Quantum computing company IonQ announces fiscal 2021 financial results! Revenue is only 1/4 of competitors

On March 29, ion trap quantum computing company IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2021, and summarized business highlights for 2021.

Peter Chapman, President and CEO of IonQ, said: "The company had an excellent 2021. We more than tripled our initial order target, announced what we believe to be the world’s most powerful quantum computer, and become the world’s No. 1 quantum computer. A publicly traded quantum computing company, our fourth quarter results are a testament to our success in technology development and rapid commercialization."

Revenue of $2.1 million, loss of $100 million

IonQ's full-year contract orders hit $16.7 million, another beat after increasing the company's original September 2021 contract orders forecast from $5 million to $15 million.

IonQ posted revenue of $2.1 million for the full year, which was 31% higher than the $1.6 million forecast in the third-quarter conference call, as revenue was $1.648 million in the fourth quarter alone. Net loss was $106.2 million and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) loss was $28.3 million.

As of December 31, 2021, IonQ had $603 million in cash, cash equivalents and investments.

Back on March 10, superconducting quantum computing company Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ: RGTI) reported financial results for the 11 months ended December 31, 2021 (fiscal 2021). Fiscal 2021 is only 11 months away, as Rigetti has already changed its fiscal year end date from Jan. 31 to Dec. 31.

Photon Box has compiled a comparison of the financial data of the two companies here:

As can be seen from the above comparison table, in terms of asset size and growth rate, IonQ is far ahead due to its listing in September 2021, and has obtained more than US$600 million in listing proceeds; Rigetti is listed in March 2022 and has received US$260 million. Earnings were not reflected in the 2021 earnings report. In terms of operating income, Rigetti's 11-month revenue was $8.2 million, an increase of 48% year-on-year; IonQ's full-year revenue was $2.1 million, accounting for 1/4 of Rigetti's.

The net losses of the two companies are both expanding. Rigetti's net loss is about 38 million US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 46.40%; IonQ's net loss is about 106 million US dollars, a year-on-year loss of 588%. 

2022 financial outlook

● IonQ expects 2022 revenue to be 5x 2021 revenue. Full-year 2022 revenue is expected to be between $10.2 million and $10.7 million, with first-quarter revenue between $1.8 million and $2 million.

● IonQ expects full-year 2022 order volume to be between $20 million and $24 million, and first-quarter order volume to be between $3 million and $4 million.

● IonQ believes that one or two quantum computing system sales over the next two years could drive total TCV contract orders over the three-year period 2021-2023 to more than nine figures, or hundreds of millions of dollars.

● IonQ expects a full-year 2022 adjusted EBITDA loss of $55 million.

Latest business highlights

● In January, announced a major commercial agreement with Hyundai Motor Corporation to develop quantum algorithms to improve the charging, discharging, durability, capacity and safety of electric vehicle batteries.

● IonQ is working with Oak Ridge National Laboratory on metal hydrides, which could advance technologies such as hydrogen-powered car batteries and hydrogen storage.

● In 2021, IonQ will partner with leading organizations such as Accenture, Goldman Sachs and GE Research.

● In 2021, IonQ partnered with the University of Maryland to create the National Quantum Laboratory (Q-Lab) in Maryland, the first user facility in the United States to experience commercial-grade quantum computers.

Latest technology highlights

● In February 2022, IonQ announced that the latest generation IonQ Aria system has achieved a record 20 algorithmic qubits, which represents a huge leap not only for IonQ, but for the entire quantum computing industry.

● In March 2022, Microsoft announced its official plan to connect IonQ Aria to the Azure Quantum cloud. IonQ becomes the only company to offer quantum computers through all three cloud providers (Google, Microsoft Azure, AWS) in 2021.

● In December 2021, IonQ announced plans to build quantum computers using barium qubits, which the company expects will help improve gate fidelity, enabling faster gates, lower error rates, and lower system costs.

● IonQ's new barium qubit reduces state preparation and measurement errors by a factor of 13.

● The company has secured a sustainable, permanent source of barium qubits through a partnership with the US Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).

● Earlier in 2022, IonQ announced the development of a new set of quantum gates in partnership with the Duke University Quantum Center (DQC). IonQ believes that these new gates will eventually lead to more efficient quantum algorithms that require fewer qubits. Importantly, the gates can only operate using the unique architecture employed by the IonQ and DQC systems.

● In 2021, IonQ will become the first team in the world to demonstrate fault tolerance and correction in practice.

Link:

[1]https://investors.ionq.com/news/news-details/2022/IonQ-Announces-Full-Year-2021-Financial-Results-and-Provides-Business-Update/default.aspx

[2]https://investors.rigetti.com/news-releases/news-release-details/rigetti-computing-announces-financial-results-fiscal-year-2021