Here's What $1,000 Invested in IonQ Stock Could Be Worth by 2030

IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) shares have fallen by around 35% over the last 12 months, giving back all of the gains they made in 2025, when optimism about the future of quantum computing was at its peak. However, with a market cap of roughly $15 billion, the company is still one of the leading pure-play stocks in the sector. And it stands out because of its rapid revenue growth and unusual approach to the nascent technology.

Has the 44% dip it has taken from the 2026 peak it hit this summer created a long-term buying opportunity, or is it a sign for investors to stay away? Let's explore the pros and cons of IonQ as an investment, and try to predict what a $1,000 position opened in the stock today could be worth by the end of the decade.

The next tech megatrend?

Quantum computing has the potential to be one of those once-in-a-generation technology megatrends capable of radically changing the global economy -- similar to recent breakthroughs like generative AI or the internet. But it's too early to know for sure how much of that perceived potential will translate into reality.

While traditional computers and digital devices manipulate data in bits -- 1s and 0s -- quantum computers use "qubits" (quantum bits) that leverage the counterintuitive properties of quantum mechanics to temporarily hold states that are neither 1 nor 0, but complex probability amplitudes.

This allows them to perform computations in ways that bear little resemblance to classical machines, and gives them the potential to quickly solve problems that would take the world's most advanced supercomputers years or even millennia.

If these technologies can be made reliable, they could transform research in a host of industries such as pharmaceutical development and materials science, and produce meaningful advances in areas such as logistics, cryptography, and economic modeling.

Despite the exciting potential, quantum computing is still a long way away from being ready for widespread adoption. Forecasts on that score vary, but Peter DeSantis, who is leading Amazon's AI efforts, said in a recent CNBC interview that it could be five to seven years before small, commercially useful quantum computers become available. However, that isn't stopping IonQ and other early movers from booking some revenue by selling their systems to experimental clients.

What is IonQ's edge?

IonQ focuses on the pick-and-shovel side of quantum computing by selling the infrastructure that other companies will use to create their own consumer-facing systems. The success of Nvidia and other AI chip stocks demonstrates that this is a smart way to gain exposure to a new technology trend, as it can allow a company to maximize early growth while minimizing the risks of betting on a single end-use product or service.

There are numerous potential ways to create qubits, and each technology has distinct advantages and disadvantages.

One of the most common approaches uses superconducting qubits; well-known tech names such as Alphabet and IBM are taking that route, as is small pure-play Rigetti Computing.

IonQ, by contrast, is using trapped-ion qubits. Its team thinks their strategy is better because the technology offers advantages like greater stability and lower error rates, though it does so at the expense of slower speeds, complexity, and bulkier systems.

Image source: Getty Images.

It is too early to know which quantum computing strategy will prove superior in the long term. But IonQ's second-quarter earnings show signs that it's picking up early operating momentum.

Revenue soared 287% year over year to $80.1 million, driven by organic growth in the company's quantum business, which offers products such as the IonQ Tempo computer, designed to help enterprises solve complex problems. While quantum computing technology is still years away from primetime, clients can use these early-stage systems for research and testing.

What will IonQ stock be worth by 2030?

Whether IonQ will achieve long-term success will depend on technological developments that are extremely difficult for non-scientists to predict right now. But if the company's trapped-ion quantum architecture outperforms the alternatives, its shares could easily generate multibagger returns because of IonQ's pick-and-shovel business model and the potential for quantum computing to revolutionize a wide range of industries.

The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) has historically delivered an average annualized return of 10%. It's reasonable to assume that shares in a relatively small disruptor like IonQ could grow at double that rate as its business scales up -- if it's successful. A 20% compound annual growth rate would turn a $1,000 investment made today into a stake worth roughly $2,074 by 2030. But this represents an optimistic scenario in which IonQ doesn't get outcompeted by one or more of the many other players in the quantum computing industry.

Will Ebiefung has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, International Business Machines, IonQ, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.