IonQ Doubles Down on Nvidia Comparison. Why the Stock Is Falling 7% After Blowout Earnings
IonQ set a high bar last year when its chief executive proclaimed that he saw the company becoming the " Nvidia player" of the quantum industry. That conviction only has solidified."It's always the ambition to be the Nvidia of quantum, and we're demonstrating we're on track for that," CEO Niccolo de Masi told Barron's ahead of IonQ's first-quarter earnings report. "These exponential curves are really compelling for shareholders, for our customers, and for our partners.". The company's latest financial results, posted after Wednesday's market close, beat along top-line metrics. For the first quarter, IonQ recorded an adjusted loss of 34 cents a share, narrower than the 46-cent loss analysts had anticipated. Revenue grew 55% year-over-year to $64.7 million, surpassing the FactSet consensus estimate of $49.8 million.IonQ emphasized that commercial customers accounted for more than half of that amount -- a promising indicator in an industry hungry for signs of enterprise adoption. More tha