Is The Newest Quantum Stock IPO a Buy?

Quantinuum (NASDAQ: QNT), formed from the merger of Honeywell's (NASDAQ: HON) quantum computing division and UK-based Cambridge Quantum, went public at $60 per share on June 4. But as of this writing, its stock trades at about $51. Let's see why this quantum stock fizzled out -- and if it's worth buying as the bulls look the other way.

What does Quantinuum do?

Quantinuum, like its chief competitor IonQ (NYSE: IONQ), uses trapped-ion systems to power its quantum systems. Unlike older electron-driven systems, which require cryogenic refrigeration and exhibit high error rates, trapped-ion systems exhibit higher fidelity and don't require refrigeration.

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Quantinuum and IonQ are scaling their trapped-ion systems in different ways. Quantinuum uses a "shuttling" system that moves individual ions through a grid, while IonQ connects multiple ions via quantum-entangled fiber-optic cables known as photonic links.

Both companies use their own proprietary metrics to gauge their quantum computing power, making direct comparisons difficult. They both market themselves as "full-stack" quantum computing companies that serve the software, hardware, and application markets.

However, Quantinuum tries to lock developers into its own ecosystem through TKET, its proprietary compiler. IonQ supports a wider range of open-source quantum frameworks.

Why isn't Quantinuum attracting much interest?

In 2025, Quantinuum's revenue rose 34% to $30.9 million, but its net loss widened from $144.1 million to $192.6 million. Most of its revenue came from leases, which are highly concentrated and volatile (a single lease accounted for $16.5 million in revenue in 2025). The rest of its revenue mainly comes from its cloud-based quantum computing services.

Over the long term, Quantinuum expects to sell more quantum software to commercial customers in the cybersecurity, chemistry, and materials sciences markets. But at its current market cap of $14.3 billion, it trades at 463 times last year's sales. IonQ, which more than doubled its revenue to $269 million in 2025, is worth $21.2 billion -- or 79 times its trailing sales.

Quantinuum's sky-high valuation made it a tough stock to buy, especially when IonQ was bigger, growing faster, and locking in more high-profile contracts. The market's current obsession with upcoming IPOs such as SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI exacerbated that pressure.

Quantinuum recently drew significant attention when it secured up to $100 million in funding from the Department of Commerce as part of the CHIPS and Science Act. But for now, it's still a speculative quantum stock that simply isn't as attractive as IonQ or the other market leaders.

Leo Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Honeywell International and IonQ. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.