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Luke Kawa

IonQ posts huge sales beat in Q3

IonQ posted a monster top-line beat in the third quarter, along with a smaller loss than analysts had feared.

The results:

  • Revenue: $39.9 million (compared to a consensus estimate of $27 million and guidance for $27 million)

  • Adjusted earnings per share: -$0.17 (estimate: -$0.31)

Management boosted its full-year revenue outlook to a range of $106 million to $110 million (previously $82 million to $100 million).

Shares are up nearly 4% in premarket trading on Thursday morning.

“We believe the growing momentum across a variety of applications reflects IonQ's transformation into a full-stack quantum computing platform company,” writes Needham analyst N. Quinn Bolton. “Notably, management believes that providing a QC platform will enable the company to pursue ‘triple-digit million-dollar’ awards over time.”

The prospect of government support has been a major catalyst for the quantum space in recent months, including the US government deeming the technology an R&D priority, which was followed by a report that the Trump administration was in talks to accumulate equity stakes in IonQ and its peers. That report, however, was quickly contradicted by separate reports.

Over the course of the third quarter, IonQ signed an agreement with the Department of Energy to advance the development and deployment of quantum technology in space, and also announced plans to acquire quantum sensor company Vector Atomic. It carried some of this momentum through early in Q4, claiming a “quantum computing world record” for the accuracy of its two-qubit gate model.

Shares of the trapped ion pure-play quantum computing company peaked at nearly $85 in mid-October, but slumped into the mid-$50s ahead of this report as part of a broad pullback across many speculative pockets of the market.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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