At the moment, quantum computing stocks find themselves in choppy waters after cruising for some time. The benchmark S&P Kensho Global Quantum Computing Technologies Index is up 31.6% in 2026 as of July 20, but the index has shaved off 21.4% in July alone.
The decline is a clear sign that despite their run-up earlier in 2026, quantum stocks are deeply speculative and often face severe price swings influenced by government investment and intervention, geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran or China, and a major push by technology companies to commercialize quantum-based artificial intelligence.
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Even so, market experts say the best view to take on quantum stocks, as always, is a long one. If you don’t have the stomach for that, think about asking the captain to drop you off at the next port of call.
“The quantum sector is still well funded,” says Jianming Wen, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Binghamton University in New York. “In fact, recent U.S. government support, including a reported $2 billion investment across quantum computing firms, shows that quantum computing is increasingly viewed as a national-security and industrial-competitiveness priority.”
Other more specific events, like Quantinuum Inc.’s (ticker: QNT) successful early June IPO, which raised nearly $1.7 billion, also show that investor interest remains strong despite the technology still being in its early stages.
Technically, the field has made real progress, especially in quantum error correction, logical qubits and hardware scaling. “Google’s Willow result, for example, demonstrated below-threshold quantum error correction behavior, which is an important milestone toward fault-tolerant quantum computing,” Wen says.
Yet Wen advises caution: “We should be careful. This does not mean large-scale commercial quantum computers are already here, although the practical commercial timeline is likely staged.”
What it could mean is that near-term quantum commercial value may come from quantum cloud access, quantum-safe cybersecurity, optimization pilots, sensing and hybrid quantum-classical workflows, Wen notes. Other technologies, however, may have to wait. “Broad, fault-tolerant quantum computing for chemistry, materials, cryptography and large-scale optimization is still a longer-term goal,” he says.
Which industry stocks look best prepared to harness quantum computing growth? These eight names have separated themselves from the pack:
| Stock | Market Capitalization | YTD Performance* |
| Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) | $2.7 trillion | +8.3% |
| Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) | $3 trillion | -16.4% |
| D-Wave Quantum Inc. (QBTS) | $6.5 billion | -36.1% |
| Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) | $5 trillion | +9.1% |
| IonQ Inc. (IONQ) | $13.3 billion | -23.7% |
| Rigetti Computing Inc. (RGTI) | $5 billion | -35.7% |
| International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) | $198.7 billion | -27.1% |
| Quantinuum Inc. (QNT) | $15.1 billion | N/A |
*As of July 20 market close.
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)
Amazon has lost some of its luster in 2026, as its market cap has slid from $2.8 trillion to $2.7 trillion and its share price has stayed pretty flat over the past three months. Yes, these are first-world problems, and Amazon has the cash and the swagger to swing back into the black. It’s possible quantum tech will help it get there.
Signs are flashing green on that front. In mid-June, Peter DeSantis, Amazon’s AI chief, told CNBC, “I actually do believe, over the next five to seven years, we’re going to start to see the first commercially useful small-scale quantum computers.”
“From there, we’re going to see something that looks a lot like Moore’s Law, where they’re going to get bigger and bigger every year, and they’re going to be able to tackle more and more interesting problems,” DeSantis added.
Amazon Web Services is also partnering with QuEra Computing to bring fault-tolerant quantum systems to the cloud by 2028. Additionally, Amazon’s new Ocelot chip has made major strides in advancing quantum computing error correction, a major roadblock so far for quantum engineers. In a recent research note, Amazon touted Ocelot as AWS’ pioneering effort to develop, from the ground up, a hardware implementation of quantum error correction that’s both resource-efficient and scalable.
“We believe that scaling Ocelot to a full-fledged quantum computer capable of transformative societal impact would require as little as one-tenth as many resources as common approaches, helping bring closer the age of practical quantum computing,” the company said.
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)
Trading at $400 per share, Microsoft has seen its price lag in 2026, sliding by 16% on a year-to-date basis. There’s been some chatter on Wall Street that Microsoft’s excessive capital spending, especially its $80 billion commitment to AI data centers, is increasingly testing investors’ patience. The company is also set to spend $40 billion in the next fiscal quarter of 2026, capping year-long spending at about $190 billion.
