Photonics, Satellites, Repeaters: Is IonQ Building the Next Cloud?

IonQ IONQ is no longer just a quantum hardware innovator. It is evolving into a full-stack platform aiming to dominate the quantum Internet. In its first-quarter 2025 results, IonQ reported revenues of $7.57 million, essentially flat year over year, but beat expectations on both top and bottom lines. More importantly, the company unveiled a string of acquisitions and strategic moves that signal an ambitious roadmap to build what could be the next-generation cloud—only quantum.

Key to this vision are three pillars: photonics, satellites, and repeaters. IonQ’s proposed acquisition of Lightsynq, which developed the first working quantum repeater, directly addresses the challenge of scaling quantum networks over long distances. Meanwhile, the planned Capella acquisition adds classified satellite communications expertise, enabling IonQ to extend quantum key distribution (QKD) into orbit.

These moves build on IonQ’s previous acquisitions of Qubitekk and ID Quantique, giving it operational quantum networks with commercial clients like SK Telecom, EPB, and the U.S. Air Force. The company now has a credible architecture to deliver distributed quantum computing and secure communication across geographies—on land and in space.

With nearly $700 million in cash, IonQ has the balance sheet to pursue this long-term vision. While losses remain deep due to high R&D and integration costs, the company's early-mover advantage in quantum networking and photonic interconnects could prove durable.

IonQ isn’t just building quantum hardware—it’s building infrastructure. If successful, it may not just be the next cloud—it could be the backbone of a quantum-secure Internet.

IBM and Rigetti Also Chase the Quantum Cloud

While IonQ is aggressively building out a quantum Internet ecosystem, it faces competition from both established tech giants and niche players, most notably International Business Machines Corporation IBM and Rigetti Computing RGTI.

IBM has long championed cloud-based quantum computing through its IBM Quantum platform. It offers access to quantum processors via IBM Cloud and has formed global partnerships with research institutions to push distributed quantum capabilities. IBM’s emphasis on quantum-safe cryptography and Qiskit software integration positions it as a full-stack rival. IBM’s quantum roadmap also includes quantum networking experiments, which overlap with IonQ’s direction in multiple ways.

Rigetti, though smaller, is focused on hybrid quantum-classical cloud models. It has deployed quantum systems through Amazon Braket and has inked government contracts similar to IonQ’s DARPA and EPB deals. Rigetti’s chip-level innovations and pursuit of modular architectures echo IonQ’s networking ambitions.

Both IBM and Rigetti, like IonQ, see quantum cloud infrastructure as the next computing frontier—and they’re building fast to get there.

IONQ’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates

IonQ shares have gained 73.7% in the past three months, outperforming the Zacks Computer - Integrated Systems industry.
 

IonQ’s forward 12-month price/sales ratio of 106.74 is far above the industry average, as you can see below.
 

For IONQ, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 loss per share has widened over the past seven days to 60 cents, as you can see below, depicting analysts’ concern. Yet, the estimated figure indicates a much narrower loss than the year-ago reported loss of $1.56 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 revenues implies year-over-year growth of 97.3%.
 

IONQ stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). 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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