaviour, Ecology, Genetics, Evolution and Tradeoffs – zu Deutsch: Verhalten, Ökologie, Genetik, Evolution und Zielkonflikte), ein ausgeklügeltes agentenbasiertes Modell, in dem virtuelle Primaten in künstlichen Landschaften leben, sich fortbewegen, nach Nahrung suchen, sich fortpflanzen und miteinander interagieren. Forscher können ökologische Bedingungen, darunter die Nahrungsverteilung, die Größe des Lebensraums und die Regeln für den Gruppenzusammenhalt, systematisch variieren, um zu untersuchen, wie Umweltfaktoren die Muster der Zusammenarbeit und der Konflikte im Laufe der Zeit beeinflussen.

Schimpansen und Bonobos sind die beiden nächsten lebenden Verwandten des Menschen, weisen jedoch auffallend unterschiedliche Verhaltensmuster im Umgang mit anderen Gruppen auf. Jane Goodall beobachtete in den 1970er Jahren die berühmten Kriege unter Schimpansen, bei denen diese in organisierte, tödliche Konflikte zwischen verschiedenen Gruppen verwickelt waren. Bonobos hingegen sind für ihr friedliches Miteinander zwischen verschiedenen Gruppen bekannt.

Forscher glauben, dass die Erklärung für diesen Unterschied in der Ökologie zu finden ist: in der Art und Weise, wie Nahrung in der Landschaft verteilt ist, in der Größe der Reviere, die jede Art abdecken muss, und in den von Moment zu Moment getroffenen Entscheidungen der einzelnen Tiere, ob sie allein oder in Gruppen unterwegs sind. Jahrzehntelange Feldforschung hat außergewöhnliche Einblicke in diese Verhaltensweisen geliefert. Zu verstehen, wie zahlreiche ökologische Variablen in komplexen Systemen miteinander interagieren, stellt jedoch nach wie vor eine große Herausforderung dar.

Durch die Kombination fortschrittlicher agentenbasierter Modellierung mit hybriden quanten-klassischen Berechnungsansätzen wird das Programm untersuchen, wie Quantencomputing Forschern dabei helfen kann, diesen komplexen Raum auf neue Weise zu erforschen und die Kalibrierung groß angelegter Verhaltensmodelle zu verbessern, um so die ökologischen Bedingungen zu identifizieren, die die tödliche Aggression zwischen Gruppen bei Schimpansen von der friedlicheren Koexistenz der Bonobos unterscheiden.

Das Projekt wird zudem Aufschluss darüber geben, inwiefern das natürliche Verhalten von Schimpansen mit ihrem Lebensraum und einer erhöhten Sterblichkeitsrate zusammenhängt. Beide Faktoren sind von entscheidender Bedeutung, um nicht nur Schimpansen besser zu verstehen, sondern auch Lebensräume besser zu identifizieren und zu schützen sowie Schimpansenpopulationen zu modellieren, um wirksamere Schutzstrategien zu entwickeln.

Dr. Lilian Pintea, Vizepräsidentin für Naturschutzforschung am Jane Goodall Institute und Projektleiterin, erklärte:

„Dr. Jane Goodall hat über 65 Jahre damit verbracht, die umfassendste fortlaufende Dokumentation über wild lebende Schimpansen aufzubauen. Dieses Vermächtnis geduldiger und gründlicher Beobachtung trifft nun auf die Grenzen der Quantenwissenschaft. Das Verständnis der ökologischen Bedingungen, die die Interaktion der Schimpansen mit ihren Lebensräumen und Nachbarn bestimmen, ist auch entscheidend, um zu verstehen, warum Populationen gedeihen oder zurückgehen und wo Naturschutzmaßnahmen am wirksamsten sind."

„Diese Partnerschaft verkörpert genau das, wofür die wissenschaftliche Arbeit des Jane Goodall Institute steht: die strategische Nutzung der leistungsfähigsten verfügbaren technologischen Mittel, um die Fragen anzugehen, die für Schimpansen, für den Artenschutz und für unser Verständnis dessen, was es bedeutet, Mensch zu sein, von größter Bedeutung sind. Dieses Programm ist eines der letzten, an denen Jane und ich gemeinsam gearbeitet haben. Es heute, am 66. Jahrestag ihres ersten Tages in Gombe, starten zu können, ist für mich von großer Bedeutung."

Nada Hosking, Gründerin und Geschäftsführerin von FormationQ, sagte:

„Dieses Programm beginnt mit einer tiefgreifenden wissenschaftlichen Fragestellung, jahrzehntelanger außergewöhnlicher Feldforschung und einem ausgefeilten Modell, das entwickelt wurde, um ein äußerst komplexes natürliches System zu verstehen. Die Rolle von FormationQ im Rahmen dieser Partnerschaft besteht darin, diese Elemente mit den bahnbrechenden Quantencomputing-Fähigkeiten von IonQ zu vereinen und ein Forschungsprogramm rund um eine Fragestellung aufzubauen, die bisher noch nie auf diese Weise angegangen wurde."

„Wir sind davon überzeugt, dass sich das wahre Potenzial der Quantentechnologie erst dann entfalten wird, wenn weltweit führendes Fachwissen, Daten und Modelle so mit dieser Technologie verknüpft werden, dass Forscher neue Fragen stellen können. Es gibt wohl kaum einen sinnvolleren Ausgangspunkt als Jane Goodalls außergewöhnliches wissenschaftliches Vermächtnis und das, was es uns noch immer über die Natur, den Naturschutz und uns selbst lehren kann."

Hinweise für Redakteure

B3GET wurde von Dr. Kristin N. Crouse, einer Postdoktorandin an der University of Minnesota, entwickelt, die als Mitforscherin und hauptamtliche Forschungsleiterin an dem Projekt mitwirken wird. Zum Projektteam gehört außerdem Dr. Michael L. Wilson als Mitforscher vom College of Biological Sciences der University of Minnesota; die Forschungsinfrastruktur wird vom Supercomputing Institute der University of Minnesota bereitgestellt. Michael Wilson, Professor für Ökologie, Evolution und Verhalten, ist leitender Forscher des Gombe Research Consortium und kann auf über 25 Jahre Erfahrung im Rahmen des Gombe-Schimpansenprojekts zurückblicken, einschließlich drei Jahren als Leiter der Feldforschung am Gombe Stream Research Centre.

