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    IONQ
    Earnings call· Jun 2026(Q2 FY26)

    IonQ Q2 FY26 earnings call IONQ

    Aug 5, 2026 Source

    Executive summary

    IonQ Q2 FY26 — Record Revenue and SkyWater Acquisition Close

    IonQ delivered a record Q2 FY26, driven by strong organic growth and global quantum computer deployments, while strategically closing the SkyWater acquisition to vertically integrate its quantum platform. The company is accelerating its semiconductor-based quantum computing roadmap and expanding its merchant supplier role, alongside advancing quantum security solutions. Management anticipates providing combined company guidance in the near future.

    Highlights

    5

    • Achieved record Q2 revenue of $80.1 million, representing 287% year-on-year growth.

    • Reported 132% year-over-year organic revenue growth in Q2 FY26, exceeding full-year expectations.

    • Ended Q2 with $485 million in Remaining Performance Obligations (RPOs), up from $122 million a year ago.

    • Received first fully featured, fully integrated 256-qubit QPUs from SkyWater, now undergoing testing.

    • Demonstrated breakeven quantum error correction using qLDPC codes on a Tempo engineering test system.

    Concerns

    2

    • Reported a GAAP net loss of negative $1.9 billion for Q2, primarily due to a $1.6 billion noncash impact from warrant valuation.

    • Adjusted EBITDA was negative $120.3 million for Q2, reflecting $20 million in additional SkyWater spending and $10 million in pre-integration costs.

    Guidance & targets

    6
    CategoryTargetConfidence
    Full-year 2026 Revenue (IonQ only)
    $280M-$290M
    high materiality
    High
    Full-year 2026 Organic Revenue Growth
    100%
    high materiality
    High
    Full-year 2026 Quantum Platform Strategy Growth
    100%
    medium materiality
    High
    Semiconductor-based Computers as Main Revenue Driver
    Main driver
    high materiality
    High
    Commissioning of 256-qubit Systems
    Begin commissioning
    high materiality
    High
    Path to 10,000 Qubits
    10,000 qubits
    high materiality
    High

    Operational metrics

    20
    Revenue
    $80.1M287% YoY growth
    Q2 FY26

    Strongest quarter in IonQ's history and fifth consecutive quarter of record results.

    Organic revenue growth
    132%YoY
    Q2 FY26

    Principal driver was continued momentum of deploying fifth-generation quantum computing systems.

    Multi-product sales growth
    40%YoY
    Q2 FY26

    Priority remains diligently driving cross-selling opportunity even higher.

    Multi-product sales as % of revenue
    25%
    Q2 FY26

    Represents strong growth year-on-year.

    GAAP operating expenses
    $417.3M
    Q2 FY26

    Largest area of OpEx continues to be R&D.

    Non-GAAP operating expenses
    $201.2M
    Q2 FY26

    Reflects investments in R&D and go-to-market resources.

    R&D expenses (GAAP)
    $160.6M
    Q2 FY26

    Largest component of GAAP operating expenses.

    Adjusted EBITDA
    negative $120.3M
    Q2 FY26

    Includes additional spending with SkyWater and pre-integration costs.

    Additional spending with SkyWater
    $20M
    Q2 FY26

    Included in adjusted EBITDA, due to accelerating technology roadmap.

    Pre-integration costs
    $10M
    Q2 FY26

    Included in adjusted EBITDA, related to scaling the business and securing supply chain.

    GAAP net loss
    negative $1.9B
    Q2 FY26

    Primarily due to noncash impact from warrant valuation.

    Noncash impact from warrant valuation
    $1.6B
    Q2 FY26

    Required by accounting conventions, does not reflect operating fundamentals.

    SkyWater spending (intercompany)
    $120M
    FY26

    Estimated full-year spending with SkyWater under commercial agreement, which will be eliminated as intercompany revenue post-acquisition.

    Skyloom optical communication terminals deployed
    84double from a year ago
    current

    Deployed on orbit, showing progress across space-based products.

    Qubit fidelity (two-qubit gate)
    99.99%
    October last year

    New world record demonstrated without ground state cooling, enabled by electronic qubit control.

