Executive Summary

Revenue of $7.6M exceeded the high end of guidance ($6.5–$7.5M) and grew 77% year over year; GAAP EPS was $(0.19) and Adjusted EBITDA loss was $(27.0)M .
Bookings were minimal at $0.3M in Q1, but management raised FY24 bookings guidance to $75–$95M on stronger pipeline and improved visibility (backloaded to H2) .
FY24 revenue guidance was maintained at $37–$41M; Q2 revenue guide was set at $7.6–$9.2M; FY24 Adjusted EBITDA loss expectation reaffirmed at $110.5M .
Strategic catalysts: fully operational Seattle manufacturing facility building five Forte Enterprise systems (one sold to QuantumBasel), with European data center build-out in Basel underway and networking demand rising; pipeline expanding in deal size and volume across geographies and agencies .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

Revenue beat and consistency: “We kicked the year off with strong revenue results, once again outperforming the high end of our guidance range” ($7.6M vs $6.5–$7.5M) .
Pipeline momentum and raised bookings outlook: “Our sales pipeline is expanding significantly in deal size and volume… allowing us to raise our full year bookings guidance” to $75–$95M .
Manufacturing and expansion execution: first Forte Enterprise system under construction in Seattle, with components being assembled for delivery to the Basel data center; broad hiring of experienced leadership (Chief Legal Officer, Head of Quantum Applications) to scale operations .

What Went Wrong

Soft quarterly bookings: Q1 bookings were $0.3M (company press release) versus $0.25M referenced on the call, highlighting lumpiness and timing risk on large deals .
Elevated operating costs: total operating costs and expenses rose to $60.5M (+87% YoY), with R&D at $32.4M (+99% YoY) and S&M at $6.7M (+151% YoY), widening net loss to $(39.6)M .
Heavy non-cash and stock-based comp burden impacting GAAP loss metrics: stock-based compensation was $22.1M, and a non-cash $8.6M warrant liability fair value gain affected GAAP results while being excluded from Adjusted EBITDA .

Financial Results

Metric	Q3 2023	Q4 2023	Q1 2024
Revenue ($USD Millions)	$6.136	$6.106	$7.582
Net Loss ($USD Millions)	$(44.811)	$(41.904)	$(39.592)
Loss from Operations ($USD Millions)	$(42.194)	$(54.448)	$(52.876)
GAAP EPS (Basic & Diluted)	$(0.22)	$(0.20)	$(0.19)
Adjusted EBITDA ($USD Millions)	$(22.413)	$(19.983)	$(26.994)
Cash, Cash Equivalents & Investments ($USD Millions)	$485.1 (as of 9/30/23)	$455.9 (as of 12/31/23)	$434.4 (as of 3/31/24)

Notes: Consensus estimates unavailable via S&P Global due to API limit; will update when available. Management stated Q1 revenue exceeded company guidance midpoint, supporting positive surprise vs internal outlook .

KPIs

KPI	Q3 2023	Q4 2023	Q1 2024
Bookings ($USD Millions)	$26.3	$6.7	$0.3
Unearned Revenue – Current ($USD Millions)	$5.216	$12.087	$16.742
Stock-Based Compensation ($USD Millions)	$16.977	$31.194	$22.061

Segment breakdown: not applicable; IonQ does not report operating segments in the press release/8‑K .

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Revenue ($USD Millions)	FY 2024	$37–$41	$37–$41	Maintained
Revenue ($USD Millions)	Q2 2024	N/A	$7.6–$9.2	New Q2 guide
Bookings ($USD Millions)	FY 2024	$70–$90	$75–$95	Raised
Adjusted EBITDA ($USD Millions)	FY 2024	$(110.5) (loss)	$(110.5) (loss)	Maintained

