IonQ claims ‘world record’ in computing performance, but investors shun quantum stocks
Given that it’s an industry still years away from broad commercial profitability, it’s not surprising that quantum computing stocks are a very volatile sector.
It also might not help that quantum computing is a technology that many investors might not fully understand, given the highly complex nature of quantum physics underpinning it.
So when a quantum company announces a new breakthrough, it might not be enough to move the needle enough to get Wall Street excited.
Such was the case on Tuesday, when IonQ (IONQ) announced that it had set a new quantum computing world record by demonstrating 99.99% two-qubit gate performance.
According to the IonQ, the performance of quantum computers “is limited by the error rate of its two-qubit gates,” which is known as “two-qubit gate fidelity.”
“This single number largely defines quantum computing performance – measuring the accuracy of quantum operations,” the company explained. “As fidelity improves, fewer errors must be addressed and more complex algorithms can be run.”
In what it calls a “landmark technical result,” IonQ achieved the highest two-qubit gate performance in the world, with fidelity exceeding 99.99%.
This is known as crossing the “four-nines” benchmark, and the company said it’s the first quantum computer to ever cross that threshold.
This result beat the previous record of 99.97% set by Oxford Ionics,a company which IonQ acquired in June.
IonQ achieved the record using prototypes from its research and development labs, which are forming the basis for the 256-qubit systems that it plans to unveil in 2026.
IonQ said that the technical achievement positions it “well ahead of its competitors” and puts it on a path to to scale to millions of qubits by 2030.
“Reaching four-nines fidelity is a watershed moment for IonQ’s quantum leadership,” Niccolo de Masi, chairman and CEO of IonQ, said in a statement.
“This level of quantum performance has been the industry’s north star for decades and crossing it brings fault-tolerant quantum systems years closer to mass market adoption.”
He added that it also “means unlocking more value from quantum computing sooner” for its global customers, “while dramatically lowering the cost and complexity of large-scale systems.”
The rally hits a wall
Despite the record achievement, IonQ’s stock fell 0.73% on Tuesday.
This dip is part of a larger trend as investors have been pulling back shares of quantum stocks recently, following what had been a brisk rally for much of the year.
Although it's up 42.5% for the year, IonQ’s stock is down 23.3% over the last five days.
D-Wave Quantum has soared 282.3% YTD, but its shares are down 25.2% over the last five trading days. And Rigetti Computing (RGTI) has gained 162.1% for the year, but dropped 28.7% over the last week of trading.
Quantum Computing Inc. is one of the only closely watched startups that hasn’t seen a significant rally this year, with its shares down 3.3% YTD.
There doesn’t appear to be any macroeconomic headwinds pushing the stocks down, which could mean that investors have taken advantage of the rally in quantum stocks this year to make a profit on their shares.
But if rumors about the Trump administration soon launching domestic quantum initiatives turn out to be true, the stocks will almost surely rally again.