--- title: "Nearly half of IonQ's record $173.8 million quarter came from the SkyWater foundry it bought in July" description: "The $564 million of profit is a non-cash warrant mark over a widening operating loss, and nine-month free cash flow ran near negative $605 million. D-Wave and Rigetti report November 10, and every holder of quantum stock is now priced against how this quarter decomposes." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Chips" published: 2026-11-09T14:50:29.475Z modified: 2026-11-09T14:50:29.475Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/nearly-half-of-ionq-s-record-173-8-million-quarter-came-from-the-skywater-foundry-it-bought-in-july language: en keywords: "IonQ, Quantum Computing, Earnings, Guidance, Semiconductors" --- # Nearly half of IonQ's record $173.8 million quarter came from the SkyWater foundry it bought in July > The $564 million of profit is a non-cash warrant mark over a widening operating loss, and nine-month free cash flow ran near negative $605 million. D-Wave and Rigetti report November 10, and every holder of quantum stock is now priced against how this quarter decomposes. [IonQ](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/ionq), the College Park, Maryland quantum-computing company, reported its sixth consecutive record quarter on November 5, and the stock [closed the next day up 23.42% at $32.62](https://247wallst.com/investing/2026/11/06/ionq-surges-18-on-beat-and-raised-guidance-rigetti-computing-jumps-18-d-wave-quantum-surges-16/), one session after an AI-led selloff pushed the Nasdaq into correction [1][7]. The demand underneath the print is real: management says Superion 256 capacity is sold out through 2027, [NVIDIA](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/nvidia) is putting one on-premise at its Accelerated Quantum Research Center, and DARPA advanced IonQ, the only trapped-ion company, to the final stage of its benchmarking program [1][2]. The two numbers in the headline are the two to discount. Nearly half of the quarter's $173.8 million of revenue is [the foundry IonQ bought on July 31](https://theinference.org/article/ionq-reports-skywater-for-the-first-time-on-november-5-d-wave-is-the-only-outside-customer-with-a-deal) [3]. The $564 million of net income is a warrant revaluation stacked on a wider operating loss [2]. ## Nearly half the quarter is the acquired foundry The organic business is the IonQ Platform segment, the quantum machines themselves: $90.3 million, up 127%, on Tempo deployments and Superion demand [3][1]. The other $83.5 million is external revenue from SkyWater Foundry Services, two months of a Minnesota semiconductor fab consolidated since the July 31 acquisition; [IonQ's own 10-Q warns the periods are not directly comparable](https://in.marketscreener.com/news/ionq-quarterly-report-for-quarter-ending-september-30-2026-form-10-q-ce785fdddc8bf524) [3]. The order book points the same way, with an asterisk: remaining performance obligations more than doubled to $1.2 billion, and IonQ's definition counts firm orders whose funding has not been appropriated [2][4]. [Full-year guidance rose to $505–515 million](https://www.aol.com/articles/ionq-announces-record-3q26-revenues-210500000.html), with quantum-computing revenue expected to more than double [2]. *Chart: **The revenue step arrived with the SkyWater consolidation** Column chart of IonQ's quarterly GAAP revenue from Q4 2024 to Q3 2026, showing a step up to $174M in Q3 2026 when SkyWater consolidated.* *Quarterly GAAP revenue, millions of dollars, from IonQ's SEC filings. [6]* ## The profit is a warrant mark, and the burn is real The quarter's net income is an accounting event: a non-cash revaluation of warrant liabilities large enough to cover an operating loss that widened year on year, and management says plainly the gain "does not reflect the operating performance of our business" [1][2]. Nine-month free cash flow ran near negative $605 million on [ACIS Research's conventional reckoning](https://acisresearch.com/en/research/quantum-computing-radar-2026-11-06) [4]. The October 16 offering was built for that, adding $2 billion [3]. [The cost sits in the share count](https://theinference.org/article/ionq-printed-71-6-more-shares-to-buy-its-quantum-empire-november-reveals-the-next-tranche), at 432.5 million by late October [4]. *Chart: **One non-cash warrant mark paid for the quarter's paper profit** Bar chart comparing Q3 2026 warrant revaluation gain, GAAP net income, operating loss and adjusted EBITDA loss in millions of dollars.