Das Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) USA bringt Erkenntnisse aus über 65 Jahren Feldforschung ein und unterstützt die Festlegung der Schwerpunkte dieses Forschungsprogramms mit seinem fachlichen Know-how. FormationQ wird die Partner zusammenbringen und die angewandte Quantenkomponente des Programms konzipieren und betreiben, während IonQ die Quantencomputing-Plattform sowie die technischen Kapazitäten auf Basis seiner Ionenfalle-Systeme bereitstellen wird.

Informationen zum Jane-Goodall-Institut

Das Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) ist eine 1977 gegründete globale Naturschutzorganisation, die das Vermächtnis von Dr. Jane Goodall in 30 Niederlassungen weltweit weiterführt. Das Jane Goodall Institute führt Janes Vision fort, Hoffnung zu wecken und diese durch wissenschaftlich fundierte, technologisch gestützte Programme in konkrete Maßnahmen umzusetzen, die sich auf die Erforschung und Rehabilitation von Wildtieren, gemeindegeleiteten Naturschutz sowie die Einbindung junger Menschen konzentrieren. Durch das Jugendprogramm Jane Goodalls Roots & Shoots, das mittlerweile in 75 Ländern weltweit aktiv ist – Tendenz steigend –, schafft das JGI eine Bewegung mitfühlender Menschen, die sich für die Mission der Organisation einsetzen, eine bessere Welt für Menschen, andere Tiere und unsere gemeinsame Umwelt zu schaffen. 

Weitere Informationen finden Sie unter JaneGoodall.org und RootsAndShoots.org. Folgen Sie @JaneGoodallInst und @RootsAndShoots.

Informationen zu FormationQ

FormationQ ist die Enablement-Schicht für die weltweite Einführung der Quantentechnologie. Das Unternehmen entwickelt institutionelle Wege und Kooperationsstrukturen, die es ermöglichen, Quantentechnologien aus der Spitzenforschung in die praktische Anwendung zu überführen. In Zusammenarbeit mit führenden Institutionen und Technologiepartnern betreibt und unterstützt FormationQ Programme, die die Talentförderung, die Anwendungsentwicklung und die Koordination des Ökosystems auf eine Weise vorantreiben, die kontrollierbar, vertrauenswürdig und langfristig nachhaltig ist.

Informationen zu IonQ

IonQ, Inc. [NYSE: IONQ] ist die führende Quantenplattform und -foundry weltweit und stellt integrierte Quantenlösungen in den Bereichen Rechenleistung, Netzwerke, Sensorik und Sicherheit bereit. Die neueste Generation von Quantencomputern von IonQ, der IonQ Tempo, ist das jüngste Modell einer Reihe von hochmodernen Systemen, die Kunden und Partnern wie Amazon Web Services, NVIDIA und AstraZeneca dabei helfen, eine 20-fache Leistungssteigerung zu erzielen und Innovationen in den Bereichen Arzneimittelforschung, Materialwissenschaften, Finanzmodellierung, Logistik, Cybersicherheit und Verteidigung voranzutreiben. 2025 erreichte das Unternehmen eine 99,99-prozentige Zwei-Qubit-Gattertreue und stellte damit einen Weltrekord in der Quantencomputing-Leistung auf.

IonQ hat seinen Hauptsitz in College Park, Maryland, und unterhält Niederlassungen in Kalifornien, Colorado, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Washington, Italien, Südkorea, Schweden, der Schweiz, Kanada und dem Vereinigten Königreich. Unsere Quantencomputing-Dienste sind über alle großen Cloud-Anbieter verfügbar, während wir gleichzeitig die Anforderungen von Kunden aus den Bereichen Netzwerke und Sensorik zu Lande, zu Wasser, in der Luft und im Weltraum erfüllen. IonQ macht Quantenplattformen zugänglicher und wirkungsvoller als je zuvor. Weitere Informationen finden Sie unter IonQ.com.

FormationQ – Medienkontakte
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FormationQ
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HSBC downgrades IBM shares to the equivalent of Sell, pointing to better investment opportunities in a basket of stocks including IonQ and Accenture.

, /PRNewswire/ -- The Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) USA and FormationQ today announced a landmark research partnership that will apply trapped-ions quantum computing by IonQ to one of the most enduring questions in behavioral ecology: why do some species engage in lethal intergroup violence while others live peacefully alongside their neighbours?

Launching on World Chimpanzee Day, which marks the 66th anniversary of Dr. Jane Goodall's arrival at Gombe, Tanzania to begin her wild chimpanzee study, the two-year programme builds on more than six decades of pioneering field research, bringing together advanced computational modelling, hybrid quantum-classical computing and behavioural ecology into a new state-of-the-art collaborative research framework.

The programme, Ecology of War and Peace: Using Quantum-Enhanced Agent-Based Modelling to Explain Contrasting Intergroup Behaviour in Chimpanzees and Bonobos, will mark a first-of-its-kind application of quantum-enhanced computation to the study of ecology, evolution and behaviour, representing a bold new chapter in the Jane Goodall Institute USA's decades-long legacy of using innovative technologies to support long-term research, conservation and education.

The programme will bring together JGI's unparalleled scientific legacy, behavioural modelling developed by researchers at the University of Minnesota, FormationQ's expertise in designing and operating applied programmes and IonQ's quantum computing platform.

At the centre of the programme is B3GET (Behaviour, Ecology, Genetics, Evolution and Tradeoffs), a sophisticated agent-based model in which virtual primates live, move, forage, reproduce and interact across artificial landscapes. Researchers can systematically vary ecological conditions including food distribution, home range size and group cohesion rules, to investigate how environmental factors influence patterns of cooperation and conflict over time.