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

Topic	Q3 2023 (Prior-2)	Q4 2023 (Prior-1)	Q1 2024 (Current)	Trend
AI/technology initiatives	Unveiled Forte Enterprise (#AQ 35) and Tempo (#AQ 64); AFRL networking sale; algorithmic efficiency progress	Achieved #AQ 35 and #AQ 36; PIC and photonic interconnect milestones; AI/LLM opportunities discussed	Pursuing applications in pharma, optimization, and quantum ML; “commercial advantage” focus with new Head of Applications	Strengthening vision and execution toward near-term applications
Manufacturing & delivery	Datacenter form factor unveiled (rack-mounted); systems pipeline growing	Seattle facility opened; footprint increased by 50%; production Forte Enterprise build started	Seattle manufacturing fully operational; building five Forte Enterprise systems; Basel components assembly underway	Capacity scaling and tangible builds continuing
Government demand & macro visibility	AFRL $25.5M systems; DARPA extension; bookings lumpy	FY24 bookings guide $70–$90M with budget uncertainty	Federal budget passed; identified ~$50M non-system federal opportunities; bookings backloaded	Improved visibility; back-half-weighted closes
Networking & security	AFRL deal underscores networking push; quantum-safe concerns noted	Photonic interconnect milestone to enable distributed QPU; quantum-safe market opportunity	Networking interest strong; included in bookings guide	Networking growing as complementary revenue driver
Commercial pipeline	“Bigger and better than ever” pipeline	Pipeline accelerating interest, especially Europe; two systems in Europe sold in 2023	“All-time high” pipeline across countries and agencies; building ahead of contracts	Rising engagement and deal sizes

Management Commentary

“IonQ started 2024 by exceeding the high end of our revenue guidance range… We delivered $7.6 million” (CEO, Peter Chapman) .
“We are raising our bookings guidance for the year… booked $250,000 in the first quarter and our current pipeline is stronger than ever” (CEO, Peter Chapman) .
“Our over-performance was primarily due to our ability to make more progress than previously anticipated on some of our contracts that use percentage-of-completion revenue recognition” (CFO, Thomas Kramer) .
“We are currently planning to build five Forte Enterprise Systems… One of the five has already been sold to QuantumBasel” (CEO, Peter Chapman) .
“Photonic interconnect is… our method of being able to scale QPUs beyond #AQ 64… we’re on track to finish… this year” (VP R&D, Pat Tang) .

Q&A Highlights

Bookings confidence and guidance raise: Management probability-weights the funnel; federal budget passage improved confidence; guidance increased to $75–$95M with majority back-half closes .
Non-system federal opportunities: Identified ~$50M opportunities not related to system sales; included in bookings guide; may include hardware components and software .
Networking momentum: Quantum networking and communication demand rising and factored into bookings guidance .
Manufacturing efficiency: Moving toward more manufacturable systems, subassemblies, and a dedicated assembly workforce to reduce time and cost; building five Forte systems now .
Applications focus: Priority areas include quantum ML, pharmaceuticals/chemistry simulation, optimization, and speculative “strong AI” exploration .

Estimates Context

Wall Street consensus (S&P Global) could not be retrieved due to an API daily limit during this session; as a result, quantified comparisons vs Street estimates are unavailable at this time. Management reported a beat vs company guidance on revenue ($7.6M vs $6.5–$7.5M) and maintained FY24 revenue guidance, while raising FY24 bookings guidance on pipeline strength .
If/when accessible, consensus EPS and revenue comparisons will be anchored to S&P Global data and annotated accordingly .

Key Takeaways for Investors

Revenue resilience: Q1 revenue beat the high end of guidance and rose 77% YoY, indicating solid execution on percentage-of-completion contracts despite lumpy bookings .
Bookings trajectory: FY24 bookings guidance raised to $75–$95M, with federal non-system opportunities (~$50M probability-weighted) and networking demand supporting back-half closings; near-term quarterly bookings can remain volatile .
Capacity and delivery: Seattle facility is fully operational; five Forte Enterprise systems are being built, and Basel data center readiness progresses, providing tangible system-delivery milestones and potential revenue recognition vectors .
Cost investment: Elevated R&D and S&M to scale systems and commercialization lifted OpEx; net loss widened; Adjusted EBITDA loss for FY24 is expected at $(110.5)M, consistent with aggressive build-out and application development .
Strategic positioning: Advancing PICs, photonic interconnects, and #AQ roadmap with application focus (pharma, ML, optimization) suggests a clearer path toward commercial advantage over the next 2–3 years .
Government and Europe: Budget clarity and European system deployments (QuantumBasel) enhance demand visibility and credibility for system sales and networking/communication initiatives .
Trading implications: Near-term stock moves likely tied to bookings announcements/system deliveries (Forte Enterprise), Q2 revenue print vs guide ($7.6–$9.2M), and progress/milestones in networking and PICs; watch for back-half federal awards and European deployments as catalysts .

IonQ, Inc. (IONQ)·Q1 2024 Earnings Summary