Stone Fox Capital
Founder, CIO & Portfolio Manager of Stone Fox Capital
IonQ is hurting shareholders with a $2B raise to fund an acquisition that makes its business worse. Raising the money was a choice, not a necessity. The offering includes 20.5M common shares at $40 each and pre-funded warrants to purchase 29.5M shares at $40 per warrant, plus seven-year warrants for another 100M shares at $69.46. x.com x.comÂ
IonQ's acquisition of Elisity may make strategic sense but looks like a terrible deal at up to $1.3 billion, paid entirely in IonQ shares. The microsegmentation startup would cost roughly 9% of the company. x.comÂ
IonQ's $2 billion offering adds dilution risk without a quantum breakthrough. Chapman and Ballance's predicted 'ChatGPT moment' windows have elapsed; a circulated transcript has Monroe saying commercialization is 'probably not in 5 years.' The offering includes 50 million shares or equivalents and seven-year warrants for another 100 million. An up-to-$1.3 billion all-stock cybersecurity acquisition accompanies de Masi's claim that Q-Day is coming faster than predicted. x.comÂ
IonQ's capital infusion strengthens its fundamentals despite the dilution cost to shareholders. Elisity cost the company no additional capital because the acquisition was paid entirely in stock. x.com x.comÂ
IonQ looks toppy: a semiconductor company receiving taxpayer money and spending it on major UFC sponsorships is a sign of excess. x.comÂ
Ondas's share-funded acquisitions look very risky without a strong core business to make them work. It has raised $1.8B selling shares, yet roughly $1.4B sits in cash and short-term investments. One customer provides 55% of revenue, and $252M plus $742M in stock spent on acquisitions has not produced big revenue; continued raises and management pay add to the concern. x.comÂ
IonQ's growing backlog and faster chip production strengthen its bullish case by securing future revenue and shortening production time. Q2 revenue jumped 287% YoY to $80M, beating expectations for a fifth straight quarter; backlog quadrupled to $485M and 2026 revenue guidance rose to $450M-$460M. SkyWater cuts chip production from nine to two months; 256-qubit bookings opened for early 2027 delivery, and the $1.3B Elisity acquisition targets quantum cybersecurity. x.comÂ
IonQ is priced as a story, not a company: with annual revenue under $50 million, its valuation bets on the most optimistic version of quantum computing a decade from now. The market now rewards narrative over earnings and punishes a single missed quarter. That can last a long time when liquidity is ample and risk appetite high, as dot-com stocks in 1999 and SPACs in 2021 showed, so a drop is not imminent. Buyers chasing it are buying how long sentiment lasts, not company value. x.comÂ
IonQ's management has shifted from talking about technology to acquisitions, a warning sign. It bought a low-quality SkyWater fab and Oxford Ionics, a 40-person team hitting 99.99% two-qubit fidelity but at about 10,000 nanoseconds, while Google, IBM and Rigetti teams are at 25-30 ns. IonQ's earlier technology may be phased out, forcing a pivot, and customer announcements look aimed at steering attention from tech comparisons. Without far higher fidelity at speed, it is garbage in, garbage out. … Show more
IonQ has assembled quite a few great assets by buying its way to legitimacy with an inflated stock price, including SkyWater's unique, mission-critical fab and Oxford Ionics. The CEO is a joke, but it never pays to bet against someone who can buy their way to success. x.comÂ
IonQ should trade at its cash value at best. A post the author replies to puts its net cash at about $3 billion with no debt, implying roughly $8 a share. x.comÂ
