D-Wave Quantum's stock rose 4% despite missing Q4 earnings and revenue targets, supported by positive forward guidance and strong results from competitor IonQ. The company reported a non-GAAP loss of $0.09 per share on $2.8M revenue versus expectations of $0.06 loss on $3.7M revenue, but guidance for stronger H2 growth and industry tailwinds from IonQ's beat helped sentiment.

Rigetti Computing stock surged 9.4% this week as investors became more bullish ahead of the company's March 4 quarterly report. The gains were driven by IonQ's better-than-expected Q4 results and strong guidance, which boosted sentiment across the quantum computing sector. Rigetti now faces pressure to deliver its own performance beat to avoid falling behind in the quantum race.

Pure-play quantum computing stocks (IonQ, Rigetti, D-Wave) have fallen over 30% in 2026 but remain overvalued with extreme price-to-sales ratios and significant cash burn. The article recommends Alphabet and IBM as better quantum computing investments due to their profitable core businesses that can fund quantum R&D indefinitely, while pure-play companies face existential risk given that large-scale quantum commercialization is likely 5-20+ years away.

Ten large-cap stocks were top performers during the week of Feb. 23-27, 2026. Circle Internet Group led with a 34.99% gain after strong Q4 results. Netflix, Dell, IonQ, Keysight, and Axon Enterprise also posted significant gains (22-27%) driven by better-than-expected earnings and positive guidance. Other gainers included Paramount Skydance, Block, Thomson Reuters, and First Majestic Silver.

IonQ, a quantum computing company with a $14B market cap, offers innovative technology with low error rates and near-room temperature operation. However, the article cautions that while a 100-fold return is theoretically possible, IonQ faces significant competition from well-funded tech giants like Alphabet/Google. With $510M+ in losses in 2025 and only $2.4B in cash, IonQ's financial constraints make it unlikely to achieve life-changing returns compared to better-resourced competitors.

The article cautions investors against misinterpreting institutional ownership in quantum computing stocks. While BlackRock holds 24.3 million IonQ shares, most institutional ownership comes from passive index funds that must hold shares regardless of company prospects. Only a small fraction of Wall Street holders like Morgan Stanley are research-driven investors making active bets on quantum computing. The article emphasizes that quantum computing remains speculative with commercial revenue still years away.

IonQ shares surged 19% after delivering a blockbuster Q4 2025 earnings report with $61.9M in revenue (55% above guidance) and 429% year-over-year growth. The company raised 2026 guidance to $225-245M and maintains a fortress balance sheet with $3.3B in cash, eliminating dilution risk. Strategic acquisitions of Vector Atomic and pending SkyWater Technology deal position IonQ for defense contracts, while a high short ratio could fuel further gains.

IonQ shares surged 21.2% after the quantum computing company exceeded Q4 revenue guidance by 55% and provided 2026 guidance of $225-245 million, significantly above Wall Street expectations of ~$190 million. The company reported nearly 80% year-over-year organic growth in 2025 and expects even higher organic growth in 2026. However, profitability remains challenged with negative EBITDA of $67.4 million, worsening from $31.3 million in the prior year.

IonQ shares surged 14.17% in premarket trading following the company's announcement of a significant quantum key distribution network deployment in Romania. The project includes 36 quantum-secured links spanning over 1,500 kilometers across six major Romanian cities, marking a major milestone in Europe's quantum communications infrastructure. The stock is trading above its 20-day and 100-day moving averages with strong 12-month gains, though technical indicators show mixed momentum.

Quantum computing stocks surged in 2025 following Alphabet's breakthrough announcement, but analyst Justin Pope predicts the hype will cool in 2026. Despite exciting long-term potential, current quantum computers face significant technological limitations, require highly controlled environments, produce too many errors for reliable use, and lack commercial applications. Early-stage quantum companies like IonQ, D-Wave Quantum, and Rigetti Computing have minimal revenue relative to their valuations, with unclear paths to profitability. Additionally, major tech companies including IBM, Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft are developing competing quantum technologies, and investor sentiment toward speculative stocks has weakened.

Despite impressive trailing 12-month returns and significant long-term potential, institutional investors and hedge funds are reducing their positions in pure-play quantum computing stocks IonQ, Rigetti Computing, and D-Wave Quantum, according to latest Form 13F filings. The stocks are trading at stratospheric valuations with negative gross margins, and the sector shows signs of a potential bubble as quantum computers remain in early commercialization stages with limited real-world adoption.

The article examines IonQ and D-Wave Quantum as potential millionaire-maker investments in the emerging quantum computing sector. IonQ uses trapped-ion technology and has achieved industry-leading 2-qubit gate fidelity of 99.99%, while D-Wave specializes in quantum annealing for optimization problems. The quantum computing market could reach $72 billion annually by 2035, offering massive upside potential of 152-269x returns if either company captures the entire market. However, both stocks carry significant risk as the technology remains immature and competitors could outpace them.