Is there enough in the bank to fund quantum computing, too? Analysts think so, as Microsoft recently said it was set to spend $10 billion on quantum computing machines, and it has big plans for Majorana, the company’s first quantum processor built around so-called topological qubits. Microsoft just rolled out its Majorana 2 chip, a second?generation topological quantum processor developed with the help of Microsoft Discovery’s agentic AI.
In its internal reports on Majorana, Microsoft engineers noted that this architecture could eventually scale to 1 million qubits on a single chip, a level that quantum scientists say is critical for solving meaningful industrial and scientific problems.
“We need to make improvements each year that will get us closer to delivering a computer that we believe will have massive commercial and societal value,” said Chetan Nayak, Microsoft technical fellow, in the company’s Majorana 2 release. “We’ve got to keep marching to that roadmap to accomplish that, but where are we relative to last year? We’re 1,000 times better.”
Analysts are bullish on MSFT shares, with a consensus “buy” call on the stock and a $556 price target, indicating 38.9% upside.
D-Wave Quantum Inc. (QBTS)
Trading around $17 per share, Palo Alto, California-based D-Wave has seen its price tumble over 32% in the past month, and it’s down over 36% year to date. What’s the problem with QBTS? Nothing a little time can’t resolve, as traders seem to view D-Wave shares as being in oversold territory and expect a bounce-back as the supply-demand dance commences on QBTS shares. Part of the share-price decline could be tied to some insider selling among D-Wave’s C-suite, the company’s transition from trading on the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq, and a general malaise in quantum computing stocks right now, as the S&P Kensho Global numbers indicate.
D-Wave is expected to receive $100 million as part of the U.S. government’s recent quantum funding deal. As a result, its earnings-per-share outlook has risen by 2.3% over the past month, and technology analysts love the stock right now. A review of 11 analysts tracking the stock shows 10 “buys” and one “hold,” with an average target price of $37.50, which represents roughly 120.6% upside.
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM)
IBM shares are in full retreat lately, with the stock price down 27% year to date and 20% over the past month, hampered primarily by weak second-quarter sales and revenue numbers. Sales clocked in at $17.2 billion, well short of the $17.8 billion analysts expected. After the quarterly figures were disclosed, IBM shares fell 25% in a single day.
IBM’s quantum computing business wasn’t the problem, however, nor was it AI. The key downside issue is mainframe computing, long a bread-and-butter revenue generator for Big Blue. Yet ahead of IBM’s July 22 official quarterly report, company CEO Arvind Krishna said its infrastructure channel fell 7% in Q2, much lower than even IBM expected.
On the quantum front, IBM is also a $1 billion beneficiary of Uncle Sam’s investment largesse and, just last week, the company confirmed its intent to deliver a large-scale quantum computer within the next three years. It plans to spend $10 billion on quantum computing in the next half-decade, with a chunk of cash expected to flow into IBM’s proposed Anderon quantum wafer foundry. In a letter to investors on July 14, Krishna said IBM’s big quantum spend is “spanning R&D, capex, manufacturing scaling, M&A and ecosystem expansion. We remain on track to deliver the first large-scale fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2029.”
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA)
Nvidia shares continue to plow forward, with the stock up 9% year to date. Like most of the Magnificent Seven companies, Nvidia is releasing Q2 earnings within the next few weeks, with analysts expected to take a glass-half-full stance on NVDA.
One of those analysts is KeyBanc’s John Vinh, who had a July 19 research note on Nvidia’s share-price outlook: “Street sentiment on the name is mixed; while Nvidia is the clear leader in gen AI, concerns surround delays in Vera Rubin ramp timing and increasing competitive pressures.” He currently has an “overweight” call on NVDA with a $330 price target. The stock is trading at $205 per share as of midday July 21.
On the quantum front, Nvidia launched Ising in mid-April, which it claims is the first open-source AI model family designed specifically for quantum processor calibration and error correction. The company’s CUDA-Q open-source program is already widely used by quantum hardware developers, giving Nvidia the same middleware-market vibe in the quantum realm that it has already mastered in AI semiconductors.
High-profile quantum research names like Academia Sinica, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Infleqtion Inc. (INFQ), IQM Quantum Computers, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Advanced Quantum Testbed and the U.K. National Physical Laboratory have all immersed Ising in their quantum research work.
In a recent release, Nvidia also announced that Europe is ramping up its quantum-GPU computing infrastructure, representing a critical plank in a wide rollout of 35 new artificial intelligence supercomputers across the continent. Many of those releases will leverage Nvidia’s CUDA-Q platform, which enables developers to create hybrid quantum-classical applications, the company stated.
