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Quantum Stocks Surge as IonQ Secures $2 Billion, Raising Fresh Valuation Scrutiny

Early customer use contrasts with a technology still far from commercial scale.

Overview

  • Since Q3 2024, shares of Rigetti jumped 4,330%, D‑Wave 3,330%, and IonQ 812%, marking huge gains for pure‑play quantum names.
  • IonQ secured $2 billion in October from Heights Capital Management, described as the largest single institutional investment in quantum computing, as its trapped‑ion systems run on AWS, Azure and Google Cloud.
  • Valuations have stretched to extreme levels, with IonQ at roughly 303 times trailing sales, D‑Wave at 335 times, and Rigetti at 1,111 times.
  • Revenue expectations stay modest for 2026—about $162 million for IonQ, $38.2 million for D‑Wave, and $21.5 million for Rigetti—fueling renewed questions about sustainability.
  • D‑Wave focuses on quantum annealing for optimization and reports 100‑plus customers including Volkswagen and Lockheed Martin, while Rigetti pursues a vertically integrated stack from chip fabrication to cloud delivery.