* *Q3 2026, millions of dollars, from IonQ's press release and non-GAAP reconciliation. [2]* *Chart: **The burn has widened every year, to a record $332 million in the record quarter** Column chart of IonQ's quarterly free cash flow from Q4 2023 to Q3 2026, negative in every quarter and deepening to negative $332 million in Q3 2026.* *Quarterly free cash flow, millions of US dollars, from IonQ's SEC filings, retrieved 9 November 2026. The $2 billion October 16 offering was raised after quarter end. [8]* ## November 10 prices the whole complex off this print [Rigetti](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/rigetti) rose 18% and D-Wave 16% on IonQ's numbers, and both report on November 10, with a twist that frames the sector: [D-Wave is a foundry customer of the SkyWater line IonQ now owns](https://theinference.org/article/d-wave-renewed-its-foundry-deal-inside-rival-ionq-s-revenue) [1][2]. [Morgan Stanley](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/morgan-stanley) told clients the beat rested on Superion 256 demand [3]; the bear answer is that acquired revenue and a rising share count did the rest [4]. The hop that matters for the money is the one NVIDIA bought into: a quantum computer wired straight into a GB200 NVL72 AI supercluster through NVQLink [5]. Capability is compounding, and so is the financing, in the other direction, until organic growth and a funded backlog catch up with the burn. ## Takeaway The record quarter is half acquired foundry revenue, the profit is a warrant mark, and the burn hit a record $332 million; quantum investors now price the whole complex off how this decomposes. ## Sources 1. [24/7 Wall St., "IonQ Surges 18% on Beat and Raised Guidance; Rigetti Computing Jumps 18%, D-Wave Quantum Surges 16%", 6 November 2026](https://247wallst.com/investing/2026/11/06/ionq-surges-18-on-beat-and-raised-guidance-rigetti-computing-jumps-18-d-wave-quantum-surges-16/) 2. [IonQ press release via Business Wire (AOL), "IonQ Announces Record 3Q26 Revenues and Raises FY2026 Guidance to $505 - $515 Million as Backlog Grows to $1.2 Billion", 5 November 2026](https://www.aol.com/articles/ionq-announces-record-3q26-revenues-210500000.html) 3. [IonQ, Inc., Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2026 (via MarketScreener India), filed 5 November 2026](https://in.marketscreener.com/news/ionq-quarterly-report-for-quarter-ending-september-30-2026-form-10-q-ce785fdddc8bf524) 4. [ACIS Research, "IonQ Raises Revenue Guidance to $505-515m, but Acquired Growth and Cash Burn Remain Hard Gates", Quantum Computing Radar Issue 010, 6 November 2026](https://acisresearch.com/en/research/quantum-computing-radar-2026-11-06) 5. [Quantum Computing Report, "IonQ Announces Record Q3 2026 Revenues of $173.8M and Raises FY 2026 Guidance to Over $505M as Backlog Reaches $1.2B", November 2026](https://quantumcomputingreport.com/ionq-announces-record-q3-2026-revenues-of-173-8m-and-raises-fy-2026-guidance-to-over-505m-as-backlog-reaches-1-2b/) 6. [IonQ quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 9 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001824920) 7. [Simply Wall St. via Yahoo Finance, "IonQ (IONQ) Stock Jumps After Q3 Earnings Turn Profitable", 6 November 2026 (page carrying 5 November market headlines on the Nasdaq correction)](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/ionq-ionq-stock-jumps-q3-231605383.html) 8. [IonQ, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 9 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001824920) --- Nearly half of IonQ's record $173.8 million quarter came from the SkyWater foundry it bought in July — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/nearly-half-of-ionq-s-record-173-8-million-quarter-came-from-the-skywater-foundry-it-bought-in-july