[Read: 6 Top Small-Cap AI Stocks and Emerging AI Companies]
IonQ Inc. (IONQ)
Trading above $35, about half of where the stock price stood six weeks ago, IonQ shares are also in retreat. Altogether, the company’s share price is down 24% year to date. What ails the overall quantum sector also ails IONQ right now, with the options market leading the sell-off and bearish puts well above call activity in July.
Over the long term, expect IonQ to benefit from its pivot from pure quantum computing to a broader computing platform that encompasses computing, networking, sensing and security services. Given IonQ’s high stature in quantum computing, however, its expansion into more diverse computing services should translate into more revenue and contracts from companies that want to be in business with a burgeoning technology innovator.
While investors may have to ride out a wave or two with IonQ, updated consensus analyst price targets are on the bullish side, at $63, representing an 85% boost from the current $34 price.
Rigetti Computing Inc. (RGTI)
Berkeley, California-based Rigetti’s shares are down 36% year to date, with most of those losses coming in the past month.
The company provides full-stack quantum computing services to a growing list of global enterprise, government and research clients through its Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services platform. Rigetti has also benefited from recent federal support, signing a letter of intent for up to $100 million from the Commerce Department investment deal. That potential funding is reportedly earmarked for more robust hardware scaling solutions, especially for improved readout electronics and cryogenic systems.
But for now, the attention is on the same issues inflicting pain on AI stocks this summer, like cash burn, unrealistic growth rates and declining revenues.
Yet RGTI already benefits from a steady (and rising) flow of other government and defense contracts, contributing to stronger revenues, which tripled in the first quarter of 2026. Its 108-qubit Cepheus quantum computing system is drawing interest from major cloud computing companies, including Amazon Braket, Microsoft Azure Quantum and Astex Pharmaceutical, which has engaged with Rigetti on cloud-based quantum simulations for molecular structures and drug discovery. South Korea-based Norma has tapped into Rigetti’s 84-qubit cloud network for cybersecurity research and development.
Trading around $14 per share, down from $25 per share only six weeks ago, analysts tracked by TipRanks are calling for a big rebound on RGTI shares, with a consensus $29-per-share target price, representing 104% upside.
Quantinuum Inc. (QNT)
Quantinuum attracted huge institutional demand during its June IPO at a $60-per-share entry price. QNT’s price has largely held steady since its debut, trading at $58 as of the third week of July, though the stock has fallen 13% over the past week amid broader tech-sector angst. Yet QNT has a lot going for it, especially in some key sectors. Take Wall Street, where Quantinuum’s expertise in logical qubits and error rates is seeing big demand among tech-needy brokerage firms. QNT also just announced a multiyear partnership with Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (OTC: RYCEY), Riverlane and the University of Edinburgh’s EPCC to study the application of quantum computing in industrial design and simulation.
Quantinuum also already boasts a $15 billion market cap and has analysts lining up to back the stock. Among 12 tech analysts, 11 have “buy” recommendations with a $93 consensus average price target, indicating a healthy 60% upside on QNT shares.
Tips for New Quantum Investors
For most investors new to the quantum investing space, exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, are a savvy way to play the quantum computing theme because this market will produce big winners but also generate plenty of downside volatility.
“Defiance Quantum ETF (QTUM) is attractive because it gives diversified exposure to quantum computing, machine learning, chips, software and enabling technologies rather than forcing investors to pick one fragile pure play,” says Mark Vena, CEO and principal analyst at SmartTech Research. “WisdomTree Quantum Computing Fund (WQTM) is also interesting because it is more explicitly built around the quantum ecosystem, including pure-play pioneers and diversified global leaders.”
Past the ETF ideal, Vena also believes new investors should treat quantum computing like venture capital inside a public-market wrapper, not like buying Microsoft in the 1990s. “Start with a basket or ETF, keep position sizes modest and assume volatility will be brutal because most quantum companies are still proving revenue models, not just technology,” he says. “The smartest strategy is to own the ecosystem, including IBM, Honeywell, semiconductor suppliers and ETFs, while avoiding the temptation to chase every pure-play quantum stock after a hype-driven rally.”
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8 Best Quantum Computing Stocks to Buy in 2026 originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 07/21/26: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
