<div id="readability-page-1" class="page"><div> <h2>Key Points</h2><ul><li>The U.S. government plans to award $2 billion in quantum computing grants.</li><li>It will take equity stakes in grant recipients.</li><li>It will give no money, nor take a stake in IonQ.</li><li>10 stocks we like better than IonQ ›</li></ul>Valued at $19.6 billion, IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) stock is the biggest pure play on quantum computing you can buy. That's the good news for IonQ today. The bad news is that... the United States government is not buying IonQ stock -- but it's buying shares in just about everybody but IonQ.This is the news that's moving IonQ stock up 9.5% through 10:35 a.m. ET Thursday morning:Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an &#34;Indispensable Monopoly&#34; providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue »According to an exclusive report in today's The Wall Street Journal, the Trump Administration will award $2 billion in grants to nine quantum computing companies and take equity stakes to secure its investment in each. <img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://g.foolcdn.com/image//query-dXJsPWh0dHBzOi8vZy5mb29sY2RuLmNvbS9lZGl0b3JpYWwvaW1hZ2VzLzg3MTIyOC9nb2xkLXF1ZXN0aW9uLW1hcmstb3Zlci1hLXJpc2luZy1ncmVlbi1zdG9jay1tYXJrZXQtYXJyb3ctbGFpZC1vdXQtb24tZ3JhcGgtcGFwZXIuanBnJnc9NzAw?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="700" height="466" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://g.foolcdn.com/image//query-dXJsPWh0dHBzOi8vZy5mb29sY2RuLmNvbS9lZGl0b3JpYWwvaW1hZ2VzLzg3MTIyOC9nb2xkLXF1ZXN0aW9uLW1hcmstb3Zlci1hLXJpc2luZy1ncmVlbi1zdG9jay1tYXJrZXQtYXJyb3ctbGFpZC1vdXQtb24tZ3JhcGgtcGFwZXIuanBnJnc9NzAw"/>Image source: Getty Images. <h2>Money for thee, but not for me</h2>IonQ is not one of these companies, but its smaller publicly traded rivals D-Wave Quantum (NYSE: QBTS), Infleqtion (NYSE: INFQ), and Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ: RGTI) are all receiving grants and investments. So too is that old dinosaur of computing, International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) -- which indeed is getting half the funds on offer, a nice, round $1 billion.D-Wave, Infleqtion, and Rigetti will each receive $100 million. Globalfoundries (NASDAQ: GFS) will get $375 million, and the rest will be parceled out among a handful of privately owned companies -- including one part-owned by Donald Trump Jr's 1789 Capital!But again, no money for IonQ.<h2>What does this mean for IonQ stock?</h2>So how is any of this good news for IonQ, if it's getting no money, and everyone else is getting a lot of money -- plus backing from the U.S. government that will give it an interest in seeing IonQ's rivals succeed (and perhaps that IonQ fails)?I honestly don't get the logic behind investors buying IonQ on this news. With analysts still expecting the stock to lose money for years, it may be time to sell.<h2>Should you buy stock in IonQ right now?</h2> Before you buy stock in IonQ, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and IonQ wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $475,063!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,369,991!* Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 996% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 208% for the S&amp;P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 21, 2026. Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends GlobalFoundries, International Business Machines, and IonQ. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. </div></div>

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IonQ's stock rose 9.5% following the U.S. government's announcement of $2 billion in quantum computing grants, although IonQ itself will not receive any funding. Instead, smaller competitors like D-Wave, Infleqtion, and Rigetti will benefit from the grants. Analysts express skepticism about IonQ's future profitability, suggesting investors consider other stocks recommended by The Motley Fool.

Why Did IonQ Stock Pop Today?