Chimpanzees and bonobos are humanity's two closest living relatives, yet they display strikingly different patterns of intergroup behaviour. Jane Goodall famously observed chimpanzee warfare in the 1970s, in which chimpanzees engaged in organised, lethal inter-group conflict. Bonobos, however, are known to peacefully socialize between communities.

The answer in explaining this difference, researchers believe, lies in ecology: in the way food is distributed across the landscape, the size of the ranges each species must cover, and the moment-to-moment decisions individuals make about whether to travel alone or in groups. Decades of field research have provided extraordinary insights into these behaviours. However, understanding how numerous ecological variables interact across complex systems remains a significant challenge.

By combining advanced agent-based modelling with hybrid quantum-classical computational approaches, the programme will investigate how quantum computing can help researchers explore this complex space in new ways and improve the calibration of large-scale behavioural models, thereby helping identify the ecological conditions that distinguish the lethal intergroup aggression of chimpanzees from the more peaceful coexistence of bonobos.

The project will also provide insights into how chimpanzees' natural behaviour connects to habitat and increased mortality. Both factors are essential to not only understand chimpanzees, but also better identify and protect habitats and model chimpanzee populations to develop more effective conservation strategies.

Dr. Lilian Pintea, Vice President of Conservation Science at the Jane Goodall Institute and Principal Investigator, said:

"Dr. Jane Goodall spent over 65 years building the most comprehensive ongoing record of wild chimpanzees. That legacy of patient, rigorous observation is now meeting the frontier of quantum science. Understanding the ecological conditions that drive how chimpanzees interact with their habitats and neighbors is also relevant to understanding why populations thrive or decline, and where conservation action will matter most.

"This partnership embodies exactly what the Jane Goodall Institute's scientific work stands for: strategically bringing the most powerful technology tools available to bear on the questions that matter most for chimpanzees, for conservation, and for our understanding of what it means to be human. This programme is one of the last that Jane and I worked on together. Launching it today, on the 66th anniversary of her first day at Gombe, is deeply meaningful to me."

Nada Hosking, Founder and CEO of FormationQ said:

"This programme starts with a profound scientific question, decades of extraordinary field research and a sophisticated model built to understand a deeply complex natural system. FormationQ's role in this partnership is to bring those elements together with IonQ's frontier quantum computing capabilities and build a research programme around a question that has never before been approached in this way.

"We believe the real promise of quantum will emerge when world-leading domain expertise, data and models are connected to the technology in ways that allow researchers to ask new questions. There could be few more meaningful places to begin than with Jane Goodall's extraordinary scientific legacy and what it can still teach us about nature, conservation and ourselves."

Notes to Editors

B3GET was developed by Dr. Kristin N. Crouse, a Postdoctoral Associate at the University of Minnesota, who will serve as Co-Investigator and full-time research lead on the project. The project team also includes Dr. Michael L. Wilson as the Co-Investigator, University of Minnesota's College of Biological Sciences and with research infrastructure support from the University of Minnesota Supercomputing Institute. Michael Wilson, Professor of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, is a Principal Investigator of the Gombe Research Consortium with over 25 years' experience working with the Gombe chimpanzee project, including three years serving as Director of Field Research for Gombe Stream Research Centre.

The Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) USA brings insights from over 65 years of records of field research, informing the focus areas for this research programme with their specialist domain expertise. FormationQ will bring the partners together, designing and operating the applied quantum component of the programme, while IonQ will provide the quantum computing platform and technical capability through their trapped-ion systems.

About the Jane Goodall Institute

The Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) is a global conservation organization founded in 1977 that advances Dr. Jane Goodall's legacy in 30 offices around the world. The Jane Goodall Institute continues Jane's vision of inspiring hope and transforming it into action through science driven, technology enabled programs focused on wildlife research and rehabilitation, community-led conservation, and youth engagement. Through the youth program Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots, now active in 75 countries around the world and counting, JGI is creating a movement of compassionate people who uphold its mission to create a better world for people, other animals, and our shared environment. 

Learn more at JaneGoodall.org and RootsAndShoots.org. Follow @JaneGoodallInst and @RootsAndShoots.

About FormationQ

FormationQ is the enablement layer for global quantum adoption. The company builds the institutional pathways and collaborative structures that allow quantum technologies to move from frontier research into real-world use. Working with leading institutions and technology partners, FormationQ operates and supports programmes that advance talent development, application formation, and ecosystem coordination in ways that can be governed, trusted, and sustained over time.

About IonQ

IonQ, Inc. [NYSE: IONQ] is the world's leading quantum platform and foundry - delivering integrated quantum solutions across computing, networking, sensing, and security. IonQ's newest generation of quantum computers, the IonQ Tempo, is the latest in a line of cutting-edge systems that have been helping customers and partners including Amazon Web Services, NVIDIA, and Astrazeneca achieve 20x performance results and accelerate innovation in drug discovery, materials science, financial modeling, logistics, cybersecurity, and defense. In 2025, the company achieved 99.99% two-qubit gate fidelity, setting a world record in quantum computing performance.

Headquartered in College Park, Maryland, IonQ has operations in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Washington, Italy, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Our quantum computing services are available through all major cloud providers, while we also meet the needs of networking and sensing customers across land, sea, air, and space. IonQ is making quantum platforms more accessible and impactful than ever before. Learn more at IonQ.com.

FormationQ Media Contacts
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FormationQ
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SOURCE FormationQ

IONQ's growth hinges on delivering its 256-qubit roadmap on schedule as chip milestones, presales and customer deployments shape recurring revenues.

Quantum computing has been one of the hottest corners of the market, and the enthusiasm has lifted almost every name in the group. But not all of these companies have the business to back up their share prices, and one in particular looks stretched heading into the back half of 2026: Rigetti Computing (RGTI +0.41%).

