Analysis of Quantum Computing Stock Volatility
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 1 day ago
0mins
Should l Buy QBTS?
Source: Fool
- Significant Price Fluctuations: Between October 2025 and March 2026, IonQ and D-Wave Quantum saw their stock prices drop over 65%, highlighting the high-risk nature of the quantum computing sector, necessitating cautious evaluation by investors.
- April Recovery: Since April 1, D-Wave's stock has risen by 25%, while IonQ's shares have soared over 50%; however, both remain more than 45% below their October highs, reflecting ongoing market uncertainty.
- Technological Differences: IonQ focuses on traditional 'gate-model' quantum computing, achieving a two-qubit gate fidelity of 99.99% in October, while D-Wave employs quantum annealing, which, despite lower accuracy, offers advantages in speed and cost for specific problems.
- Market Valuation Comparison: IonQ reported $130 million in revenue last year with a valuation of $15.2 billion, while D-Wave generated only $24.6 million and is valued at $6.6 billion, indicating high expectations for IonQ but also significant risks involved.
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Analyst Views on QBTS
Wall Street analysts forecast QBTS stock price to rise
13 Analyst Rating
13 Buy
0 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 20.280
Low
35.00
Averages
40.67
High
48.00
Current: 20.280
Low
35.00
Averages
40.67
High
48.00
About QBTS
D-Wave Quantum Inc. is a quantum computing company, which is engaged in the development and delivery of quantum computing systems, software, and services. The Company builds and delivers systems, cloud services, application development tools, and professional services to support the end-to-end quantum computing journey for enterprises and developers. The Company's products include Cloud Platform, Systems, Professional Services, and others. Under its Cloud Platform, the Leap quantum cloud service delivers immediate, real-time access to its quantum computers and hybrid solvers services. Under its Systems, the Advantage quantum system is a quantum computer designed for business. It also offers quantum applications to a range of customers, including resource scheduling, factory scheduling, industrial construction design, drug discovery, and others. It offers solutions across workforce scheduling, production scheduling, vehicle routing, resource optimization, and cargo loading.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
Analysis of Quantum Computing Stock Volatility
- Significant Price Fluctuations: Between October 2025 and March 2026, IonQ and D-Wave Quantum saw their stock prices drop over 65%, highlighting the high-risk nature of the quantum computing sector, necessitating cautious evaluation by investors.
- April Recovery: Since April 1, D-Wave's stock has risen by 25%, while IonQ's shares have soared over 50%; however, both remain more than 45% below their October highs, reflecting ongoing market uncertainty.
- Technological Differences: IonQ focuses on traditional 'gate-model' quantum computing, achieving a two-qubit gate fidelity of 99.99% in October, while D-Wave employs quantum annealing, which, despite lower accuracy, offers advantages in speed and cost for specific problems.
- Market Valuation Comparison: IonQ reported $130 million in revenue last year with a valuation of $15.2 billion, while D-Wave generated only $24.6 million and is valued at $6.6 billion, indicating high expectations for IonQ but also significant risks involved.
See More
Bull vs. Bear Analysis of D-Wave Quantum Stock
- Leadership in Quantum Annealing: D-Wave Quantum has established itself as a leader in quantum annealing, focusing on optimization problems that can provide significant competitive advantages in industries like finance, logistics, and defense, with bookings reaching $30 million for January 2025, indicating strong market demand.
- Exploration of Traditional Quantum Systems: The company is venturing into gate-based quantum computing using fluxonium qubits to enhance system accuracy; however, it has yet to publish milestone data, and its acquisition of Quantum Circuits brings a dual-rail gate-model processor with built-in error detection, potentially improving future product performance.
- Market Valuation Risks: Despite D-Wave's strong performance in quantum annealing, its $7 billion market cap contrasts sharply with projected sales of less than $25 million in 2025, suggesting that market expectations for future growth may be overly optimistic, posing significant risks.
- Questioning Technology Value: The superiority of D-Wave's quantum annealing technology over artificial intelligence remains uncertain, and the lack of peer-reviewed data for its gate-based systems may undermine investor confidence in its current valuation, advising caution for potential investors.
See More
Quantum Computing Rises, Alphabet Becomes Investment Favorite
- Quantum Economic Potential: Analysts at Boston Consulting Group estimate that quantum computing could generate up to $850 billion in global economic value by 2040, highlighting its significance in future technology and attracting investor interest.
- Stock Performance Comparison: As of mid-October 2025, shares of IonQ, Rigetti Computing, and D-Wave Quantum surged by 6,200% over the past 12 months; however, these stocks face historical challenges, indicating market over-optimism regarding quantum computing.
- Investor Preference Shift: Despite the impressive performance of pure-play quantum stocks, billionaire investors prefer Alphabet due to its multiple profitable business segments and active involvement in quantum computing, showcasing its long-term investment value.
