IonQ stock was heading for its longest losing streak since September 2023, sliding in spite of a wave of federal backing for the broader quantum computing sector.
Shares of the College Park, Md.-based company -- which has expanded from pure computing into verticals like cybersecurity and quantum sensing -- have closed lower for eight days straight, and were on pace to extend the losing stretch for a ninth session on Monday.
Shares tumbled 8.9% to $39.03, lagging behind the three major stock indexes as they all traded in the red. The stock has lost nearly 28% over the past nine days; it hasn't had a losing streak that long since the nine days ended Sept. 22, 2023, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
The selloff began in earnest on June 30, the same day industry peer D-Wave Quantum said it had secured a $1.6 million National Science Foundation grant, marking a step up in its long-running relationship with the agency.
Just days earlier, the NSF announced that a group including IonQ would advance its "Erasure Qubits and Dynamic Circuits for Quantum Advantage" pilot program to the next stage, backed by a $4 million infusion.
A lack of fresh catalysts is the most likely explanation for the IonQ streak. The company has simply disappeared from the headlines, with no announcements regarding product launches or significant roadmap progress since mid-June, when it introduced a new cybersecurity product called Clavis XG Multiplex.
CEO Niccolo de Masi attended a White House summit on July 7 where private-sector partners mulled over the technology's national security applications. However, IonQ sat out on more significant news in May, when the Commerce Department unveiled a $2 billion funding package to support the domestic quantum supply chain. The announcement caused shares of market rivals like Infleqtion and IBM to rally dramatically.
Last week's reminder that IonQ has a seat at the table wasn't enough to halt the stock slide. Other quantum stocks have been sliding too, though less severely. Recently public Quantinuum has declined for five consecutive sessions, while D-Wave's price has wavered since late June, trading down into the $18 range.
Earnings may provide the stimulus IonQ shareholders have been waiting for. The company is set to share its second-quarter report in early August. However, the market could see a repeat of May, when IonQ stock tumbled despite a narrower per-share loss and a surge in revenue and remaining performance obligations, with the latter increasing more than fivefold.
Speaking to Barron's at the time, de Masi highlighted the efforts to grow the company by expanding into technologies like atomic clocks and purchasing chip maker SkyWater Technology to scale up production.
"This is something that we're doing for the good of our nation," de Masi said. "We believe that the U.S. needs to have the most robust merchant supplier. We're well-capitalized with $3 billion in the bank, so we're able to accelerate the U.S. merchant supply as well as for our allies."
The CEO is famously ambitious, having described IonQ as "the Nvidia player" of the quantum industry in a Barron's interview last year . Even though Quantinuum has since edged the company out by market cap, stripping IonQ of its title as the largest pure-play on paper, the comparison has stuck.
"We really see ourselves as the bellwether of the sector," de Masi told Barron's. "We were the first to nine figures of (GAAP) revenue, and I don't know how many more years it will take us, but we should be the first to 10 figures also. And that's really exciting."
Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 13, 2026 14:39 ET (18:39 GMT)
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