It has been about a month since the last earnings report for IonQ, Inc. (IONQ). Shares have lost about 1.8% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is IonQ due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.

IONQ Q2 Earnings Miss & Revenue Beat

IonQ reported an adjusted loss of 33 cents per share for the second quarter of 2026, wider than the year-ago loss of 8 cents. The figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 13.8%.

Revenues surged 287% year over year to $80.1 million and topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 20.63%.

IonQ Broadens Its Revenue Base

International customers generated approximately 50% of quarterly revenues, helped by deployments in South Korea and Switzerland. IonQ now delivers solutions in more than 50 countries across six continents.

Commercial customers, which exclude U.S. government customers, accounted for roughly 60% of revenues. Multi-product sales increased 40% year over year and represented about 25% of the total, reflecting customer purchases across computing, networking, sensing and security.

IONQ's Backlog Adds Revenue Visibility

Remaining performance obligations (RPOs) reached $485 million at quarter-end, up from $470 million in the first quarter and $122 million a year earlier. The increase indicates that new contract activity more than replenished revenues recognized during the quarter.

Management noted that potential business tied to memorandums of understanding with Anduril and Sandia National Laboratories was not included in RPOs. These relationships remain at an early stage and could involve defense, national security and quantum co-design opportunities.

IonQ's Costs Keep Profitability Under Pressure

The adjusted cost of revenues, excluding depreciation and amortization, totaled $44.8 million, resulting in adjusted gross profit of $35.3 million on revenues of $80.1 million. Adjusted gross margin was 44.1% in the second quarter of 2026.

GAAP operating expenses totaled $417.3 million. Research and development was the largest component at $160.6 million, followed by general and administrative expenses of $117.6 million, depreciation and amortization of $46.1 million, and sales and marketing expenses of $32.9 million.

Adjusted EBITDA loss was $120.3 million compared with a loss of $36.5 million a year ago. The result included $24.7 million in R&D costs related to the commercial relationship with SkyWater. Excluding that spending, the adjusted EBITDA loss would have been $95.6 million.