Shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE: IONQ) are surging 7.42% in the pre-market trading Friday. This surge follows the announcement that the company has raised its bookings expectations for 2023 by twenty-five percent (25%), now estimating a range of $45 million to $55 million. This means that IonQ anticipates over 100% growth in bookings compared to last year’s record performance of $24.5 million.
The increased bookings forecast from IonQ is fueled by a recent commercial transaction valued at 25.0 million CHF ($28.0 million USD). The transaction involves IonQ installing two future quantum systems in Europe, including a highly anticipated #AQ1 64 system. The #AQ1 64 system is expected to possess the remarkable ability to consider over 18 quintillion different possibilities simultaneously, demonstrating its quantum advantage over even the most advanced supercomputers across various applications. In addition, this transaction enables IonQ to establish a joint data center with its partner, with each entity managing 50% of the IonQ systems.
Although IonQ foresees delivering the first quantum system in Europe after 2023, the company has chosen not to revise its expectations for recognized revenue in 2023. The company intends to provide further updates on its financial outlook during the upcoming second-quarter 2023 earnings call, with the timing of the call to be announced next month.
