For years, progress in quantum computing has been comparable to one of its core principles – quantum superposition – in that it has simultaneously been continuously impressive and failed to produce a decisive breakthrough, all the while defaulting to the latter, somewhat disappointing side whenever scrutinized.
This year, however, appears to finally be promising a major leap forward in the field, judging both by recent milestones with projects like Quantinuum’s (NASDAQ: QNT) Helios and by President Donald Trump announcing $2.013 billion in federal incentives for involved companies earlier in 2026.
Under the circumstances, Finbold decided to examine some of the most promising public quantum computing companies investors might consider trading in the coming months.
IonQ (NYSE: IONQ)
IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) is an American quantum computing software and hardware company that has been a major player in its sector for approximately a decade. Additionally, its time in the stock market has, so far, been strong with an all-time rally greater than 300%.
Furthermore, despite not quite maintaining the momentum in 2026, IONQ’s shares have performed relatively close to the benchmark indices and are, at their latest closing price of $49.12, 5.02% in the green year-to-date (YTD).
More importantly, the company boasts substantial analyst confidence. Indeed, IonQ stock is not only rated as a ‘Strong Buy’ overall, but is also expected on average to rise 41.11% to $69.31 in the coming 12 months, per the data Finbold retrieved from TipRanks on July 3.
D-Wave Quantum (NYSE: QBTS)
D-Wave Quantum (NYSE: QBTS) is something of a pioneer in its sector, considering it boasts the claim of being the first firm on the planet to sell computers that exploit quantum effects as part of their operations.
Additionally, the company can brag about a rather impressive list of early clients, including the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of Southern California, NASA, Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), and Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT).
Still, QBTS stock’s YTD performance has not been as laudable, as it featured a 19.91% drop to $22.53.
Nonetheless, D-Wave shares appear like an enticing investment for 2026 with Wall Street considering the equity a ‘Strong Buy’and anticipating a 69.87% rally to $38.27 in the coming 52 weeks.
Quantinuum Inc (NASDAQ: QNT)
Despite being a relative newcomer, given its initial public offering (IPO) was as recent as June 4, Quantinuum is already proving a highly promising company whose portfolio was recently bolstered by the Helios quantum computer, acclaimed for its balance of scalability and record-breaking accuracy.
The hopes for the company have also, despite its short tenure, been reflected in the stock price, which has risen 32.53% in the last month to its latest – Thursday, July 2 – closing-bell price of $74.56.
Looking ahead, institutional investors appear confident in QNT shares’ future, overall rating the equity as a ‘Strong Buy’and foreseeing a 32.44% rise to $98.75.
Still, as with any IPO, it might be worth holding off on investing in Quantinuum until it has been ‘seasoned’ more, due to new stock often enjoying strong early rallies before suffering steep corrections that occasionally leave them below their original prices for years.
Featured image via Shutterstock
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