Quantum computing is operating at a higher and more commercially viable level in 2023. More than 91% of global CEOs say they’re steering cash toward quantum computing, and 70% say they’re generating real-life use cases for the technology, according to the OpenOcean–IQM-Lakestar State of Quantum 2022 report.
Corporate decision makers are starting to see what computer engineers have seen for years: Quantum computing can resolve issues in a few seconds that take the fastest supercomputers weeks to solve.
“Our research confirms that we are on a one-way journey to enter the quantum era,” says Ekaterina Almasque, general partner at OpenOcean, which coauthored the State of Quantum 2022 Report released in November.
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“The findings are a clear sign that the broader market is starting to buy into the potential of quantum computing, recognizing its emerging commercial potential and backing it with significant investment,” she says. The report showed that private investment in quantum computing grew 500% from 2017 to 2021 alone.
A recent report from Precedence Research pegged the global quantum computing market at more than $10 billion for 2022 and predicted that it would surpass $125 billion by 2030, expanding at a compound annual growth rate, or CAGR, of 37%.
So, which quantum computing stocks are doing the best job of harnessing themselves to the quantum computing revolution? These eight stocks are in acceleration mode:
| Quantum computing stock | Implied upside over May 15 closing price |
| Microsoft Corp. (ticker: MSFT) | 5.7% |
| International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) | 19.5% |
| Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) | -0.4% |
| Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL) | 7.9% |
| Honeywell International Inc. (HON) | 15.2% |
| Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) | 20.7% |
| Intel Corp. (INTC) | 4.0% |
| Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSM) | 38.5% |
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)
Microsoft is at the leading edge of quantum computing innovation, with one of the industry’s first full-stack, open-cloud quantum computing ecosystems, which enables data engineers to create quantum applications and run them on multiple systems.
In February, Microsoft rolled out its new Integrated Hybrid feature in Azure Quantum that “enables quantum and classical (computing) to integrate seamlessly together in the cloud, a first for our industry and an important step forward on our path to quantum at scale,” according to the company’s website.
With quantum computing developments growing steadily, and its Azure cloud computing platform growing at a 27% clip in the last quarter, look for these efforts to start paying off in 2023.
The 34 Wall Street analysts who rated MSFT stock on TipRanks.com gave it a “strong buy” recommendation, on average, with a price target of $327.14 in mid-May. That’s 5.7% above its May 15 closing price of $309.46.
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM)
IBM is one of the few large quantum computing developers that owns its own computing chip and operating systems, both of which are tied to its Quantum System One quantum computer, introduced in 2019. IBM has made big strides commercially with its efforts, as 210 entities across a wide spectrum of industries, including Raytheon Technologies Corp. (RTX), Sony Group Corp. (SONY), Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and the U.S. government, are either currently using IBM quantum computing programs or are partnering with IBM to build more robust quantum computing systems.
IBM also routinely rates highly in business innovation rankings — it’s rated third for technology innovation in Drucker Institute’s latest Management Top 250 Report (Microsoft is first) — providing investors with some reassurance that Big Blue knows what it’s doing on the quantum computing front.
IBM shares closed at $123.36 on May 15, and eight analysts on TipRanks give the stock an average price target of $147.38. That’s a 19.5% increase.
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Nvidia Corp. (NVDA)
Nvidia plays a huge role in the quantum computing market, as it’s one of the main providers of graphics processing units, or GPUs, used to power faster computing performance. Now Nvidia is getting into the hardware end of the quantum computing market with its DGX Quantum, the first computing system to merge GPUs and quantum computing. The quantum computing architecture is powered by Nvidia’s Grace Hopper Superchip, thus allowing “researchers to build extraordinarily powerful applications that combine quantum computing with state-of-the-art classical computing, enabling calibration, control, quantum error correction and hybrid algorithms,” the company stated.
NVDA stock could be a solid long-term play for quantum computing investors, given its outsized role in the global semiconductor market and its emerging role in quantum architecture — even if that role may not pay off for several years. NVDA traded at $289.53 per share on May 15, and 38 analysts on TipRanks rate the stock a consensus “strong buy” with a 12-month price target of $288.24.
