IonQ, Inc. (IONQ) Short Interest
IONQ Short Interest & Days to Cover
IonQ, Inc. (IONQ) currently has 50.2M shares short as of the Jul 31, 2026 settlement date, or about 2.5 days to cover at current trading volume. That is lower than 51% of the 134 readings on record since Jan 15, 2021, on a days-to-cover basis. Shares short have risen for 2 straight reporting periods. Looking at recent periods where short interest increased, the stock is now averaging +3.0% since those additions, recent short sellers are broadly underwater on that basis.
As of the Jul 31, 2026 settlement date, short interest is reported roughly every two weeks, not in real time.
Days to cover, compared against every biweekly reading on record for this stock specifically, not the market as a whole.
Short interest moving alone does not say much, what matters is whether it is moving with or against the price. Each period below compares the change in short interest to the stock's move over the same window.
| Settlement Date | SI Change | Read |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 31, 2026 | +6.6% | Building into weakness |
| Jul 15, 2026 | +6.9% | Building into weakness |
| Jun 30, 2026 | -12.8% | Covering into weakness |
| Jun 15, 2026 | -12.9% | Covering into weakness |
| May 29, 2026 | -20.9% | Covering into strength |
| May 15, 2026 | -12.5% | Covering into strength |
| Apr 30, 2026 | -0.4% | — |
| Apr 15, 2026 | +3.8% | New bearish bets despite strength |
Comparing the stock's price at each recent short-interest-increase to where it trades today. An estimate based on settlement-date prices, not any individual short seller's real entry.
| Build Date | Price Then | Return Since |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 30, 2026 | $39.98 | -2.0% |
| Feb 13, 2026 | $34.11 | +14.9% |
| Feb 27, 2026 | $38.37 | +2.2% |
| Apr 15, 2026 | $43.25 | -9.4% |
| Jul 15, 2026 | $37.51 | +4.5% |
| Jul 31, 2026 | $36.44 | +7.6% |
The 34 periods where short interest was in the top quarter of IONQ's own history on record (+5.29% or higher), and what followed.
| Forward Window | Avg Return | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 3 months | +66.4% | 56% (n=34) |
| 6 months | +152.3% | 76% (n=34) |
| 12 months | +263.1% | 100% (n=34) |
A historical pattern in IONQ's own data, not a prediction.
Every biweekly settlement reading on record, most recent first. Page 3 of 3.
| Settlement Date | Shares Short | Days to Cover | Avg Daily Volume | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 2022 | 15.5M | 3.1 | 5.0M | +20.6% |
| May 13, 2022 | 12.9M | 2.8 | 4.6M | +77.4% |
| Apr 29, 2022 | 7.3M | 1.9 | 3.8M | +3.9% |
| Apr 14, 2022 | 7.0M | 2.1 | 3.3M | -8.5% |
| Mar 31, 2022 | 7.6M | 2.3 | 3.4M | -26.8% |
| Mar 15, 2022 | 10.4M | 2.9 | 3.6M | +21.1% |
| Feb 28, 2022 | 8.6M | 2.0 | 4.2M | -6.2% |
| Feb 15, 2022 | 9.2M | 1.6 | 5.6M | +11.3% |
| Jan 31, 2022 | 8.3M | 1.3 | 6.2M | +25.5% |
| Jan 14, 2022 | 6.6M | 1.0 | 6.5M | -2.8% |
| Dec 31, 2021 | 6.8M | 1.0 | 6.6M | +21.8% |
| Dec 15, 2021 | 5.6M | 0.8 | 6.6M | +4.7% |
| Nov 30, 2021 | 5.3M | 0.9 | 5.8M | -27.7% |
| Nov 15, 2021 | 7.3M | 1.9 | 3.9M | +88.2% |
| Oct 29, 2021 | 3.9M | 1.5 | 2.6M | -18.8% |
| Oct 15, 2021 | 4.8M | 2.7 | 1.8M | +272.1% |
| Sep 30, 2021 | 1.3M | 1.1 | 1.2M | +46.6% |
| Sep 15, 2021 | 0.9M | 2.1 | 416K | +417.6% |
| Aug 31, 2021 | 0.2M | 0.5 | 378K | -37.0% |
| Aug 13, 2021 | 0.3M | 0.7 | 389K | 0.0% |
| Jul 30, 2021 | 0.3M | 0.7 | 382K | +8.0% |
| Jul 15, 2021 | 0.3M | 0.7 | 373K | +8.7% |
| Jun 30, 2021 | 0.2M | 0.6 | 399K | -42.5% |
| Jun 15, 2021 | 0.4M | 0.8 | 481K | +60.0% |
| May 28, 2021 | 0.3M | 0.3 | 710K | +78.6% |
| May 14, 2021 | 0.1M | 0.2 | 850K | -50.0% |
| Apr 30, 2021 | 0.3M | 0.3 | 827K | +40.0% |
| Apr 15, 2021 | 0.2M | 0.2 | 866K | +33.3% |
| Mar 31, 2021 | 0.1M | 0.2 | 829K | -28.6% |
| Mar 15, 2021 | 0.2M | 0.3 | 843K | -74.1% |
| Feb 26, 2021 | 0.8M | 1.4 | 578K | +1250.0% |
| Feb 12, 2021 | 0.1M | 0.2 | 297K | -89.7% |
| Jan 29, 2021 | 0.6M | 1.7 | 348K | +286.7% |
| Jan 15, 2021 | 0.1M | 0.7 | 204K | — |
What is IONQ's current short interest?
IonQ, Inc. has 50.2M shares sold short as of Jul 31, 2026. Days to cover is 2.5.
Is IONQ's short interest high or low right now?
On a days-to-cover basis, current short interest is lower than 51% of the 134 biweekly readings on record, spanning Jan 15, 2021 to Jul 31, 2026. The historical average days to cover is 3.3, and the highest on record is 8.6 days, on Nov 30, 2022.
Is short interest in IONQ rising or falling?
Shares short have risen for 2 consecutive reporting periods.
Are short sellers in IONQ currently winning or losing?
Looking at the 6 most recent periods where short interest increased, the stock has averaged +3.0% since those additions, with price now below the entry level in 33% of those cases. This is an estimate based on the price at each settlement date, not a precise tracking of any individual short seller's actual entry.
What has historically happened after IONQ's short interest was this high?
In the 34 periods where days to cover was in the top quarter of this ticker's own history (5.3 days or higher), the stock averaged +152.3% over the following 6 months (positive 76% of the time, n=34). This is a historical pattern, not a prediction.