Here is the uncomfortable part with Rigetti. Rigetti reported full-year 2025 revenue of about $7 million, down 34% from the year before. A company whose sales are shrinking still has a market value in the billions, which translates to a price-to-sales ratio in the hundreds. For comparison, most established technology companies trade in the single digits or low teens on that measure. Investors are paying for a future that the current business has not started to deliver.

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Rigetti keeps selling stock into the rally The bigger near-term risk with Rigetti is dilution. Rigetti runs an at-the-market equity program, which lets it sell new shares directly into the open market whenever the price rises, and it has already raised roughly $100 million this way. On top of that, the company accepted about $100 million in federal quantum funding in 2026 that came with the U.S. government taking an equity stake. Both moves strengthen the balance sheet, but they also expand the share count, and more shares outstanding tend to weigh on the price over time.

Image source: Getty Images.

The bull case, and why the timing matters To be fair, Rigetti builds real superconducting quantum chips. Its modular chip design has a credible roadmap, and the government funding is a form of validation that most start-ups never receive. The cash cushion means it will not run out of money soon. If a technical milestone lands or quantum excitement flares again, this volatile stock can spike hard -- it has done so before.

The issue is not whether quantum computing matters. It is that Rigetti's stock price already assumes a level of success that its roughly $7 million in shrinking revenue does not support, while the company keeps issuing shares. That combination, a stretched multiple, falling sales, and steady dilution, is the kind of setup that can crack when hype cools.

For context, peers IonQ (IONQ 0.69%) and D-Wave Quantum (QBTS +2.52%) carry similar valuation risks, though IonQ at least has growing revenue. Anyone tempted by Rigetti here should keep any position small and treat a sharp second-half pullback as a real possibility.

Key Takeaways Microsoft advanced its Quantum Safe Program, targeting post-quantum cryptography adoption by 2029.QUBT expanded quantum cybersecurity and secure communications through its NuCrypt acquisition.QCi's average analyst price target implies roughly 111% upside from the latest closing price. Last week, Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) accelerated its Quantum Safe Program (QSP), advancing its target to transition critical products and services to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) by 2029. The move focuses on a rapidly emerging investment theme that quantum computing's first major commercial opportunity may lie not in building quantum computers, but in securing governments, enterprises and cloud infrastructure against future quantum-enabled cyber threats.

Amid this changing investment scenario, one pure-play quantum company that appears well-positioned to benefit from this trend is Quantum Computing Inc. (QUBT - Free Report) or QCi.

Let’s get into more detail.

Microsoft's Quantum-Safe Push Signals a New Investment ThemeOn June 30, 2026, Microsoft accelerated its Quantum Safe Program (QSP), advancing its target to transition critical products and services to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) by 2029. The company said rapid advances in quantum research have compressed the timeline for organizations to prepare for "cryptographically relevant" quantum computers capable of breaking today's widely used public-key encryption.

As part of the initiative, Microsoft plans to integrate quantum-safe security across its product portfolio by adopting NIST-standardized PQC algorithms, expanding crypto-agility to simplify future cryptographic upgrades, modernizing certificate trust chains and software-signing infrastructure and deploying hybrid cryptography with TLS 1.3. Azure CTO Mark Russinovich emphasized that migrating to quantum-resistant security is a "proactive, risk-informed decision," noting that enterprise-wide cryptographic transitions can take years to complete.

The urgency stems from the growing risk of "harvest now, decrypt later" attacks, in which attackers capture encrypted data today and store it for potential decryption once cryptographically relevant quantum computers become available. Microsoft cited this threat as a key reason organizations should begin transitioning to post-quantum cryptography now rather than waiting for quantum hardware to mature.

Although experts believe fault-tolerant quantum systems capable of breaking modern encryption remain years away, Microsoft now believes organizations should begin preparing immediately rather than waiting for a definitive breakthrough.

Why It Matters for Quantum InvestorsThe shift extends well beyond Microsoft. In the United States, the White House in June directed federal agencies to accelerate migration to post-quantum cryptography, while the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) continues expanding standards for quantum-resistant encryption. Similar initiatives are underway across Europe, Asia and Australia, where governments and operators of critical infrastructure are developing roadmaps to protect long-lived sensitive data from future quantum attacks.

For investors, while hardware-focused companies such as IonQ (IONQ - Free Report) , Rigetti Computing (RGTI - Free Report) and D-Wave Quantum (QBTS - Free Report) continue advancing quantum processors and enterprise applications, the accelerating adoption of post-quantum cryptography creates an additional commercialization pathway by increasing enterprise awareness, customer engagement and government investment across the broader quantum ecosystem.

Meanwhile, diversified technology leaders such as IBM, Alphabet and Cisco Systems are embedding quantum-safe capabilities into cloud platforms, networking infrastructure and security offerings, positioning themselves to benefit from what could become a multi-year enterprise migration cycle.

One Quantum Stock to Leverage the Microsoft-led WaveQUBT: Among pure-play quantum companies, QCi stands out because its strategy extends beyond quantum computing hardware into quantum cybersecurity and secure communications, areas that align closely with Microsoft's accelerated transition to post-quantum security.

Beyond its integrated photonics and quantum computing platforms, QCi has developed a dedicated quantum cybersecurity portfolio featuring quantum authentication technologies and photonic physical unclonable functions designed to replace classical public-key authentication methods that could become vulnerable in the quantum era.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The company's March 2026 acquisition of NuCrypt further expanded its capabilities in quantum communications, strengthening its position in secure communications as governments and enterprises accelerate preparations for post-quantum security.

This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company is projected to report second-quarter 2026 earnings growth of 16.7% on stupendous 7333.3% revenue growth. Based on six analysts' price targets, the average target of $18.33 implies roughly 111% upside from the latest closing price. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Despite its $2 trillion market cap, it is safe to say that SpaceX (SPCX 6.72%) is a moonshot bet for investors. The company only generated $19 billion in revenue last year and reported a net loss of $4.9 billion, making its current valuation based entirely on hopes for the success of future bets, like its plans to put data centers in orbit, to churn out AI processors at its Terafab plant, or position its Starlink satellite internet service to replace traditional mobile carriers. However, there are plenty of technological hurdles to overcome before any of those ambitious plans might come to fruition, and there is no guarantee that any of these bets will pay off.

