IonQ stock falls despite South Korea quantum-system deal as sector cools

IonQ stock falls despite South Korea quantum-system deal as sector cools

NEW YORK, December 29, 2025, 14:02 ET — Regular session

  • IonQ shares fell 2.5% to $44.85 in afternoon trading.
  • The company said it finalized an agreement to deliver a 100-qubit “Tempo 100” system to South Korea’s KISTI. IonQ Investors
  • Other U.S.-listed quantum names were mixed as investors pared risk into year-end trading. Investors

IonQ shares fell 2.5% to $44.85 in afternoon trading on Monday after the quantum-computing company said it had finalized an agreement to deliver a 100-qubit system to South Korea’s Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI). IonQ Investors

The agreement adds to a string of government and enterprise projects that investors see as a key test for whether quantum computing can move from research to recurring commercial deployments. The group has been volatile into year-end as traders lock in gains amid low holiday volume and concerns about rich valuations, Investors.com reported. IonQ Investors+1

IonQ said its Tempo 100 system will be integrated into KISTI-6, known as “HANGANG,” the country’s largest high-performance computing (HPC) cluster — essentially a national-scale supercomputer. The company said the setup would be South Korea’s first on-site “hybrid” integration linking quantum hardware with classical computing; a qubit is the basic unit of information in a quantum computer. IonQ Investors

“We deploy our most advanced quantum systems to address the nation’s most significant research and innovation challenges,” IonQ Chairman and CEO Niccolo de Masi said in a statement. IonQ Investors

IonQ did not disclose financial terms or a delivery timeline. The company said access to the platform will be provided through a secure private cloud, allowing remote use by researchers, universities and enterprises in South Korea. IonQ Investors

The pullback came alongside uneven moves in other U.S.-listed quantum plays. Rigetti Computing fell about 2% and Quantum Computing Inc slid about 2.8%, while D-Wave Quantum rose about 0.6%.

Quantum stocks have seesawed in recent sessions, with Investors.com pointing to profit-taking after a sector pop on Dec. 22 and a three-session slide that followed. Investors

IonQ traded between $44.71 and $46.74 on Monday, with about 11.1 million shares changing hands by mid-afternoon.

KISTI will lead development of a quantum computing service and research platform, and IonQ said KISTI identified IonQ as the project’s primary quantum technology provider alongside Megazone Cloud. IonQ Investors

For investors, the next question is whether headline partnerships translate into recognized revenue and repeat customers, with deliveries and milestones often taking time to show up in reported results. Competition remains intense, including from larger tech companies investing in their own quantum programs, Investors.com noted. Investors

IonQ last reported quarterly results on Nov. 5 and gave a business update for the quarter ended Sept. 30, according to the company’s website. IonQ

Nasdaq’s earnings page listed no confirmed date for IonQ’s next report, leaving traders focused on any updates to delivery schedules, contract values and customer wins as year-end liquidity thins. Nasdaq

Stock Market Today

  • Stocks Slide as Megacap Tech Weakness Weighs on Benchmarks
    December 29, 2025, 6:27 PM EST. Stocks closed lower on Monday as megacap technology weakness dragged the major indexes: the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq 100 all finished down. A slide in metals weighed on miners, while crude oil rose more than 2%, supporting energy names. The 10-year yield slipped to a 1-week low around 4.10%, helping limit losses. Seasonal factors remain supportive for December, with the S&P 500 up, on average, in the last two weeks of the month. Ahead, a light US data slate includes the MNI Chicago PMI and FOMC minutes; odds of a rate cut at the next meeting sit near 16%. Overseas, the Euro Stoxx 50 edged up, while China posted gains and Japan fell.
Wall Street slips as Big Tech retreats; SoftBank deal lifts DigitalBridge
Previous Story

Wall Street slips as Big Tech retreats; SoftBank deal lifts DigitalBridge

NuScale slides again as dilution worries shadow small-reactor stocks
Next Story

NuScale slides again as dilution worries shadow small-reactor stocks

Go toTop