    Qubits needed to break encryption (drop)
    4 orders of magnitude
    over past 15 years

    Estimated number of qubits needed to break encryption has dropped significantly, compressing the Q-Day timeline.

    Organic business growth
    80%
    FY24-FY25

    Organic business growth in the 2024 to 2025 period.

    SkyWater consensus revenue view
    $610M
    prior to acquisition

    Analyst consensus revenue view for SkyWater prior to the acquisition.

    Implicit 2H revenue guidance
    $135M-$145M
    2H FY26

    Analyst's calculation of implicit revenue guidance for the second half of fiscal year 2026 based on full-year guidance and Q2 results.

    Acquisition spend (Oxford Ionics + SkyWater)
    $3B
    cumulative

    Total investment in Oxford Ionics and SkyWater acquisitions to accelerate roadmap.

    Industry KPIs

    4
    MetricValueDetails
    Services peripheral attachQCaaS service, high-margin software
    Capacity roadmap qualification256-qubit chips, 10,000-qubit chipsqubits
    Ai server orders revenue backlog10,000 qubitsqubits
    Revenue mix by end market segment50% international, 60% commercial%

    Orderbook & backlog

    1
    Remaining Performance Obligations (RPOs)$485MQ2 FY26

    up from $470M in Q1, up from $122M 1 year ago

    Provides visibility into revenues that will appear in more than 1 year.

    Product announcements

    2
    ProductTypeDetails
    Walking Cat Architecturelaunch
    QKD productlaunch

    Deals & partnerships

    8
    SkyWaterAcquisition of SkyWater Technology Foundry, creating a vertically integrated full-stack quantum platform company.$1.8B

    Closed last week, creating the only vertically integrated full-stack quantum platform company. IonQ and SkyWater own design, fabrication, packaging, and deployment onshore in U.S. facilities. SkyWater took the majority of consideration in IonQ stock.

    Oxford IonicsAcquisition to bring electronic qubit control technology.

    Closed last September, bringing pioneers of electronic qubit control into IonQ.

    Nexus PhotonicsAcquisition of UC Santa Barbara's spin-off Nexus Photonics.

    Further expands merchant supplier capabilities in Q2. Integrated photonics capabilities move IonQ closer to data center scale distributed quantum systems. Plans to supply these components to the broader quantum ecosystem through SkyWater.

    AndurilMemorandum of Understanding (MOU) for collaboration.

    Early stage MOU, potential for converting into development contracts or system deployments. Reflects IonQ's platform strategy and support for Department of War applications.

    SandiaMemorandum of Understanding (MOU) for collaboration.

    Early stage MOU, potential for converting into development contracts or system deployments. Strong connectivity due to former Sandia quantum program director joining IonQ. Focus on scientific research in the energy sector and leveraging IonQ's quantum power expertise.

    Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI)Deployment of fifth-generation quantum computing systems.

    Began shipments of subsystems to KISTI, with systems currently being delivered and assembled in Korea.

    QuantumBaselDeployment of fifth-generation quantum computing systems.

    Fifth-generation machine is now in final assembly on site in Switzerland, next to a previously purchased fourth-generation machine, representing the world's first deployment of two consecutive generations of quantum computers commercially.

    U.S. Space Development AgencyHALO Europa contract for delivering functioning satellites into orbit.

    Began work during the quarter, completing key design milestones on the path to delivering satellites to support a multimodal constellation, prime for quantum solutions.

    Risks & headwinds

    4
    GAAP net income volatilityQ2 FY26

    Negative $1.9B GAAP net loss, primarily due to $1.6B noncash impact from mark-to-market valuation of warrants.

    Mitigation: Management emphasizes this accounting impact does not reflect operating fundamentals.

    Negative Adjusted EBITDAQ2 FY26

    Negative $120.3M Adjusted EBITDA, including $20M additional spending with SkyWater and $10M pre-integration costs.

    Mitigation: Spending with SkyWater increased due to success accelerating technology roadmap; pre-integration costs for scaling business and securing supply chain. Focus on execution and creating operating leverage over time.

