Shares of IonQ Inc. ( IONQ ) soared on Thursday after CEO Niccolo de Masi made bold statements comparing the company's trajectory to that of Nvidia Corp ( NVDA ) .

What To Know: The move follows a Barron's interview in which de Masi outlined IonQ's ( IONQ ) ambitions to dominate the quantum computing sector, asserting the company would be the leader that others imitate.

He told Barron’s that the company is in the business of quantum “just like Nvidia” is in the business of classical GPUs.

Despite reporting flat first-quarter revenue of $7.57 million at the beginning of May, unchanged from the year prior and down 35% sequentially, the company topped analyst expectations by a small margin. IonQ ( IONQ ) also reported a narrower quarterly loss of $32.3 million compared to $39.6 million a year earlier. The company also reaffirmed its full-year revenue forecast of $75 million to $95 million.

De Masi emphasized that IonQ ( IONQ ) is more than just a science experiment, highlighting its complete infrastructure, including manufacturing, customer service, sales and applications teams. He also pointed to recent acquisitions, such as ID Quantique and Lightsync, as well as a partnership with Swedish logistics firm Einride, as signs of expanding global presence and ecosystem development.

Though IonQ ( IONQ ) shares are up 450% on a one-year basis, the stock had fallen 20% earlier in 2025 following a short-seller report from Kerrisdale Capital accusing the company of overstating its accomplishments. De Masi dismissed the report as baseless and said IonQ ( IONQ ) would not waste time responding.

Traders are reacting to IonQ's ( IONQ ) positioning and future-focused messaging. The company’s pitch, positioning itself as a vital player for major tech firms needing a quantum edge, has reignited the sector on Thursday withs several other quantum names like D-Wave, Rigetti and Quantum Computing also seeing double-digit gains.

Despite no profits and ongoing skepticism around commercialization timelines, sentiment appears to have shifted following the CEO's comments and the company’s continued stream of partnership and acquisition news. IonQ's ( IONQ ) market cap now stands around $8.75 billion, the largest among publicly traded quantum players.

IONQ Price Action: IonQ ( IONQ ) shares closed Thursday up 36.8% at $45.89, according to Benzinga Pro.

Read Next:

Quantum Vs AI: Nvidia’s Next Big Bet Could Supercharge These 2 ETFs

Image: courtesy of IonQ ( IONQ ).