Why Did IonQ Stock Pop Today?

Valued at $19.6 billion, IonQ (IONQ +12.26%) stock is the biggest pure play on quantum computing you can buy. That's the good news for IonQ today. The bad news is that... the United States government is not buying IonQ stock -- but it's buying shares in just about everybody but IonQ. This is the news that's moving IonQ stock up 9.5% through 10:35 a.m. ET Thursday morning: According to an exclusive report in today's The Wall Street Journal, the Trump Administration will award $2 billion in grants to nine quantum computing companies and take equity stakes to secure its investment in each. Image source: Getty Images. Money for thee, but not for me IonQ is not one of these companies, but its smaller publicly traded rivals D-Wave Quantum (QBTS +25.44%), Infleqtion (INFQ +33.63%), and Rigetti Computing (RGTI +24.88%) are all receiving grants and investments. So too is that old dinosaur of computing, International Business Machines (IBM +8.48%) -- which indeed is getting half the funds on offer, a nice, round $1 billion. D-Wave, Infleqtion, and Rigetti will each receive $100 million. Globalfoundries (GFS +10.62%) will get $375 million, and the rest will be parceled out among a handful of privately owned companies -- including one part-owned by Donald Trump Jr's 1789 Capital! But again, no money for IonQ. ExpandNYSE: IONQIonQToday's Change(12.26%) $6.43Current Price$58.90Key Data PointsMarket Cap$20BDay's Range$53.97 - $61.1252wk Range$25.89 - $84.64Volume2.1MAvg Vol29MGross Margin-2879.52% What does this mean for IonQ stock? So how is any of this good news for IonQ, if it's getting no money, and everyone else is getting a lot of money -- plus backing from the U.S. government that will give it an interest in seeing IonQ's rivals succeed (and perhaps that IonQ fails)? I honestly don't get the logic behind investors buying IonQ on this news. With analysts still expecting the stock to lose money for years, it may be time to sell.Read NextMay 20, 2026 •By Parkev Tatevosian, CFAIonQ Stock Analysis: Buy or Sell This Quantum Computing Stock?May 20, 2026 •By Keithen Drury3 Stocks to Take Advantage of the $72 Billion Quantum Computing IndustryMay 17, 2026 •By Keith NoonanWhy IonQ Stock Surged This WeekMay 16, 2026 •By John BromelsMeet the Quantum Computing Stock That Could Crush IonQ in 2026May 16, 2026 •By Geoffrey SeilerThis Quantum Computing Company Has Every Big Tech Firm Quietly Paying AttentionMay 16, 2026 •By James HiresThis Tech Stock Doesn't Need AI to Win. That's Exactly Why It's My Top Pick Right Now.About the AuthorRich Smith is a contributing Motley Fool defense and stock market analyst covering publicly traded and emerging companies in defense, space, aerospace, and other sectors. Prior to The Motley Fool, Rich practiced international corporate law for Clifford Chance in Russia, and for the Russian-Ukrainian Legal Group in Moscow, Kyiv, and Washington, D.C. He holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the College of William & Mary, a law degree from the University of Baltimore, and a language certification from the International Institute of Russian Language & Culture in Tver, Russian Federation. The Globe and Mail once featured him as “one of the best stock pickers since 2009.”TMFDittyX@RichSmithFoolStocks MentionedIonQNYSE: IONQ$58.90(+12.26%)+$6.43International Business MachinesNYSE: IBM$243.21(+8.09%)+$18.21GlobalFoundriesNASDAQ: GFS$78.15(+10.40%)+$7.36D-Wave QuantumNYSE: QBTS$24.11(+24.90%)+$4.81Rigetti ComputingNASDAQ: RGTI$21.07(+24.82%)+$4.19Infleqtion NYSE: INFQ$14.92(+33.45%)+$3.74*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.