    Q-Day timeline compressionRapidly compressing

    Estimated number of qubits needed to break encryption has dropped by 4 orders of magnitude over 15 years.

    Mitigation: IonQ is accelerating its path to 10,000 qubits in 2027 and provides a complete quantum-safe cybersecurity stack, including PQC and QKD products.

    Intercompany revenue elimination post-acquisitionPost-acquisition (FY26)

    Approximately $120M of full-year 2026 spending with SkyWater (converting to their revenue) will be eliminated.

    Mitigation: Management needs time to integrate operations and account for eliminations before providing combined company revenue or EBITDA guidance.

    What to watch in Q3 FY26

    5

    Combined company guidance

    Next quarter
    CurrentIonQ-only guidance provided
    TargetCombined IonQ + SkyWater revenue/EBITDA guidance

    Why it matters

    Provides full financial outlook for the newly combined entity, including the impact of intercompany eliminations.

    Because we have operated as a combined company for less than a week, we need to integrate our operations before providing combined company revenue or EBITDA guidance.

    Q&A highlights

    6

    What are the next steps for converting MOUs with Anduril and Sandia into contracts, and are any dollars included in RPO or 2026 revenue outlook?

    The MOUs are early stage and do not currently include dollars in RPO or 2026 revenue. They reflect IonQ's comprehensive platform strategy aligning with U.S. executive orders on quantum security and computing, with potential for future development in defense applications.

    “this is not yet in our numbers because it is still in an early stage. We'll report more on these as they develop.”

    asked by Kevin Garrigan · answered by Niccolo de Masi

    2 min read5 chapters

    Detailed Narrative

    01

    Quantum Computing Roadmap & Semiconductor Manufacturing

    IonQ is transitioning its trapped ion architecture from laser-based to electronic qubit control, leveraging semiconductor pathways for scalability. Key milestones include the acquisition of Oxford Ionics, achieving 99.99% two-qubit gate fidelities, and receiving first fully featured QPUs from SkyWater for 256-qubit systems. The company also released its 'walking cat architecture,' an end-to-end blueprint for fault-tolerant quantum computers, and demonstrated breakeven quantum error correction on a Tempo engineering test system.

    02

    Merchant Supplier Expansion & Ecosystem Enablement

    With the acquisition of SkyWater, IonQ has become the only vertically integrated full-stack quantum platform and the world's largest quantum merchant supplier. This integration accelerates IonQ's roadmap and enables it to supply critical technologies, including atomic clocks and integrated photonics, to the broader quantum ecosystem. The acquisition of Nexus Photonics further expands capabilities in chip-scale integration for miniaturization and mass manufacture of quantum systems, with plans to offer these through SkyWater's quantum photonics foundry.

    03

    Quantum Security & Q-Day Acceleration

    IonQ highlights the rapidly compressing timeline for cryptographically relevant machines that threaten RSA encryption, with the estimated qubits needed dropping by four orders of magnitude over 15 years. The company provides a 'defense-in-depth' quantum-safe cybersecurity stack, including post-quantum cryptography and a new quantum key distribution (QKD) product for municipal fiber networks. IonQ welcomes the U.S. administration's quantum executive orders, recognizing quantum leadership as a defining technological competition.

    04

    Global Deployments & Product Momentum

    IonQ reported significant progress in global quantum computer deployments, including initial shipments of subsystems to KISTI in Korea and final assembly of a fifth-generation machine at QuantumBasel in Switzerland, marking the world's first deployment of two consecutive generations of quantum computers commercially. The company also noted 84 Skyloom optical communication terminals deployed on orbit and progress on the HALO Europa contract for the U.S. Space Development Agency, showcasing advancements across its product portfolio.

    05

    Strategic R&D Initiatives

    IonQ is establishing an R&D center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for quantum memory development, leveraging the local ecosystem including EPB and Vanderbilt University. This initiative aims to develop quantum memory modules for caching and other purposes, supporting both IonQ's internal needs and its merchant supplier strategy by potentially selling modules to other quantum computing players.

    AI-generated summary of the company’s earnings call. Not investment advice.