The quantum computing sector is slowly becoming a stock darling for commercial investors as the threat of ‘quantum decryption’ attacks on key infrastructure looms.
Industry leaders such as D-Wave, IonQ, and Rigetti Computing have experienced a surge in growth as 2025’s second quarter gets underway. Despite these firms having never turned a profit while still registering net operational losses for the first quarter, analysts see plenty of potential upside for investors with an appetite for risk as loss margins show continuing signs of contraction.
Quantum stocks continue to inch toward profitability
First quarter results from D-Wave and IonQ beat market expectations across the board. Rigetti Computing’s first quarter earnings call, scheduled for May 12, is expected to follow suit, with analysts expecting truncated losses and around -4 cents per share against a Q4 post of -11 cents per share.
If the trend of beating analyst expectations holds, with Rigetti Computing and competitor Quantum Computing yet to report, the quantum computing sector will display its largest overall quarter-over-quarter growth to date.
D-Wave’s revenue was up 509% for quarter one, reaching $15 million. While still operating at a loss, the firm has shown steady growth showing an adjusted 2-cent per share loss versus the previous quarter’s 11-cent loss.
“We believe that D-Wave has the opportunity to be the first independent, publicly held quantum computing company to achieve sustained profitability,” CEO Alan Baratz told analysts during the firm’s May 8 earnings call. Baratz claimed the firm’s progress was especially noteworthy given it was purportedly achieved “with less funding than required by any other independent, publicly held quantum computing company.”
Meanwhile, IonQ posted a 14-cent loss against estimates of -23 cents per share. While the firm’s revenue remains down for the year, CEO Niccolo De Masi sees recent partnerships as a cause for sustained growth expectations. “We’re delivering real-world value for our customers today,” De Masi recently told shareholders, “including a recent demonstration of a 12% speed improvement over classical computing in a simulation of a heart pump using quantum processed data and a production product by our partner Ansys.”
The threat of quantum decryption looms large
One potential driving factor for the burgeoning interest in quantum stocks is the looming threat of so-called “quantum decryption.” Current computer security is based on cryptographic protection that, essentially, makes it almost impossible for a “classical” computer to crack.
Cryptographic security features such as the RSA algorithm (Named after its creators Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman) protect modern computer systems by encrypting a computer system in such a way that it would take a binary “classical” computer hundreds of trillions of years to crack.
A quantum computer of sufficient capability could feasibly crack such security in mere days or even hours. This has caused security analysts to question the long-term security of cryptographically secured systems, including mainframes, nuclear weapons centers, banking software, blockchain, and even satellites orbiting the Earth.
Fortunately, such computers don’t currently exist. This gives the technology industry time to prepare by building better cryptography systems based on emergent quantum systems. While much of the work towards developing these futuristic computers is being done in labs owned by big tech luminaries such as Google, IBM, and Microsoft, startups such as D-Wave, IonQ, and Rigetti Computing have contributed significantly.
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