IonQ, one of the best-known publicly traded quantum computing companies, is facing a raft of questions about the quality of its revenues and insider stock sales following a report published today by short-seller Wolfpack Research.Wolfpack, which is short IonQ’s stock and thus stands to gain financially from its allegations, said that the company has consistently misled investors about the extent to which there is organic demand for its quantum computing technology.In particular, the Wolfpack report said the company did not disclose to investors the extent to which its reported revenues had been dependent on “backdoor earmarks” inserted into the Pentagon budget by friendly lawmakers—and that those earmarks were canceled after the Republicans took control of Congress in 2025.After Fortune’s deadline to publish, IonQ provided this statement: “[The Wolfpack Research report] contains false, misleading, and unsubstantiated claims from a short-seller that is attempting to profit by driving down the price of IonQ shares. The report has substantial misrepresentations as to IonQ’s government relationships, business strategy, and financial sustainability. IonQ is continuing to advance our position as the world’s leading quantum company. We have a clear path to shareholder value creation, and our recent agreement to acquire SkyWater Technology is evidence that IonQ is a trusted ecosystem partner to the U.S. government, allied nations, and industry collaborators.”IonQ was worth more than $13.8 billion before the start of trading Wednesday. Following publication of the Wolfpack research, its shares dropped more than 11% before recovering slightly. As of market close Wednesday, they were down about 8%.The short-seller’s research raises questions about one of the most prominent companies in a highly hyped sector. While a number of Big Tech companies, including Google, Microsoft, and IBM, have made significant scientific breakthroughs in quantum computing over the past few years, the technology is only in the earliest stages of commercial adoption.
Quantum computing company IonQ misled investors about its dependence on backdoor earmarks, short-seller report says | Fortune
Wolfpack Research says IonQ relied on now-canceled government earmarks for 86% of its booked revenue.