With that in mind, let's look at three other speculative growth stocks that may be better moonshot bets for your portfolio.

IonQ: The quantum computing accuracy leader

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If you want to place a moonshot bet on future technology, IonQ (IONQ 7.20%) is one of the more interesting investments you can make. The company is currently at the forefront of quantum computing.

One of the biggest challenges faced by every company attempting to develop a commercially viable quantum computer is that the qubits they are built around are incredibly sensitive to any external influence, which makes the machines error-prone. 

IonQ's trapped-ion qubit systems have achieved a 99.99% two-qubit gate fidelity, making it the accuracy leader. But it's important to recognize that 99.99% accuracy is still far from accurate in the world of computing. The chips in the device you're using to read this make fewer than one error per quadrillion computations. 

That said, IonQ's technological achievements put it on a clear path toward developing a viable, fault-tolerant system in the future. The company is also involved in multiple parts of the quantum ecosystem, including networking, and it's in the process of acquiring SkyWater, which will give it its own dedicated semiconductor foundry.

If you want to make a bet on quantum computing, this is a top stock in the space.

SoundHound AI: An intriguing merger

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SoundHound AI (SOUN 4.60%) shares have struggled this year -- they're down by about 30% as of the close of trading Monday -- but the company's vision has never been clearer. With its pending acquisition of LivePerson, SoundHound is looking to use its AI voice and agentic AI platform to aggressively go after the customer service market. This is a huge market where its voice-powered AI agents could make big inroads.

The company has already been growing its revenue quickly, including by 52% in the first quarter, as it has positioned itself as a leader in voice AI. The LivePerson purchase is a relatively cheap deal that will give it access to a large, established customer base that it can upsell on a more complete voice AI product. Its prior deal for Amelia brought it important technology that it used to launch its agentic AI solution and also helped it get into new verticals like the medical and financial industries. The LivePerson deal will expand its reach in the call center and customer service spaces.

Now, LivePerson is a distressed company that is cheap for a reason, so the acquisition does carry risks, but if the buyer can use its own tech to help turn that troubled operation around, it could be a home run deal.

Image source: Getty Images.

UiPath: Looking to be an agentic AI orchestration leader

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Another play on agentic AI is UiPath (PATH 1.52%), which has built an AI orchestration platform. This technology has huge potential, as organizations will eventually need a robust tool for managing the various third-party AI agents operating within their ecosystems.

As a leader in robotic process automation (RPA) -- the use of software bots to perform repetitive, rules-based tasks -- UiPath has a strong foundation to be a leader in this field, as it has the compliance guardrails and connections to legacy systems already in place. Its Maestro platform also taps into its RPA past, and can assign either AI agents or software bots to tasks, depending on which type of tool is best suited to a given need. This can save customers a lot of money, as software bots are much cheaper to use than AI agents, and AI agents are not needed to automate every task.

UiPath's stock trades at a cheap forward price-to-sales ratio of just 3.5 and a forward price-to-earnings ratio of just 15. The company has been making some progress on the top line, with revenue up 17% last quarter. Given its low valuation, if it can become an AI orchestration leader, the stock could have huge upside. That makes it a moonshot bet worth considering.

IonQ, Inc. (IONQ - Free Report) has recently been on Zacks.com's list of the most searched stocks. Therefore, you might want to consider some of the key factors that could influence the stock's performance in the near future.

Shares of this company have returned -22.2% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +2.1% change. The Zacks Computer - Integrated Systems industry, to which IonQ belongs, has gained 12.4% over this period. Now the key question is: Where could the stock be headed in the near term?

Although media reports or rumors about a significant change in a company's business prospects usually cause its stock to trend and lead to an immediate price change, there are always certain fundamental factors that ultimately drive the buy-and-hold decision.

Revisions to Earnings EstimatesHere at Zacks, we prioritize appraising the change in the projection of a company's future earnings over anything else. That's because we believe the present value of its future stream of earnings is what determines the fair value for its stock.

We essentially look at how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to reflect the impact of the latest business trends. And if earnings estimates go up for a company, the fair value for its stock goes up. A higher fair value than the current market price drives investors' interest in buying the stock, leading to its price moving higher. This is why empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

IonQ is expected to post a loss of $0.29 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +58.6%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate remained unchanged.

The consensus earnings estimate of -$1.07 for the current fiscal year indicates a year-over-year change of +41.2%. This estimate has remained unchanged over the last 30 days.

For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $0.94 indicates a change of +12.5% from what IonQ is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has changed +2.2%.

Having a strong externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool, the Zacks Rank, offers a more conclusive picture of a stock's price direction in the near term, since it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. Due to the size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, IonQ is rated Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:

12 Month EPS

Projected Revenue GrowthWhile earnings growth is arguably the most superior indicator of a company's financial health, nothing happens as such if a business isn't able to grow its revenues. After all, it's nearly impossible for a company to increase its earnings for an extended period without increasing its revenues. So, it's important to know a company's potential revenue growth.

In the case of IonQ, the consensus sales estimate of $66.36 million for the current quarter points to a year-over-year change of +220.7%. The $267.45 million and $401.88 million estimates for the current and next fiscal years indicate changes of +105.7% and +50.3%, respectively.

Last Reported Results and Surprise HistoryIonQ reported revenues of $64.67 million in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +754.3%. EPS of -$0.38 for the same period compares with -$0.14 a year ago.

Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $49.66 million, the reported revenues represent a surprise of +30.23%. The EPS surprise was -46.15%.

Over the last four quarters, the company surpassed EPS estimates just once. The company topped consensus revenue estimates each time over this period.

ValuationNo investment decision can be efficient without considering a stock's valuation. Whether a stock's current price rightly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects is an essential determinant of its future price performance.

