Quantum
IONQ and Rigetti are high-risk, volatile companies promising ahead of its time. But quantum computing isn't just another chip upgrade – it's a paradigm shift. And quantum time runs on its own weird clock.
Quantum stocks are breaking out – a number of firms just hit 52-week highs – as investors bet on the next big tech breakthrough.
Traditional computing runs on bits: zero or one. Quantum computing throws that binary logic into a blender. Introducing qubits, which can be both zero and one at the same time, thanks to a mind-bending phenomenon called superposition.
The result? Exponentially fast processing power that could shatter encryption, reinvent logistics and even simulate molecules for drug discovery. This isn’t a faster horse. It’s a teleportation device... if we can get it working.
That’s the opportunity a handful of quantum-focused firms are chasing. And they’ve all got different ideas of what the future looks like.
IonQ ($IONQ) is betting on trapped-ion technology. They prioritise accuracy over raw speed. That makes their qubits slower than competitors but highly reliable.
On the business front? IonQ’s been anything but slow. It’s been on an acquisition spree this year, picking up quantum tech firms Qubitekk, ID Quantique, Oxford Ionics, and Lightsynq.
IonQ also hit an algorithmic qubit score of #AQ 64 – a fancy way of promoting their performance to investors.
Rigetti ($RGTI), meanwhile, uses superconducting qubits, similar to Alphabet ($GOOGL) and IBM ($IBM), but targets a modular and integrated experience. Their approach: build the chips, the tools, the cloud and wrap it all into one seamless system.
Analyst sentiment is mixed. Rigetti has struggled with yield, scaling, and capital constraints. But if they stabilise their hardware and make ‘quantum as a service’ a thing, it could carve out a strong mid-market role.
D-Wave ($QBTS) takes a very different approach. They focus on quantum annealing – a way of optimising problems across sectors such as logistics and pharma – as opposed to universal quantum computers. And it's already got commercial clients.
Critics call annealing a niche, and it may not scale. But D-Wave isn’t trying to be everything. It's trying to be useful now. And that might make it the first quantum business to earn recurring revenue.
But if the premise is potentially groundbreaking, the fundamentals tell a different story.
In Q2, IonQ reported a US$177M net loss, up from US$32M in Q1. Rigetti’s Q2 net loss was US$39.7M, while D-Wave’s net loss stood at $167M.
You wouldn’t know it from their respective share prices, which seem to suggest they’ve already cracked quantum supremacy and licensed it to the entire Fortune 500.
In the quantum world, particles exist in multiple states until you observe them. It's the same story for these companies: simultaneously brilliant and unproven. Superposition or super speculation? You decide.
This is not financial advice nor a recommendation to invest in the securities listed. The information presented is intended to be of a factual nature only. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. As always, do your own research and consider seeking financial, legal and taxation advice before investing.
