IONQ Stock Jumps 10% Overnight: Retail Brings Back 'Pharma Bro' Martin Shkreli’s Head-Shaving Dare After Blowout Q4

The company expects 2026 revenue in a range of $225 million to $245 million, with a midpoint of $235 million.

• The company's Q4 revenue surged to $61.9 million from $11.7 million a year ago, with EPS swinging to $1.93 from a $0.93 loss.
• Retail traders revived Martin Shkreli’s 2025 wager to shave his head if IonQ hits $400 million in revenue by 2027.
• Skepticism lingers after Wolfpack Research disclosed a short position tied to alleged risks to Pentagon funding.

Shares of IonQ, Inc. (IONQ) jumped about 10% in overnight trading on Wednesday after the company’s blowout fourth-quarter (Q4) results and 2026 outlook reignited a long-running retail meme tied to “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli’s head-shaving dare.

IONQ stock jumped over 7% in extended trading on Wednesday after a 2% rise in the regular session. 

IONQ Q4 Review

IonQ reported Q4 revenue of $61.9 million, surging from $11.7 million a year earlier. The revenue exceeded its own guidance midpoint by 55%, while full-year results beat prior expectations by 20%.

The company also posted earnings per share of $1.93, compared with a loss of $0.93 in the same period last year. It expects adjusted EBITDA losses between $310 million and $330 million in 2026.

Meanwhile, full-year 2025 revenue came in at $130 million, up 202% from the previous year, making IonQ the first publicly listed pure-play quantum company to cross the $100 million annual revenue milestone, according to the company's statement.

“I want to highlight today that our quantum computers deliver the best time to solution on the market. For commercially relevant applications. Time to solution is how fast a customer running an algorithm gets to accurate answers that actually solve their problem," CEO Niccolo de Masi said on the call.

Looking ahead, the company projected 2026 revenue of $225 million to $245 million, with a midpoint of $235 million.

Retail Revives Shkreli’s Revenue Bet

The updated outlook quickly drew attention from retail traders, who resurfaced a wager made by Martin Shkreli, former hedge fund manager and pharmaceutical executive, in March 2025. He said, "If IONQ has >400m in revenue in 2027 i will shave my head, convert to islam and adopt personal pronouns."

With IonQ guiding toward roughly $235 million in 2026 and highlighting that revenue has more than tripled since 2024, retail investors speculated whether the company could eventually put that threshold within reach.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for IONQ was ‘extremely bullish’ amid a 331% surge in 24-hour message volume.

One user wrote, “Wow, Martin is going love his new doo!!”

Another added, “Guiding for $230M revenue in 2026 now… and rev has more than doubled every year since IPO (triple for 2025)… is this deal still on the table?”

A third claimed Shkreli should move on from the challenge.

Shkreli himself posted “Allahu akbar” on X on Wednesday, further fueling discussion among retail traders tracking the wager.

IonQ Expands Beyond Quantum Computing

In 2025, IonQ said it expanded beyond quantum computing into a broader platform spanning quantum networking, sensing, and security.

“We believe we will continue to outpace competitors on commercial utility. To an accelerating extent, as we unlock our application road map announced last fall. First of all, we deliver these advantages at a far more accessible cost for both commercial and government customers,” Masi said. 

More than 60% of 2025 revenue came from commercial customers, while international sales accounted for over 30%. The company also flagged strong backlog visibility, with remaining performance obligations rising to $370 million at the end of 2025 from $77 million a year earlier.

Additionally, IonQ reiterated its plans to acquire SkyWater Technology to strengthen its manufacturing roadmap and secure semiconductor supply for its semiconductor-based systems. “There is plenty of capacity at Sky water today for the whole U.S. corn industry as the U.S. and Allied Quantity grows, we are confident we will meet that demand at Sky water,” Masi said. 

Short Seller Report Flags Pentagon Risk

The earnings-driven rally comes amid lingering skepticism. Earlier this month, Wolfpack Research disclosed a short position and alleged that IonQ lost Pentagon funding tied to contracts Wolfpack said accounted for a large share of IonQ’s revenue from 2022 through 2024. Wolfpack also criticized IonQ’s acquisition strategy and raised questions about dilution and buying businesses it said were low-margin and cyclical.

Separately, Morgan Stanley also disclosed it reduced its ownership below the 5% reporting threshold as of Dec. 31, 2025, after the short-seller report. 

IONQ stock has declined 25% year-to-date.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.<