While comparing the current values of a company's valuation multiples, such as price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), with its own historical values helps determine whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of the reasonability of the stock's price.

The Zacks Value Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which pays close attention to both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics to grade stocks from A to F (an A is better than a B; a B is better than a C; and so on), is pretty helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.

IonQ is graded F on this front, indicating that it is trading at a premium to its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.

Bottom LineThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about IonQ. However, its Zacks Rank #3 does suggest that it may perform in line with the broader market in the near term.

Key Takeaways IonQ launched Clavis XG Multiplex to make quantum security deployable across metro fiber networks. IONQ's Clavis XG Multiplex uses existing network infrastructure to reduce long-term cryptographic risk. IonQ launched InSAR capabilities for millimeter-precision ground deformation monitoring. IonQ (IONQ - Free Report) is strengthening its commercial portfolio beyond quantum computing by expanding into quantum cybersecurity and space-based geospatial intelligence. In line with this, the company introduced Clavis XG Multiplex, marking a new addition to its Clavis XG Quantum Key Distribution (“QKD”) portfolio designed to make quantum security deployable across metropolitan fiber networks. 

Clavis XG Multiplex enables high-performance, physics-based key distribution on a customer’s existing network infrastructure without requiring operators to redesign, isolate or dedicate optical networks for quantum security. The result provides a cost-effective way to reduce long-term cryptographic risk across network segments as broader post-quantum cryptography (PQC) migration progresses across the enterprise.

IonQ also commercially launched Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) capabilities through its space missions line. The offering enables millimeter-precision ground deformation monitoring with fully automated tasking and data delivery. It enables customers to detect and track physical changes on the Earth's surface with a frequency and scale never previously offered by a commercial SAR provider.

Peer UpdateRigetti (RGTI - Free Report) recently announced the general availability of its 108-qubit quantum system, Cepheus-1-108Q, marking a significant step forward in its scaling roadmap. The system represents the company’s largest modular architecture to date, built using its proprietary chiplet-based design. Rigetti is demonstrating progress in scaling quantum hardware while maintaining performance benchmarks such as 99.1% median two-qubit gate fidelity and 99.9% single-qubit fidelity. 

Quantum Computing Inc. (QUBT - Free Report) is steadily expanding its footprint in applied quantum technologies. The company secured a contract from the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop thin-film lithium niobate photonic integrated circuits, highlighting its growing capabilities in advanced photonics. Additionally, QUBT won a subcontract linked to NASA Langley Research Center to develop quantum-based techniques for removing solar noise from space-based LiDAR data, reinforcing its role in next-generation aerospace innovation.

IONQ’s Price PerformanceOver the past year, IONQ’s shares have gained 8.6% compared with the industry’s 221.9% growth. 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Expensive ValuationIonQ currently trades at a forward 12-month price-to-sales (P/S) of 54.58X compared with the industry median of 4.45X.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

IONQ Stock Estimate TrendIn the past 30 days, its loss per share estimate for 2026 has moved south to $1.07.

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IonQ currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). 

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Investors seeking exposure to the next generation of computing face a choice between two distinct hardware philosophies represented by IonQ (IONQ 4.40%) and Quantum Computing Inc. (QUBT 4.08%) in this rapidly evolving market.

While both companies aim to achieve quantum advantage, they rely on different scientific approaches and business models to capture market share. This comparison examines their fiscal year 2025 performance and 2026 outlook to help you decide which stock offers a more balanced risk-reward profile.

The case for IonQIonQ utilizes a trapped-ion approach to build its systems, selling access to its hardware through major cloud platforms. Within the broader landscape of tech stocks, the company differentiates itself through partnerships with the likes of Amazon and Microsoft. The company is also pursuing inorganic growth, recently moving to acquire SkyWater Technologies to secure its semiconductor supply chain.

In its 2025 fiscal year (FY), revenue reached $130.0 million, representing growth of 201.9% compared to the prior year. Despite this rapid top-line expansion, the company reported a net loss of $510.4 million for the period.

As of its December 2025 balance sheet, the debt-to-equity ratio, which measures total debt against shareholder equity, was zero, indicating no meaningful debt. The current ratio, a measure of a company's ability to pay short-term obligations with short-term assets, was 15.5x. Free cash flow for the year was negative $299.6 million, which represents cash from operations minus capital expenditures.

Quantum Computing Inc., which refers to itself as QCi, focuses on quantum optics and integrated photonics, providing accessible machines and foundry services. The company relies primarily on Amazon Web Services for the cloud-based delivery of its products to various high-performance computing markets. Recent acquisitions of Luminar Semiconductor and NHanced Semiconductors have expanded its internal production capabilities and technical footprint.

During FY 2025, the company generated revenue of $682,000, which was an increase of 82.8% over the previous fiscal year. Its net loss for the year was $18.7 million, resulting in a negative net margin of 2,738.1%. This net margin reflects the total loss as a percentage of total revenue for the period.

Based on the December 2025 balance sheet, the company carries a debt-to-equity ratio of zero. Its current ratio was 102.4x, indicating a high level of liquidity relative to its current liabilities. Free cash flow for the year was negative $37 million, reflecting the ongoing costs of scaling its optical chip manufacturing and architecture.

Risk profile comparisonIonQ faces significant regulatory hurdles, as the pending $1.8 billion SkyWater acquisition remains subject to federal antitrust scrutiny. The company also contends with intense competitive pressure from Microsoft and other well-capitalized tech giants that could render its trapped-ion systems obsolete. High short interest, which was 22% in early 2026, and persistent operating losses contribute to significant price volatility and long-term financial uncertainty.

Quantum Computing Inc. faces risks regarding its financial viability, as it has a history of accumulated deficits and insufficient revenue to cover its operating expenses. The company also deals with supply chain geopolitics, as much of its component sourcing is concentrated in East Asia. Integrating newly acquired entities like Luminar Semiconductor presents execution risks that could divert management attention from the primary goal of scaling its manufacturing technology.