- Alphabet's Market Advantages: Alphabet commands approximately 90% of global internet search traffic and demonstrated a 48% sales growth in Google Cloud, reflecting strong advertising pricing power and competitive advantages in the cloud services market, further solidifying its leadership in quantum computing.
See More
IonQ Reports 202% Revenue Growth to $130 Million in 2025
- Significant Revenue Growth: IonQ achieved $130 million in revenue for 2025, marking a 202% year-over-year increase, primarily driven by an 80% organic revenue growth, establishing it as the first pure-play quantum computing company to surpass $100 million in annual GAAP revenue, underscoring its leadership in the quantum computing sector.
- Optimistic Future Outlook: Management anticipates revenue will further surge to between $225 million and $245 million in 2026, reflecting strong market demand for quantum computing and IonQ's competitive technological edge, despite ongoing profitability challenges.
- Technical Advantage: IonQ's trapped-ion technology has achieved a world-record 99.99% two-qubit gate fidelity, enabling customers to realize a 10 billion-fold performance increase on the same-sized device, which has attracted over 60% of commercial clients and 30% of international clients, enhancing its market competitiveness.
- Massive Market Potential: Although IonQ reported a net loss of $510.4 million in 2025, McKinsey projects quantum computing revenue will grow from $4 billion in 2024 to $72 billion by 2035, presenting significant growth opportunities for IonQ, albeit with substantial investment risks still in play.
See More
IonQ Surpasses $100 Million in Annual Revenue Milestone
- Significant Revenue Growth: In 2025, IonQ achieved $130 million in annual revenue, representing a 202% year-over-year increase, primarily driven by 80% organic revenue growth, highlighting the strong demand in the quantum computing market and the company's leading position in the industry.
- Technical Advantage: IonQ's trapped-ion technology has reached a world-record 99.99% two-qubit gate fidelity, allowing customers to achieve a 10 billion-fold performance increase on the same-sized device, which has attracted a diverse customer base, with commercial clients accounting for over 60% of sales.
- Future Growth Expectations: Management expects revenue to reach between $225 million and $245 million in 2026, reflecting confidence in future market potential, while aiming for 2 million physical qubits and 80,000 logical qubits by 2030, which could drive significant advancements in commercial applications like drug discovery and machine learning.
- Market Risks and Opportunities: Despite significant revenue growth, IonQ's market cap is around $16 billion, with a current trailing sales multiple of 96 times, which is still high compared to most stocks, prompting investors to carefully consider investment risks, although the potential for 10x returns remains viable.
See More
Investment Opportunities in Quantum Computing
- Success Stories in Quantum Computing: IonQ and D-Wave Quantum, as pure-play quantum computing companies, are focused on developing widely used quantum computers and quantum annealers, with IonQ achieving the record for the most accurate quantum computer, indicating potential in addressing high error rates, which could significantly enhance its market position if successful.
- Technology Scaling Plans: IonQ recently announced a plan to scale its technology to a 10,000-qubit quantum computer, which would be a major breakthrough and position it as a leader in the field, potentially yielding substantial returns for investors if realized.
- Involvement of Tech Giants: Alphabet and Microsoft, as legacy tech players, have made breakthroughs in quantum computing, with Alphabet predicting that quantum computing could break cryptocurrency security by 2029; if their quantum solutions succeed, it could lead to significant growth potential for the companies.
- Future of Hybrid Computing: Nvidia is preparing for the mainstream adoption of quantum computing by developing dedicated AI models and adapting its CUDA software, with NVQLink enabling quantum computers to connect with classical computing infrastructure, which, if successful, will solidify its dominance in the computing space.
See More
Analysis of Quantum Computing Stock Volatility
- Significant Price Fluctuations: Between October 2025 and March 2026, IonQ and D-Wave Quantum saw their stock prices drop over 65%, highlighting the high-risk nature of the quantum computing sector, necessitating cautious evaluation by investors.
- April Recovery: Since April 1, D-Wave's stock has risen by 25%, while IonQ's shares have soared over 50%; however, both remain more than 45% below their October highs, reflecting ongoing market uncertainty.
- Technological Differences: IonQ focuses on traditional 'gate-model' quantum computing, achieving a two-qubit gate fidelity of 99.99% in October, while D-Wave employs quantum annealing, which, despite lower accuracy, offers advantages in speed and cost for specific problems.
- Market Valuation Comparison: IonQ reported $130 million in revenue last year with a valuation of $15.2 billion, while D-Wave generated only $24.6 million and is valued at $6.6 billion, indicating high expectations for IonQ but also significant risks involved.
See More
Bull vs. Bear Analysis of D-Wave Quantum Stock
- Leadership in Quantum Annealing: D-Wave Quantum has established itself as a leader in quantum annealing, focusing on optimization problems that can provide significant competitive advantages in industries like finance, logistics, and defense, with bookings reaching $30 million for January 2025, indicating strong market demand.
- Exploration of Traditional Quantum Systems: The company is venturing into gate-based quantum computing using fluxonium qubits to enhance system accuracy; however, it has yet to publish milestone data, and its acquisition of Quantum Circuits brings a dual-rail gate-model processor with built-in error detection, potentially improving future product performance.
