The First 5 Quantum Computing Stocks I’d Buy If I Were Starting From Scratch

Key Points

• IonQ and D-Wave are leading the way from a pure-play standpoint.

• Alphabet and Microsoft have enormous resources to dedicate to quantum computing.

• Nvidia is building the infrastructure for a hybrid computing approach.

• 10 stocks we like better than IonQ ›

Quantum computing isn’t some far-fetched technology that seems like it belongs in a sci-fi movie. It’s real technology that’s already being used in some industries with success, and widespread quantum computing isn’t that much farther in the future.

This makes it vital for investors to position their portfolio for success now, as the hype behind quantum computing could cause a handful of these stocks to skyrocket once the market wakes up to the potential of its widespread usage.

Will AI create the world’s first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an “Indispensable Monopoly” providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue »

If I were starting my portfolio over, I’d scoop up these five quantum computing stocks today. While this investment portfolio is quantum-focused, I think it has what it takes to outperform the market over the long haul as well.

Image source: Getty Images.

Pure plays: IonQ and D-Wave Quantum

Both IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) and D-Wave Quantum (NYSE: QBTS) are popular quantum computing investments. They are pure plays, so they have only one goal: to create a viable quantum computer that is widely used. If they fail at this task, their stocks will head to $0.

Fortunately for their shareholders, these two are already seeing success and are on a solid pathway to becoming much larger companies.

IonQ owns the world record for the most accurate quantum computer. This is a huge deal because quantum computers’ high error rates are one of the primary issues that must be fully addressed before they will be suitable for widespread usage. The other is scale: Quantum computers need to operate with a lot of qubits to handle the types of complicated computations that are expected to provide the bulk of their use cases.

IonQ recently announced a new plan detailing how it can scale its technology up to a 10,000-qubit quantum computer. This would be a major breakthrough and establish it as a top competitor in the space.

D-Wave Quantum is taking a different approach from most other companies pursuing this type of technology. Instead of attempting to develop a general-purpose quantum computer like IonQ, it’s building quantum annealing machines. These tools are useful for a narrow range of tasks, but they excel at optimization problems — and that category happens to include a number of the most obvious potential commercial uses for quantum computing.

D-Wave Quantum has already sold a few of these machines, and several companies are using them for tasks like managing complex scheduling and supply chains. That places D-Wave Quantum on a path toward becoming a viable company. Its tailored solutions may be the best way to invest in this space.

Legacy tech players: Alphabet and Microsoft

While IonQ and D-Wave could provide investors with major upside if they succeed, if they fail, investors lose it all. So, it would be smart to balance out those aggressively speculative stock picks with more conservative ones, such as Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). Both of those tech giants are competing in the quantum computing realm, and both have announced breakthroughs in the technology.

Alphabet has published many groundbreaking papers regarding the potential of quantum computing, including one that predicts it will be able to break cryptocurrency security as soon as 2029. Microsoft hasn’t been as vocal about its quantum breakthroughs, but it is developing its own quantum processors, and it’s expected to be a major player in this realm.

I think both of these stocks are great picks in general, and if either of their quantum computing solutions works out, it could contribute meaningfully to their upside.

Bridging the gap: Nvidia

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) believes that when quantum computers go mainstream, it will largely be in hybrid computing environments where they work in tandem with classical supercomputers powered by accelerated computing units (like its GPUs). If that’s the case, Nvidia has perfectly positioned itself to take advantage.

It’s doing several tasks, such as releasing a purpose-built artificial intelligence (AI) model for quantum computers, adapting its leading CUDA software for the quantum computing realm, and creating NVQLink, which allows quantum computers to plug into classical accelerated computing infrastructure. All this lends itself to a hybrid approach, which would allow Nvidia to maintain its dominance in the computing world while also bridging the gap to the next great technology.

I think this is a great way to appreciate the space and also gives you the upside of current AI spending while waiting for quantum computing to become more mainstream.

Should you buy stock in IonQ right now?

Before you buy stock in IonQ, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and IonQ wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $498,522!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,276,807!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 983% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 200% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 27, 2026.

Keithen Drury has positions in Alphabet, IonQ, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, IonQ, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.