Quantum advantage underpins the valuation of quantum stocks. By replacing bits (0s or 1s) with qubits, which can be simultaneously 0s and 1s, quantum computers could leapfrog the performance of even the most powerful classical supercomputer. In turn, simulating the physical world at exponential speedups of either molecules or complex human systems could push the envelope of productivity.
A year ago, Boston Consulting Group (BSG) forecasted that a broad quantum advantage between 2030 and 2040 could bring $90-$170 billion annual value in operating income. With unpredictable AI advances, this may even be accelerated.
After all, quantum computing has many hurdles yet to be solved. Foremost, error-correction techniques have to scale and overcome the interaction of qubits with the environment, leading to decoherence. To that end, on the software side, quantum algorithms have to interfere to amplify correct outputs.
For investors, the revolutionary quantum potential makes for even greater speculative exposure than AI, owing to quantum uncertainty, but also with clear milestones to watch for.
Here are the top three quantum stocks, showing the greatest potential long-term.
1. IonQ, Inc.
Year-to-date, IONQ (NYSE:IONQ) stock is down nearly 7% to the $40 price range per share. However, over the last three months, IONQ shares surged by 100%. Most recently on Monday, the company announced the acquisition of UK-based Oxford Ionics for $1.075 billion. Ionics specializes in ion-trap technology.
This is key to scaling quantum computers as holding qubits in electric fields results in higher qubit fidelity, which translates to practical quantum operations. More importantly for scaling purposes, Ionics built ion-trapping on standard semiconductor chips, making it scalable beyond niche research labs.
The month prior, IonQ also made a strategic move to acquire Lightsynq, notable for its efforts to build the first-ever quantum memory to interlink quantum computers. Interestingly, former Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Web Services (AWS) pioneers for Quantum Networking, Bhaskar, Machielse, and Levonian, are heading Lightsynq to overcome quantum scaling bottlenecks.
In short, IonQ is steadily building a full-stack quantum tech, just as Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) did for AI. IonQ and Nvidia have a collaborative relationship since 2023 to utilize CUDA-Q platform. Likewise, the company also provides its hardware for Microsoft’s Azure and AWS. For data centers, IonQ deployed the Forte Enterprise hybrid system, powered by 36 qubits and with a 1-qubit gate error of 0.02%.
For its most advanced quantum advantage system in the commercial arena, IonQ is building Tempo with 100 qubits and with “more available, useful computational states than any computer in history.”
After the buzz from these acquisitions, however, the IONQ price target is in line with the current price of $40 per share, according to WSJ’s forecasting. The bottom expectation is $30, while the top price target for IONQ stock is $50. Once again, this is a reminder for investors that quantum exposure is a long-term game.
2. D-Wave Quantum Inc
Since our last deep coverage of D Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS) in late May, the company remains one of the top choices for quantum exposure. Other than the availability of Advantage2 quantum computer, which increased coherence by 2x, there have been no new milestones since then.
As a direct competitor to IonQ, D-Wave also adopted a hybrid system approach for practical use-case scenarios and quantum applications for enterprises via its Leap cloud infrastructure. On the financial front, the company’s cash balance as of Q1 2025, at $304.3 million, is half that of IonQ’s $697.1 million.
Advantage2’s 4,400 qubits, within the annealing approach as opposed to IonQ’s gate model, are more suited for large-scale optimization tasks than universal quantum computations. Although competitive, this makes IonQ and D-Wave complementary, making QBTS stock a solid exposure as the leading quantum annealing company.
Year-to-date, QBTS shares are up 92%, having surged 265% over the last three months, and are presently priced at around $18 per share. The average QBTS price target is significantly under the current price level, at $12.83. The bottom outlook is $12, while the top is $14 per share.
3. International Business Machines Corporation
Of the three quantum stocks, International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) is one of the safest exposures, but still lacks the heavy market weight of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). This allows for more growth compared to new quantum milestones. And just as in AI, IBM has a cutting-edge research and development division in quantum computing.
For scalability, IBM Quantum System Two represents a modular approach featuring parallel executions, composed of the company’s latest 156-qubit Heron processors. Heron can run up to 5,000 2-qubit gate operations. In May, the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) was the latest in line to announce Heron’s deployment, upgrading the existing IBM Quantum System One.
By 2027, IBM plans to scale quantum operations by enabling the running of 10,000 gates. Perhaps most importantly for enterprises and practical use, IBM’s open-source Qiskit stack offers a standardized and versatile framework for programming and running quantum algorithms.
This ranges from libraries for quantum functions, APIs, and error reduction to optimal resource allocations for QPUs. From 2030 onward, IBM’s quantum roadmap includes a distributed 100,000-qubit Blue Jay system capable of running 1 billion gates. Suffice to say, if one were to look for the most comprehensive quantum exposure with a solid track record, it would be IBM.
Currently priced at $271, the average IBM price target is $254.81 per share. The bottom forecast is $170 while the ceiling price for IBM stock is $300. Year-to-date, IBM stock is up nearly 24%, as the company mainly generates revenue from cloud, software and business services.
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Neither the author, Tim Fries, nor this website, The Tokenist, provide financial advice. Please consult our website policy prior to making financial decisions.
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