Key Points
IonQ stock fell Thursday as a post-election sell-off in chip and AI stocks spread to the riskiest corners of tech, including quantum computing.
After the close, IonQ reported third-quarter sales of $173.8 million, up 336% from a year earlier with help from its SkyWater acquisition and well above Wall Street's target of $141 million, and raised its full-year forecast to between $505 million and $515 million.
The stock reversed sharply after hours on the strong report, but quantum computing remains a particularly risky corner of the market that is getting caught up in the AI selloff.
IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) stock fell 10.5% on Thursday, Nov. 5, amid a post-election sell-off in chip and AI stocks that spread to the riskiest corners of tech.
The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) and the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX:^IXIC) fell 4.4% and 5.6%, respectively.
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Why IonQ stock fell in the AI and chip sell-off
Two days after Democrats' decisive victory on election day, investors sold anything tied to AI in anticipation of greater scrutiny from a Democratic Congress.
Governors and state legislatures could play a big role: governors-elect from Texas, Ohio, and Georgia -- three of the most important states for the AI build-out -- all promised data center moratoriums on the campaign trail.
The sell-off was large enough that it bled into all kinds of risky stocks, regardless of their ties to AI data centers. Quantum computing is particularly risky, and stocks across the industry got crushed, including IonQ.
Image source: Getty Images.
IonQ Q3 earnings beat estimates and raised guidance
After hours, however, the stock reversed after IonQ reported its Q3 results.
The company reported sales of $173.8 million, up 336% from a year earlier -- a big chunk of this was from IonQ's acquisition of SkyWater -- and handily beating Wall Street's target of $141 million. IonQ also raised its top-line forecast to between $505 million and $515 million for the full year, up from a range of $450 million to $460 million.
Johnny Rice has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends IonQ. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.