Will Quantum Computing Stocks Become the AI Stocks of 2026?

Artificial intelligence (AI) stocks drove market gains not only last year, but over the past few years. Investors are constantly on the lookout for the next major revolution in technology, and this time, they identified it as AI. The opportunity is far from over as AI development remains in its early chapters. Today, companies continue to train models to apply to real-world situations, and tech giants are still in the process of building out infrastructure to support the development and use of AI.

All of this means that many companies involved in AI should continue to deliver (or start to deliver) revenue growth -- and that could push their shares higher in the years to come as the AI story unfolds.

As this takes place, investors haven't given up on looking for other growth opportunities in technology, and one that's attracted attention is the area of quantum computing. Many of the pure play companies have already seen their shares soar -- for example, Rigetti Computing, D-Wave Quantum, and IonQ each have climbed in the quadruple digits over the past three years. Still, these companies' stock prices started off at very low levels -- so any major revenue gains in the future could drive them much higher from where they are today.

Will quantum computing stocks become the AI stocks of 2026? Let's find out.

Image source: Getty Images.

What is quantum computing?

First of all, let's take a quick look at quantum technology. Quantum computing differs from classical computing as it uses qubits instead of bits. While bits process data in the form of a 0 or a 1, qubits can process a 0, 1, or both at the same time. When more qubits are added, they may scale exponentially, and involvement with other qubits through "entanglement" allows for greater processing efficiency.

As a result, quantum computers are much faster than classical computers and may solve problems that are impossible for today's machines.

The problem is that qubits, relying on the interaction of subatomic particles, are extremely complex to design and manipulate. This makes the road to developing a generally useful quantum computer a long one. But companies, from small pure plays like IonQ to tech giants such as Alphabet, are making progress, and some even sell access to their quantum platforms through today's major cloud computing services.

Now, before we consider my question, I'll explain it. When I ask, "Will quantum stocks be the AI stocks of this year?" I mean: Will they drive the market higher as AI stocks have done over the past few years?

Big tech players

It's important to note that AI stocks include many big tech players with heavy weightings in the S&P 500, from Nvidia to Amazon. Though some of these companies also are present in the quantum computing landscape, when investors think of quantum companies right now, they generally think of pure plays such as the ones I mentioned earlier. These stocks aren't members of the S&P 500, so they couldn't drive the overall market higher.

That said, if they make progress this year, investors could scoop them up, and this optimism might prompt investors to also get in on bigger stocks that may benefit from quantum computing. These might be tech giants developing quantum chips or pharma players aiming to integrate quantum computing into their drug discovery processes, just to mention two examples.

It's important to remember, though, that quantum computing is earlier stage than AI. While AI already is driving major revenue growth, into the billions of dollars, for various companies -- Nvidia and Amazon come to mind -- quantum computing hasn't yet reached this stage.

All of this means that, in my view, it's too early for quantum computing stocks to drive the market as AI stocks have done, but that doesn't mean you should avoid these players. On the path to the first generally useful quantum computer, any progress may lift revenue and the stock prices of quantum computing stocks -- in 2026 and down the road. And early investors could score a significant win over time.

Adria Cimino has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, IonQ, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.