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Research

We are short IONQ because our investigation reveals IONQ lost its funding for vital Pentagon contracts that provided up to 86% percent of IONQ’s revenues from 2022-2024, leaving a $54.6 million black hole in its expected quantum computing revenues. Critically, the validation that these contracts represented for IONQ’s technology, propelling their valuation sky-high, turns out to have been an illusion; the Pentagon never requested funding for these contracts, instead the Pentagon was directed to make them via secretive “backdoor earmarks” by politicians friendly to IONQ who are now out of power. In the bipartisan FY 2026 budget, funding for their largest Pentagon contract is, for the second consecutive year, completely gone. IONQ’s management has never publicly discussed its loss of funding for its key Pentagon contracts, instead they have backfilled the missing revenues by acquiring subpar non-quantum computing companies, all while diluting investors and dumping enormous amounts of stock.

We can reveal that only $21 million of its supposed $75.6 million in Pentagon contracts booked in 2024 (supposedly representing a record level of support from the Pentagon), was funded in FY 2025, leaving a $54.6 million black hole in its bookings. The ex-CEO and then-Executive Chair, Peter Chapman, who had won and touted these contracts, resigned his CEO position on February 26th, 2025, effective immediately. By March 5th, the new CEO de Masi had ominously got rid of bookings altogether and was trying to justify this decision to analysts by claiming bookings were unnecessary because IONQ was making “nine figures.” He initiated a new strategy of backfilling the missing revenues with acquisitions and misdirecting when analysts asked him about the Pentagon contracts and sold $104 million of his own stock.

We found that IONQ definitively lost its funding for its most consequential contracts with the Pentagon on March 11th-14th when the FY 2025 budget was passed (see section II) but our research shows IONQ’s loss of funding did not enter the public record until March 19th at the earliest. On March 11th, the day the House passed its budget, Chapman sold $37.5 million in his first-ever discretionary sale. By the end of March 14th, when the Senate approved the FY 2025 budget, eight IONQ insiders had sold or authorized the sale of $396.6 million in stock with newly created 10b5-1 plans. It is up to the authorities to decide whether an investigation is warranted (selling stock or creating a 10b5-1 plan while in possession of material nonpublic information could indicate insider trading, a felony) but we think the facts and timing are ugly and raise important questions. Did a Washington insider—such as one of the lobbyists they paid $3 million, or a lawmaker—tip off management that their funds had been cut before it was in the public record, or was the timing an extraordinary coincidence?

IONQ HAS LOST FUNDING FOR VITAL PENTAGON CONTRACTS THAT HAD REPRESENTED UP TO 86% OF REVENUES

We Believe More Than 100% of FFRI’s Profit Increase Is Due to Questionable Accounting from Government Subsidies

Wolfpack Is Short 3692 JP

当社は、FFRI の利益成長の 100％超が、政府補助金に関する疑わしい会
計処理に起因していると考えています

Wolfpack Is Short 3692.JP

SES’s Dying Biz Pivoting into Another AI Pipedream? Phantom Deals and a Related Entity Whose Registered Agent Was Allegedly Part of a $1 Billion Ponzi Scheme

Wolfpack Is Short SES AI

DVLT: A Joke Brought To You By A Promoter Sanctioned By The SEC Who Has Co-Authored Patents With A Convicted Felon Charged In An Elaborate Pump-And-Dump.

We are short Datavault AI Inc. (DVLT)

We Believe METC’s Brook Mine Is a Hoax and Management Has Pumped the Stock with a Potemkin Mine and a Fantasy Economic Assessment

Wolfpack Is Short METC

Our INVESTIGATION Indicates Japanese Firm Datasection (TYO: 3905) Is Illegally Providing NIVIDA GPUs to BLACKLISTED Chinese Firm Tencent

Wolfpack Is Short 3905

我々の調査によると、日本の上場企業データセクション株式会社(TYO: 3905)は、ブラックリスト入りしている中国企業テンセントに対して違法にNVIDIA製GPUを提供している可能性があります

FFAI: This House of Cards Is Falling Apart as YT Jia’s Latest Pump Is Built on Fake Orders and a Tsunami of Lies

Wolfpack Is Short FFAI

CTO: THE B. RILEY OF REITS

Wolfpack Is Short CTO

UFPT’s Growth Story In Shambles As Largest Customer Responsible for 96.5% Of Growth Slashes Orders

Wolfpack Is Short UFPT

We Believe MCY’s Loss Estimate Is Highly Misleading and Management is Playing a Dangerous Game of Pretend and Extend

California Wildfire Events a Gamechanger for Mercury (MCY) As We Estimate More Than $2 Billion in Losses Using Zip Code Data

Wolfpack is short Mercury General Corporation (NYSE: MCY)

SWVL, a “Transportation-as-a-Service” Start-up Appears to Be a Few Breaths Away from Bankruptcy

Wolfpack is short SWVL Holdings Corp (Nasdaq: SWVL)

MAX: Our Investigation Reveals MAX Is Participating in Consumer Fraud

Wolfpack is short MediaAlpha, Inc (Nasdaq: MAX)

RILY 4Q23 Earnings: Remembering Everything B. Riley Wants Investors to Forget

RILY Part 3: The end is near for B. Riley

INOD: Exposing Innodata's "Smoke and Mirrors" AI

Wolfpack is short Innodata Inc (NASDAQ: INOD)

METC: Pumping And Dumping Nearly Worthless Dirt

Wolfpack is short Ramaco Resources, Inc. (METC)

APLD: An Embarrassing and Predictable Stock Promotion

Wolfpack is short Applied Digital Corp. (APLD)

GSHD: A Growth Story In Decline And Priced To Fall

Wolfpack is short Goosehead Insurance (GSHD)

B. Riley Financial: Skeletons in the Closet

Wolfpack remains short RILY and believe there is much more negative news to come

RILY: A Bottom Feeder Investment Bank That is Crumbling Before Our Eyes

Wolfpack is short B. Riley Financial (NASDAQ: RILY)

ZI: Former Employee Reveals the Secret Sauce Is CEO’s College Roommate

Wolfpack is short ZoomInfo (NASDAQ: ZI)

PMVP: We Believe Next Week’s Critical Phase I Data Will Disappoint

Wolfpack is short PMVP

SGOC: Multiple Arrests, Financial Fraud And Money Laundering

Wolfpack is short SGOC

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