IonQ's Quantum M&A Push and $3.5B Cash: Buy, Sell or Hold in 2026?

IonQ’s IONQ shares have fallen 25.1% in the first one-and-a-half months of 2026, sharply underperforming the broader industry’s roughly 11% gain. Yet the company’s recent strategic actions indicate that its business trajectory remains firmly expansionary.

Technologically, the company achieved an AQ 64 on its fifth-generation Tempo system and a world-record 99.99% two-qubit gate fidelity milestone, while advancing integration of Oxford Ionics’ electronic qubit control architecture. At the same time, IonQ’s M&A strategy has materially reshaped its profile. The additions of Oxford Ionics and Vector Atomic expanded its reach across computing, networking, sensing and security. The proposed $1.8 billion acquisition of SkyWater is designed to vertically integrate semiconductor manufacturing, shorten design-to-fabrication cycles and accelerate scaling toward larger qubit systems.

Stock Comparison in Past 45 Days

Strategic Acquisitions Power IonQ’s Scalable Quantum Future

In the third quarter of 2025, IonQ completed the acquisitions of Oxford Ionics and Vector Atomic, expanding beyond computing into electronic qubit control, sensing and security. Oxford Ionics’ EQC (Electronic Qubit Control) architecture is being integrated into IonQ’s 256-qubit system targeted for 2026, while Vector Atomic adds advanced atomic clocks and sensing technologies with existing U.S. government programs. These additions supported IonQ’s platform expansion in the third quarter, when it delivered 222% year-over-year growth and reported 37% above the high end of guidance, prompting an increase in full-year 2025 revenue guidance to $106–$110 million.

The proposed $1.8 billion acquisition of SkyWater represents a further step toward vertical integration, embedding semiconductor design, fabrication and packaging within IonQ’s ecosystem. Management expects this to cut the 256-qubit chip design-to-sample cycle from nine months to two months and enable the first 200,000-qubit chips to return from the fab in 2028, potentially accelerating fault-tolerant timelines.

Importantly, IonQ ended October with a pro-forma cash balance of $3.5 billion and no debt, making it one of the best-capitalized pure-play quantum companies. This strong financial position provides the flexibility to pursue and integrate strategic acquisitions, supporting long-term growth prospects.

IONQ’s 2026 Estimates Show Strong Growth Prospects

IONQ is projected to report 2026 earnings growth of 65.8% on revenue growth of 83.3% from the 2025 estimated figure.

IONQ's Valuation is Expensive but Better Than Its Peers

IonQ’s forward 12-month price/sales (P/S) ratio of 54.76 is far above the industry average of 4.8X but well below D-Wave Quantum’s QBTS (154.2X) and Rigetti Computing’s RGTI (158.2X).

Our Take

Given IonQ’s strong technological progress, aggressive vertical integration strategy and solid liquidity position, the long-term narrative remains compelling. However, with the stock still trading at a steep premium to the broader industry (though still below pure-play peers Rigetti and D-Wave), near-term volatility could persist. This suggests it may not be the ideal time to aggressively buy or exit positions. Instead, patience appears prudent. With IonQ carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), investors may consider holding existing positions and waiting for a more attractive entry or exit point to better optimize risk-reward. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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