Motley Fool Backs IonQ Over BigBear.ai After 202.9% Revenue Surge
Updated
Updated · The Motley Fool · Aug 4
Motley Fool Backs IonQ Over BigBear.ai After 202.9% Revenue Surge
3 articles · Updated · The Motley Fool · Aug 4
Summary
IonQ was picked over BigBear.ai for 2026 because its sales momentum has stayed far stronger, even though both companies remain deeply unprofitable.
FY 2025 revenue rose 201.9% to $130.0 million at IonQ, versus a 19.3% drop to $127.7 million at BigBear.ai; IonQ also posted 755% Q1 sales growth to $64.7 million.
That growth comes with heavy cash burn and execution risk: IonQ lost $510.4 million in FY 2025, had negative $299.6 million in free cash flow, and is integrating SkyWater after its July 2026 acquisition.
BigBear.ai showed a Q2 rebound with revenue up 13% to $36.7 million after the Ask Sage deal, but it is still restating prior financials, facing a class action lawsuit, and recovering from weak Q1 results.
Valuation remains the main counterpoint—BigBear.ai trades at 10.4 times sales versus IonQ at 104.9 times—but the recommendation favors IonQ for investors willing to accept higher technical and adoption risk.
Will IonQ’s massive valuation collapse before its quantum gamble pays off, or is its recent semiconductor foundry acquisition the ultimate game-changer?
Can BigBear.ai’s recent AI contract wins save the company from the crushing weight of class action lawsuits and severe accounting errors?