The quantum computing stocks boomed for most of 2025, only to go bust in the last quarter. In 2026, it’s been mostly looking lower for many of the top quantum plays, including some of the more speculative plays. That said, the technology is still worth keeping tabs on, even as the quantum pure-play stocks continue to take more backward steps. Of course, investors have taken on more of a risk-off approach in the past couple of quarters.
Undoubtedly, gone are the days when most investors are comfortable paying up for companies with promising narratives, with a lack of profits to show. But just because the retail crowd has lost its appetite for speculation does not mean quantum computing tech has run into a brick wall. The tech is improving, and it’s more advanced today than it was when the quantum hype peaked last year.
Investors sour on quantum stocks, but that’s less about the tech and more about nerves
Of course, the major issue with the quantum stocks is that they stand out more as moonshots than as a safe and sound place to grow one’s wealth. As impressive as the technology is, it can be really hard to pick winners in the very early innings. For most, going back to the AI trade is a relatively safer place to be.
With agentic AI and enterprise monetization going on, perhaps AI is the place where one can have their earnings growth. If AI is in its middle innings, I think it’s safe to say that quantum is in the pre-game. Indeed, pre-earnings or even pre-revenue isn’t where investors want to be, especially as investors come to question the cash burn of the quantum innovators.
Undoubtedly, if investors didn’t like the cash burn of the big AI infrastructure spenders, they really wouldn’t like the quantum pure-plays, especially since the tech is still quite a long way from a similar commercial boom. Add timing uncertainty relating to the Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) roadmap, and it’s quite easy to be bearish right now. Still, some analysts think names are worth checking out on weakness.
Recently, B. Riley upgraded shares of Rigetti Computing to Buy from Hold, with a whopping $35.00 per-share price target, which entails a more than doubling from current levels (going for $16 and change per share today). Many other quantum picks also have sky-high targets and confidence of some analysts despite the recent wave of selling.
Alphabet: My favorite quantum pick as Google looks to hit its next big milestone
While there’s ample risk in buying a stock, like Rigetti Computing, which is off more than 70% from its highs, I do think there are safer ways to play the technology. Most notably, Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG | GOOG Price Prediction), the same firm leading the LLM race with Google Gemini and the robotaxi race with Waymo, seems to be a frontrunner in the world of quantum.
As it just so happens, Alphabet stands out as a great AI and quantum play. And as a result, it’s also a fantastic quantum AI play, given its Google Quantum AI research division, which is hard at work to advance its mission, which is to build quantum computers to solve the unsolvable (problems).
Of course, it’s been a while since the company’s Willow chip breakthrough impressed investors, but we shouldn’t forget the talent tool or the impressive quantum roadmap. While quantum pure-play stocks might have more upside potential, I do think that size could prove a huge advantage in quantum, just like in AI. With deep pockets and AI tailwinds at its back, Google is racing ahead to hit the third major milestone of its six-part roadmap, which will ultimately see the firm build a 1-million-qubit error-corrected quantum computer.
It’s looking at long-lived logical qubits, which could pave the way for fault-tolerant applications. Could this milestone represent the moment when quantum hits an inflection point? Possibly. Perhaps like AI, quantum will go from the lab to mass enterprise adoption. And when that happens, Google will have its seat once the ball game is ready to begin.
Bottom line
I view the recent sell-off in quantum stocks as more to do with a change in the investor mentality and less to do with how the quantum tech is actually faring. Personally, I’d go with Google to play the quantum boom in its earlier stages. Though, I’m not against nibbling on a tiny position in a pure-play if you’re comfortable with volatility.
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