Alphabet, the parent to web search engine giant Google, has already established a big footprint in the quantum computing market. In 2018, the company introduced Bristlecone, its 72-qubit quantum processor, and has since spun off its own quantum computing and artificial intelligence private company.
In February, Alphabet engineers announced a breakthrough development in the quantum computing market, reporting that its quantum processor could reduce quantum computing errors (which are fairly common in the sector) by boosting the number of qubits used in computing processes.
No doubt, Alphabet is building a solid quantum computing platform that should place it in the top five technology companies in the quantum sector going forward. The stock should be another long-term pillar for sector investors, especially given its well-earned reputation as a highly profitable company.
GOOG had a closing price of $116.96 on May 15, and all six analysts who offer an average price target of $126.17 on TipRanks rate the stock a “buy.”
Honeywell International Inc. (HON)
Quantinuum, the quantum computing enterprise owned by Honeywell Quantum Solutions and Cambridge Quantum, recently tapped 30-year supercomputing veteran Raj Hazra as its new chief executive officer. That move underlines the industry’s need for top leaders and visionaries who know how to push quantum computing from the realm of scientific theory to a mainstream commercial computing juggernaut.
The experienced Hazra leads a company that’s planted deep roots in the quantum space, particularly in developing quantum computing products in the internet security, climate modeling and pharmaceutical drug sectors. Commenting on Quantinuum, which includes 350 scientists on its payroll, Hazra cited the “state of the art” engineering talent already on board at the enterprise.
Investors looking for exposure to all that generational talent can access it via Honeywell’s stock, which closed at $194.31 on May 15. Twelve TipRanks analysts set an average price target of $223.91, which represents 15.2% potential upside.
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Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)
Amazon is rapidly expanding its presence in the quantum computing sector, primarily through its AWS Center for Quantum Networking for developing quantum network solutions and its Amazon Quantum Solutions Lab. Last year, Amazon also rolled out Amazon Braket, a cloud-based managed quantum computing service that researches and develops new quantum computing technologies.
Amazon is yet another deep-pocketed player that can take its time developing new products knowing that its massive revenue base — $514 billion in 2022 — can buy the company’s quantum engineers all the time they need to master the market.
AMZN stock traded at $111.20 per share as of May 15, and 36 Wall Street analysts set a consensus price target of $134.24 with a “strong buy” rating. That’s upside potential of 20.7%.
Intel Corp. (INTC)
Intel is already widely recognized as the largest semiconductor company in the world. Now it’s taking significant steps to position itself as one of the rising stars in the quantum computing market.
In March, Intel introduced its Quantum software development kit, or SDK, to aid technology engineers in their ongoing research into quantum algorithms and applications. The SDK is already in use as a tool for researching fluid dynamics performance issues in the hydrodynamics and aerodynamics markets. That’s a path Intel is determined to follow to entrench itself in the quantum computing market.
“The Intel Quantum SDK helps programmers get ready for future large-scale commercial quantum computers,” says Anne Matsuura, director of quantum applications and architecture at Intel Labs. “It will not only help developers learn how to create quantum algorithms and applications in simulation, but it will also advance the industry by creating a community of developers that will accelerate the development of applications, so they are ready when Intel’s quantum hardware becomes available.”
INTC stock closed at $29.80 on May 15, and the price target consensus of 27 analysts on TipRanks is $30.98.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSM)
TSM has laid the groundwork for its quantum computing efforts with a five-year strategic partnership with Taiwan’s Ministry of Science and Technology. That’s the tentpole in TSM’s plan to use its new cloud computing platform to develop quantum computing applications that will one day make it to the commercial marketplace.
Couple those efforts with TSM’s standing as one of the top semiconductor companies in the world that generates 10% to 15% annual revenue growth rates, and it’s easy to see why Taiwan Semi could be a solid landing spot for new quantum computing investment dollars.
TSM stock closed at $85.66 per share on May 15. A small sample of Wall Street analysts on TipRanks rate the stock a “strong buy” and set a consensus price target of $118.67 for TSM shares, representing potential upside of 38.5%.
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8 Best Quantum Computing Stocks to Buy in 2023 originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 05/16/23: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
