IonQ is set to report results Wednesday afternoon, and Wall Street is bracing for another jump in revenue after the quantum computing company delivered a blowout quarter last time around. The stock has already surged 57.3% over the last month, far outpacing the broader it services & other tech segment, which rose 8.7% on average.
Last quarter, IonQ posted revenue of $61.89 million, up 429% from a year earlier, and beat analysts’ expectations on both revenue and earnings per share. This time, the market is looking for revenue to climb another 557% year on year, a pace that would make the report one of the more closely watched prints of the season for a company that has made a habit of beating Wall Street’s numbers.
IonQ, traded on the NYSE under the ticker IONQ, comes into the report with most analysts covering the name having reconfirmed their estimates over the last 30 days. The company’s average analyst price target stands at $65.27, above its current share price of $46.01, leaving room for the market to keep chasing the story if the numbers land cleanly.
The comparison set is mixed. Diebold Nixdorf reported revenue growth of 5.6% and beat estimates by 3.5%, but its shares fell 6.1% after results. Xerox did far better on the tape, with revenue up 26.7%, a 6.6% beat and a 70.7% rally afterward. That split gives IonQ a useful backdrop: the market has been rewarding companies that clear a high bar, but it has also been quick to punish any disappointment.
For IonQ, the tension is less about whether the company can grow and more about whether it can keep growing at a rate that justifies the stock’s recent move. Investors have seen the company outpace expectations before, and last quarter’s 429% revenue increase gave them a reason to believe the quantum computing name can still deliver. Wednesday afternoon will show whether that momentum is still intact, or whether the latest forecast has run ahead of the business.