IonQ (IONQ) Valuation: Assessing a Premium Price-to-Book After Years of Strong Long-Term Returns

IonQ (IONQ) has been quietly reshaping expectations around quantum computing, and its stock performance shows how divided investors are on what comes next for this still early, high-upside story.

See our latest analysis for IonQ.

After a choppy few months, where the 90 day share price return is still down sharply even after a strong 1 day bounce, IonQ’s 3 year total shareholder return above 1,200 percent shows that long term momentum has been powerful, even if near term sentiment is wobbly.

If this kind of quantum driven story has your attention, it could be worth scanning other ambitious tech names through high growth tech and AI stocks for your next potential idea.

With the stock still well below analyst targets but riding huge multi year gains, is IonQ a misunderstood growth play at a discount, or has the market already priced in its quantum future?

Price to Book of 7.7x: Is it justified?

IonQ trades at a price to book ratio of 7.7 times based on its last close of $49.67, putting it firmly in the expensive camp versus much of the market.

The price to book multiple compares the company’s market value to the accounting value of its net assets. This metric can matter a lot for early stage, asset light tech names where investors are really paying for future potential rather than today’s balance sheet.

In IonQ’s case, that 7.7 times book value looks rich relative to the broader US tech industry, where the average sits at about 2.2 times. This implies the market is assigning a hefty premium to its quantum roadmap and forecast revenue growth even though the business is still loss making and not expected to be profitable within the next three years.

However, when you narrow the lens to closer peers, IonQ’s valuation does not appear extreme. Its 7.7 times price to book ratio actually comes in below the peer group average of 10.8 times, suggesting that within this high growth, speculative corner of tech its multiple is more middle of the pack than outlier.

See what the numbers say about this price — find out in our valuation breakdown.

Result: Price to book of 7.7x (OVERVALUED)

However, there are real risks, from ongoing heavy losses to fiercer competition in quantum hardware, that could quickly cool sentiment and compress IonQ’s premium.

Find out about the key risks to this IonQ narrative.

Build Your Own IonQ Narrative

If you see IonQ’s story differently or want to dig into the numbers yourself, you can build a custom view in minutes: Do it your way.

A great starting point for your IonQ research is our analysis highlighting 1 key reward and 3 important warning signs that could impact your investment decision.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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