Valuation comparisonIonQ offers a significantly lower revenue multiple than its peer, while QCi is currently the only one of the two with a positive multiple for future earnings estimates.

MetricIonQQuantum ComputingSector BenchmarkForward P/En/a17.1x357.0xP/S ratio147.6x1887.4xSector benchmark uses the SPDR XLK sector ETF. Valuation metrics sourced from Financial Modeling Prep (FMP) and may differ from other data providers.

Which stock would I buy in 2026?The quantum computing sector holds the promise of the next big technological revolution, since quantum computers are far more powerful than today’s supercomputers. Investing in IonQ and QCi provides exposure to this up-and-coming field.

In deciding between these two, the stock to buy is IonQ. It has consistently produced year-over-year revenue growth since becoming a public company in 2021. This demonstrates its ion-based quantum computers are capturing customers.

QCi has struggled to attain meaningful revenue, as its 2025 sales of only $682,000 illustrates. That finally seemed to change in Q1 with revenue of $3.7 million compared to just $39,000 in the previous year. However, that impressive growth was a result primarily of its Luminar Semiconductor acquisition. Consequently, the company’s ability to attract customers to its photonic-based quantum approach remains questionable.

At this early stage in the quantum computing industry’s growth, the technology capable of acquiring customers is the one to invest in. That’s why I bought shares in IonQ and believe it is the better choice.

IonQ (IONQ +0.81%), IBM (IBM +3.70%), D-Wave (QBTS +0.56%), Rigetti (RGTI +0.41%), and Quantum Computing Inc. (QUBT +1.03%) are all fighting for attention in quantum computing. But the race to 2028 may not be decided by technology alone. Cash runway and dilution risk could determine which companies survive long enough for investors to benefit.

*Stock prices used were the market prices of June 24, 2026. The video was published on June 30, 2026.

Rick Orford has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends International Business Machines and IonQ. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Rick Orford is an affiliate of The Motley Fool and may be compensated for promoting its services. If you choose to subscribe through their link, they will earn some extra money that supports their channel. Their opinions remain their own and are unaffected by The Motley Fool.

Key Takeaways IonQ ended Q1 2026 with about $3.1B in cash and investments, supporting multi-year investments. IONQ's remaining performance obligations rose to $470M, improving multi-quarter revenue visibility. IONQ reaffirmed a $310-$330M adjusted EBITDA loss outlook, backed by strong liquidity to fund plans. IonQ (IONQ - Free Report) exited the first quarter of 2026 with approximately $3.1 billion in cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and investments. This is one of the strongest balance sheets in the quantum computing industry. This substantial liquidity supports multi-year investment needs and reduces near-term financing risk.

A notable indicator of revenue visibility is the continued expansion of remaining performance obligations, which increased to $470 million (as of March 31, 2026) from $370 million at the end of 2025. While the timing of revenue recognition remains contingent on project execution and customer deployments, the expanding contracted backlog reduces reliance on an early-stage proposal pipeline and offers greater multi-quarter revenue visibility.

For 2026, management reaffirmed its adjusted EBITDA loss guidance of $310 million to $330 million. Coupled with a first-quarter adjusted EBITDA loss of $96.8 million, this implies continued elevated cash burn. Given IonQ's exceptionally strong liquidity position, the company appears well positioned to fund this investment cycle internally without facing meaningful near-term financing risk.

Peer UpdateQuantum Computing (QUBT - Free Report) or QCi ended the quarter with cash, cash equivalents and investments of about $1.4 billion, underscoring a substantial liquidity position despite the acquisitions of Luminar Semiconductor (“LSI”) and NuCrypt. QCi’s financial strength is further reflected in its total assets of about $1.6 billion and stockholders' equity of approximately $1.6 billion. Meanwhile, total liabilities accounted for $23.4 million, much lower than the cash level.

Rigetti (RGTI - Free Report) exited the first quarter of 2026 with cash, cash equivalents and short-term available-for-sale investments of $418.2 million. The company ended the quarter with no debt on its balance sheet, underscoring a solid solvency position. This means Rigetti has ample liquidity to fund its operations and roadmap execution without near-term financing pressure. 

IONQ’s Price PerformanceOver the past year, IONQ’s shares have gained 32.8% compared with the industry’s 252.5% growth. 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Expensive ValuationIonQ currently trades at a forward 12-month price-to-sales (P/S) of 59.44X compared with the industry median of 4.45X.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

IONQ Stock Estimate TrendIn the past 30 days, its loss per share estimate for 2026 has remained unchanged at $2.26.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

IonQ currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). 

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Key Takeaways QUBT is expanding through acquisitions, boosting manufacturing, photonics and quantum communications.QUBT reported $3.7M revenues, $1.4B cash and investments and a $16M contract backlog.IonQ remains a commercial leader, but weaker estimate revisions and softer technical momentum are concerns. Quantum-computing stocks endured a difficult June as persistent inflation, a higher-for-longer interest-rate environment and investor anxiety following the latest debate surrounding Microsoft's Majorana research weighed heavily on speculative growth names. Against this backdrop, IonQ (IONQ - Free Report) declined 28.8% in June, while Quantum Computing Inc. (QUBT - Free Report) or QCi fell 25.9%, creating an attractive entry point for investors seeking exposure to the next rally in quantum.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

IonQ's Leadership Remains IntactThere is little debate that IonQ remains the industry's commercial leader. The company is gaining momentum backed by a rapidly expanding global customer base and one of the most comprehensive quantum platforms in the industry. During the last-reported first quarter of 2026, revenues surged 755% year over year. Remaining performance obligations climbed to $470 million and the company raised its 2026 revenue outlook to $260-$270 million.

IonQ also continued expanding its hardware, networking and quantum security businesses while advancing its 256-qubit roadmap toward fault-tolerant computing.

