IonQ Is Skyrocketing Today -- Is the Quantum Computing Stock a Buy? - Nasdaq
Summarize this article with:
AAPL TSLA AMZN META AMD NVDA PEP COST ADBE GOOG AMGN HON INTC INTU NFLX ADP SBUX MRNA AAPL TSLA AMZN META AMD NVDA PEP COST ADBE GOOG AMGN HON INTC INTU NFLX ADP SBUX MRNA AAPL TSLA AMZN META AMD NVDA PEP COST ADBE GOOG AMGN HON INTC INTU NFLX ADP SBUX MRNA Markets IONQ IonQ Is Skyrocketing Today -- Is the Quantum Computing Stock a Buy? February 26, 2026 — 03:52 pm EST Written by Keith Noonan for The Motley Fool-> Key PointsIonQ crushed Wall Street's sales and earnings targets for the fourth quarter. The company also issued issued sales guidance for the year that far exceed expectations. IonQ's latest business update showed encouraging demand for its services, but the stock remains a high-risk, high-reward play. 10 stocks we like better than IonQ ›IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) stock is soaring in Thursday's trading following the company's recent quarterly report. The quantum-computing specialist's share price was up 22.7% as of 3:30 p.m. ET despite a bearish backdrop for the broader market. The S&P 500 was down 0.6% at the same point in the day, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.4%. IonQ's non-GAAP (adjusted) loss per share of $0.20 on revenue of $61.89 million came in far better than the average Wall Street analyst targets, which had called for a per-share loss of $0.23 on sales of $40.38 million. Sales were up an impressive 429% year over year, and margins came in better than anticipated. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » Image source: Getty Images. Is IonQ a buy right now?IonQ's Q4 results and forward guidance show that near-term performance has been far better than expected. The company said that it expects sales for this year to be between $225 million and $245 million. For comparison, the average analyst estimate had only targeted sales of roughly $192.6 million for the year. With a market capitalization of approximately $14.6 billion after today's rally, IonQ is valued at roughly 62 times the midpoint of management's sales target for the year. For investors seeking exposure to the quantum computing market, the stock looks like a stronger potential portfolio addition on the heels of signs that demand for its technologies and services is ramping at a rapid pace. On the other hand, the company's highly growth-dependent valuation and speculative performance outlook suggest that the stock is probably only a good fit for investors with very high levels of risk tolerance. Should you buy stock in IonQ right now? Before you buy stock in IonQ, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and IonQ wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $445,995!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,198,823!* Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 927% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 194% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of February 26, 2026. Keith Noonan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.
The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends IonQ.
The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
Tags Markets The Motley Fool Founded in 1993 in Alexandria, VA., by brothers David and Tom Gardner, The Motley Fool is a multimedia financial-services company dedicated to building the world's greatest investment community. Reaching millions of people each month through its website, books, newspaper column, radio show, television appearances, and subscription newsletter services, The Motley Fool champions shareholder values and advocates tirelessly for the individual investor. The company's name was taken from Shakespeare, whose wise fools both instructed and amused, and could speak the truth to the king -- without getting their heads lopped off. Visit Fool.com for more market news-> More articles by this source-> Stocks mentioned IONQ More Related Articles This data feed is not available at this time. Data is currently not available • Sign up for the TradeTalks newsletter to receive your weekly dose of trading news, trends and education. Delivered Wednesdays.