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Claire Yubin Oh & David Crowther & Luke Kawa

Quantum stocks soar after Trump administration awards $2 billion in grants, in deals that include government equity stakes

Quantum computing stocks are soaring in early trading on Thursday after the Trump administration signed a number of letters of intent (LOIs) to award a total of $2 billion in grants to nine quantum companies, in deals that also include equity stakes. In press releases published by IBM, GlobalFoundries, D-Wave Quantum, Infleqtion, and Rigetti, LOIs have been signed with the US Department of Commerce’s CHIPS Research and Development Office.

First reported by The Wall Street Journal, the following companies are part of the overall package, with respective amounts of funding reported:

For IBM, the largest recipient, the funds will be used to “build an American quantum chip foundry,” supporting the research and development efforts of a new IBM company: Anderon, set to be “America’s first pure-play quantum foundry,” according to IBM, which will match the federal funding dollar for dollar, plowing $1 billion into Anderon.

The agreements, which will be funded under the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, will be made in exchange for the government taking an unspecified minority equity stake in each of the quantum companies — an unusual federal move that has become common under President Trump, with investments in the rare earth space and chips (most notably Intel).

The process of reaching these deals with the government included “a very rigorous technical evaluation over many, many months,” Infleqtion CEO Matthew Kinsella told Sherwood News. “Every quantum company I have spoken with throughout the supply chain applied and put in a proposal for this CHIPS Act money. So I view this as the US government having done a very, very broad overview of the quantum industry and selected the partners that they believe can execute.”

Rumors and reports of potential government support buoyed quantum computing stocks during September and October of last year, contributing to frenzied, options-fueled gains for many of its most well-known constituents.

Other quantum names not booking government deals today are also ticking up in sympathy, including pure-play IonQ, Quantum Computing, Arqit Quantum, and Honeywell (which backs Quantinuum), following the administration’s show of confidence in the nascent technology. The government is also reportedly working on an executive order focused on the quantum industry, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

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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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