<\/p>\n
Quantum computing is one of the most talked-about emerging technology themes on Wall Street right now. The Trump administration revealed plans to invest more than $2 billion into the sector on May 21. <\/p>\n
Stocks across the space surged. Investors poured in, massively.<\/p>\n
But Jim Cramer confirmed that he\u2019s not one of them.<\/p>\n
On the Wednesday, July 22, “Mad Money” Lightning Round, a caller asked about IonQ (IONQ). Cramer’s answer was brief and direct, just like every other day in the Lightning Round.<\/p>\n
When rates go up, these stocks are very tough to own, so I am going to steer clear of it because I see what the rates are doing, and they’re not going in the right direction.<\/p>\n
As of this reporting, IONQ is trading at $33.03, down 3.11% on the session, and is down 24.07% year to date against the S&P 500’s 8.22% gain, according to Yahoo Finance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The stock peaked to a $72 high in late May before giving back more than half its value in just under two months.<\/p>\n
Also Read: Jim Cramer\u2019s Recent Stories<\/p>\n
Why Cramer’s rate argument is the right one for a stock like IonQ<\/p>\n
Cramer’s objection is not about IonQ’s technology or even its commercial traction. It is about the macro environment that surrounds any high-growth, deep-loss company with a long runway to profitability.<\/p>\n
The rate sensitivity argument is specific and well-established in market history. Companies like IonQ, which are burning significant cash today in exchange for future cash flows that remain years away, are valued using long-duration discount models.\u00a0<\/p>\n
More Jim Cramer:<\/p>\n
Jim Cramer says it may be time to trim comeback stock after 441% surgeJim Cramer\u2019s cryptic comments on key AI supplier turn headsJim Cramer says investors are getting the Mag 7 all wrong<\/p>\n
When interest rates rise, those future cash flows get discounted more aggressively, compressing valuations. When rates fall, the reverse happens. The playbook is familiar.<\/p>\n
Cramer’s read of the current rate environment is cautious. The stock carries an expected full-year 2026 Adjusted EBITDA loss of $310 million to $330 million on $260 to $270 million in revenue, according to its first quarter 2026 financial results. <\/p>\n
It means the profitability gap is wide enough that rate sensitivity is a legitimate first-order concern, not a secondary one.<\/p>\n
What IonQ’s Q1 2026 results actually showed<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s something genuinely interesting here because the fundamental momentum inside IonQ is real, even if Cramer is choosing to sidestep the stock on macro grounds.<\/p>\n
Q1 2026 revenue was $64.7 million, up 755% year over year and 30% above the midpoint of guidance.Remaining performance obligations grew 554% year over year to $470 million.The company raised its full-year revenue guidance to $260 million to $270 million, implying organic growth of more than 100% year over year.
\nSource: IonQ First Quarter 2026 Financial Results<\/p>\n
Commercial momentum is real. Approximately 60% of revenue came from commercial customers, 35% from international customers, and 35% from multi-product customers, according to the release.\u00a0<\/p>\n
IonQ also sold its first sixth-generation, chip-based, 256-qubit system to the University of Cambridge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Related: Jim Cramer gives his two cents about Netflix stock<\/p>\n
It was selected for DARPA’s HARQ Program and awarded a $39 million contract under the Space Development Agency’s HALO Program for next-generation tactical space communications.<\/p>\n
The EPS story is where the market’s concerns surface. Q1 adjusted EPS came in at -$0.34. According to Zacks data, for Q2, the consensus expects -$0.29 per share. Profitability is not on the near-term horizon.<\/p>\n
IonQ Q1 2026 revenue was $64.7 million, up 755% year over year and 30% above the midpoint of guidance.<\/p>\n
Zhou Mu/Xinhua via Getty Images<\/p>\n
The May quantum rally that inflated expectations, and the deflation since<\/p>\n
What happened in May actually explains a lot of the current setup.<\/p>\n
The Trump administration on May 21 announced plans to distribute $2.013 billion under the CHIPS and Science Act targeting quantum foundries and computing companies. IonQ was not among the nine named recipients.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yet the stock rallied sharply alongside peers. Why? Investors bought the idea of quantum computing as a national priority rather than picking individual winners within the sector.<\/p>\n
Related: IonQ stock spikes on massive quantum announcement<\/p>\n
That sentiment-driven move carried IONQ to $72 before reality reasserted itself. From the start of June, the stock has given back more than half of that gain in under two months.<\/p>\n
I find Cramer’s framing of this situation accurate. The May rally was a thematic trade, not a fundamental one. When thematic trades run into a less favorable rate environment and earnings miss EPS estimates, the compression is predictable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
IonQ’s Q2 earnings are estimated for Aug. 5. For the stock to rebuild momentum from $33, it either needs a material beat with improved EPS trajectory, or a shift in the rate narrative that makes long-duration growth stocks broadly more attractive again.<\/p>\n
Looking at it, neither of those is guaranteed in the near term. And that is exactly what Cramer is saying when he steers clear.<\/p>\n
Related: Jim Cramer reveals 4 surging chip stocks he likes best<\/p>\n
#Jim #Cramer #he039s #steering #clear #popular #stock<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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