Why QUBT May Offer Greater Near-Term UpsideThat said, bigger near-term upside may lie with QUBT, whose transformation is prominent. Although considerably smaller than IonQ, the company is evolving from a research-driven developer into a vertically integrated quantum hardware and photonics manufacturer. Its acquisitions of Luminar Semiconductor and NuCrypt significantly expanded its manufacturing capabilities, photonics expertise and quantum communications portfolio, while management continues to advance its room-temperature photonic quantum architecture and larger Fab 2 manufacturing strategy.

The company, during the first quarter, showed improving commercial momentum. Revenues increased to $3.7 million, supported by acquisitions. QUBT ended the quarter with $1.4 billion in cash and investments and a $16 million contract backlog. More importantly, management emphasized growing customer engagement, expanding fabrication capabilities and converting an increasing pipeline of commercial and government opportunities into recurring revenues.

Estimate Revisions Tilt in QUBT's FavorOver the past 60 days, QUBT has witnessed upward revisions in earnings estimates for 2026 and 2027, with no downward revisions. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has improved meaningfully during this period, as shown in the chart below.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

In contrast, IonQ has experienced a series of downward estimate revisions for 2026 and 2027, with loss per share estimates widening over the past two months despite its strong revenue growth and industry-leading market position.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

QUBT Holds the Technical EdgeThe technical picture also appears to favor QUBT in the near term. While both stocks have corrected sharply in June, IonQ has slipped below its 50-day simple moving average (SMA), reflecting weakening short-term momentum despite remaining above its upward-sloping 200-day SMA.

IONQ 50-and-200-Day SMAs
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

In contrast, QUBT is consolidating around its key moving averages, with the 50-day SMA trending higher and approaching the 200-day SMA after a steady recovery from its April lows.

QUBT-50 and 200-Day SMAs
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Our TakeIonQ remains the long-term leader in commercial quantum computing, but weakening estimate revisions and softer technical momentum could limit its near-term upside. Meanwhile, QUBT is benefiting from accelerating commercialization, strategic acquisitions, improving earnings outlook and a stronger technical setup. Reflecting these contrasting trends, IonQ carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), making profit booking prudent. QUBT's Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), in contrast, suggests it offers the more attractive upside opportunity for July and beyond. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

IonQ, Inc. (IONQ - Free Report) is one of the stocks most watched by Zacks.com visitors lately. So, it might be a good idea to review some of the factors that might affect the near-term performance of the stock.

Over the past month, shares of this company have returned -27.9%, compared to the Zacks S&P 500 composite's -1.4% change. During this period, the Zacks Computer - Integrated Systems industry, which IonQ falls in, has gained 32.4%. The key question now is: What could be the stock's future direction?

Although media reports or rumors about a significant change in a company's business prospects usually cause its stock to trend and lead to an immediate price change, there are always certain fundamental factors that ultimately drive the buy-and-hold decision.

Revisions to Earnings EstimatesHere at Zacks, we prioritize appraising the change in the projection of a company's future earnings over anything else. That's because we believe the present value of its future stream of earnings is what determines the fair value for its stock.

We essentially look at how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to reflect the impact of the latest business trends. And if earnings estimates go up for a company, the fair value for its stock goes up. A higher fair value than the current market price drives investors' interest in buying the stock, leading to its price moving higher. This is why empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

For the current quarter, IonQ is expected to post a loss of $0.29 per share, indicating a change of +58.6% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate remained unchanged over the last 30 days.

The consensus earnings estimate of -$1.07 for the current fiscal year indicates a year-over-year change of +41.2%. This estimate has remained unchanged over the last 30 days.

For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $0.94 indicates a change of +12.5% from what IonQ is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has changed +2.2%.

Having a strong externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool, the Zacks Rank, offers a more conclusive picture of a stock's price direction in the near term, since it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. Due to the size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, IonQ is rated Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:

12 Month EPS

Revenue Growth ForecastWhile earnings growth is arguably the most superior indicator of a company's financial health, nothing happens as such if a business isn't able to grow its revenues. After all, it's nearly impossible for a company to increase its earnings for an extended period without increasing its revenues. So, it's important to know a company's potential revenue growth.

For IonQ, the consensus sales estimate for the current quarter of $66.36 million indicates a year-over-year change of +220.7%. For the current and next fiscal years, $267.45 million and $401.88 million estimates indicate +105.7% and +50.3% changes, respectively.

Last Reported Results and Surprise HistoryIonQ reported revenues of $64.67 million in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +754.3%. EPS of -$0.38 for the same period compares with -$0.14 a year ago.

Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $49.66 million, the reported revenues represent a surprise of +30.23%. The EPS surprise was -46.15%.

Over the last four quarters, the company surpassed EPS estimates just once. The company topped consensus revenue estimates each time over this period.

ValuationNo investment decision can be efficient without considering a stock's valuation. Whether a stock's current price rightly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects is an essential determinant of its future price performance.

While comparing the current values of a company's valuation multiples, such as price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), with its own historical values helps determine whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of the reasonability of the stock's price.

As part of the Zacks Style Scores system, the Zacks Value Style Score (which evaluates both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics) organizes stocks into five groups ranging from A to F (A is better than B; B is better than C; and so on), making it helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.

IonQ is graded F on this front, indicating that it is trading at a premium to its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.

Bottom LineThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about IonQ. However, its Zacks Rank #4 does suggest that it may underperform the broader market in the near term.

In the latest trading session, IonQ, Inc. (IONQ - Free Report) closed at $53.60, marking a -7.35% move from the previous day. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.1%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.35%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 0.43%.

Coming into today, shares of the company had lost 9.07% in the past month. In that same time, the Computer and Technology sector lost 2.15%, while the S&P 500 lost 1.34%.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of IonQ, Inc. in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is predicted to post an EPS of -$0.29, indicating a 58.57% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $66.36 million, up 220.73% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of -$1.04 per share and revenue of $267.45 million, which would represent changes of +42.86% and +105.71%, respectively, from the prior year.

It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for IonQ, Inc. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed an unchanged state. Currently, IonQ, Inc. is carrying a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).

The Computer - Integrated Systems industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 5, which puts it in the top 3% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.