- Market Valuation Risks: Despite D-Wave's strong performance in quantum annealing, its $7 billion market cap contrasts sharply with projected sales of less than $25 million in 2025, suggesting that market expectations for future growth may be overly optimistic, posing significant risks.
- Questioning Technology Value: The superiority of D-Wave's quantum annealing technology over artificial intelligence remains uncertain, and the lack of peer-reviewed data for its gate-based systems may undermine investor confidence in its current valuation, advising caution for potential investors.
See More
Quantum Computing Rises, Alphabet Becomes Investment Favorite
- Quantum Economic Potential: Analysts at Boston Consulting Group estimate that quantum computing could generate up to $850 billion in global economic value by 2040, highlighting its significance in future technology and attracting investor interest.
- Stock Performance Comparison: As of mid-October 2025, shares of IonQ, Rigetti Computing, and D-Wave Quantum surged by 6,200% over the past 12 months; however, these stocks face historical challenges, indicating market over-optimism regarding quantum computing.
- Investor Preference Shift: Despite the impressive performance of pure-play quantum stocks, billionaire investors prefer Alphabet due to its multiple profitable business segments and active involvement in quantum computing, showcasing its long-term investment value.
- Alphabet's Market Advantages: Alphabet commands approximately 90% of global internet search traffic and demonstrated a 48% sales growth in Google Cloud, reflecting strong advertising pricing power and competitive advantages in the cloud services market, further solidifying its leadership in quantum computing.
See More
IonQ Reports 202% Revenue Growth to $130 Million in 2025
- Significant Revenue Growth: IonQ achieved $130 million in revenue for 2025, marking a 202% year-over-year increase, primarily driven by an 80% organic revenue growth, establishing it as the first pure-play quantum computing company to surpass $100 million in annual GAAP revenue, underscoring its leadership in the quantum computing sector.
- Optimistic Future Outlook: Management anticipates revenue will further surge to between $225 million and $245 million in 2026, reflecting strong market demand for quantum computing and IonQ's competitive technological edge, despite ongoing profitability challenges.
- Technical Advantage: IonQ's trapped-ion technology has achieved a world-record 99.99% two-qubit gate fidelity, enabling customers to realize a 10 billion-fold performance increase on the same-sized device, which has attracted over 60% of commercial clients and 30% of international clients, enhancing its market competitiveness.
- Massive Market Potential: Although IonQ reported a net loss of $510.4 million in 2025, McKinsey projects quantum computing revenue will grow from $4 billion in 2024 to $72 billion by 2035, presenting significant growth opportunities for IonQ, albeit with substantial investment risks still in play.
See More
IonQ Surpasses $100 Million in Annual Revenue Milestone
- Significant Revenue Growth: In 2025, IonQ achieved $130 million in annual revenue, representing a 202% year-over-year increase, primarily driven by 80% organic revenue growth, highlighting the strong demand in the quantum computing market and the company's leading position in the industry.
- Technical Advantage: IonQ's trapped-ion technology has reached a world-record 99.99% two-qubit gate fidelity, allowing customers to achieve a 10 billion-fold performance increase on the same-sized device, which has attracted a diverse customer base, with commercial clients accounting for over 60% of sales.
- Future Growth Expectations: Management expects revenue to reach between $225 million and $245 million in 2026, reflecting confidence in future market potential, while aiming for 2 million physical qubits and 80,000 logical qubits by 2030, which could drive significant advancements in commercial applications like drug discovery and machine learning.
- Market Risks and Opportunities: Despite significant revenue growth, IonQ's market cap is around $16 billion, with a current trailing sales multiple of 96 times, which is still high compared to most stocks, prompting investors to carefully consider investment risks, although the potential for 10x returns remains viable.
See More
Investment Opportunities in Quantum Computing
- Success Stories in Quantum Computing: IonQ and D-Wave Quantum, as pure-play quantum computing companies, are focused on developing widely used quantum computers and quantum annealers, with IonQ achieving the record for the most accurate quantum computer, indicating potential in addressing high error rates, which could significantly enhance its market position if successful.
- Technology Scaling Plans: IonQ recently announced a plan to scale its technology to a 10,000-qubit quantum computer, which would be a major breakthrough and position it as a leader in the field, potentially yielding substantial returns for investors if realized.
- Involvement of Tech Giants: Alphabet and Microsoft, as legacy tech players, have made breakthroughs in quantum computing, with Alphabet predicting that quantum computing could break cryptocurrency security by 2029; if their quantum solutions succeed, it could lead to significant growth potential for the companies.
- Future of Hybrid Computing: Nvidia is preparing for the mainstream adoption of quantum computing by developing dedicated AI models and adapting its CUDA software, with NVQLink enabling quantum computers to connect with classical computing infrastructure, which, if successful, will solidify its dominance in the computing space.
See More
