Should You Forget IonQ and Buy These 2 Tech Stocks Instead?

There's been a lot of excitement around quantum computing stocks over the past few years, as new start-ups have made big strides in the space with their technologies, and as investors realize the massive potential of quantum computing, which could become a $100 billion market by 2035, according to a June 2025 report by McKinsey and Company.

And one such company that's risen to the top among quantum computing stocks is IonQ, with impressive returns of 550% over the past three years.

But those gains are only part of the story. IonQ isn't profitable, and its losses are widening. Making matters worse is that quantum computing is still a speculative market, and many companies developing quantum computing services say it could be years before sustained commercial sales materialize.

With this in mind, here are two better tech stocks to invest in right now.

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Micron has all the growth of IonQ, but with profits

If you're looking for a fast-growing tech stock with lots of potential upside -- and one that's profitable -- Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) should be on your shortlist. The company designs and manufactures memory processors that have become a crucial part of data centers, solidifying itself as a leading artificial intelligence (AI) stock.

In the first nine months of 2025, Micron's revenue increased 56% to $13.4 billion, and diluted earnings per share popped 167% to $4.78. The company is benefiting from a rapid increase in data center infrastructure spending, resulting in so much demand for its memory processors that the company said its processors are already sold out for 2026.

To keep up with the demand, Micron is spending $200 billion over the next several years to bring new factories online. That may seem like an excessive amount of money for Micron to spend, but it comes as tech giants, including Meta, Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft, are spending up to $650 billion this year alone in capital expenditures, mostly for data center infrastructure. This increase in spending should help fuel memory demand for years to come.

Making Micron even more appealing is the fact that the company's stock is well priced, with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of just 24 right now, compared to the tech sector's average P/E ratio of about 42.

It's not too late to benefit from Nvidia's AI dominance

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) needs no introduction, but it can be easy to forget just why this company is so dominant in AI and has remained so for years. Nvidia holds 86% of the AI GPU market, at a time when tech companies can't get enough of artificial intelligence processors.

That's helped Nvidia's data center sales rise 67% in the third quarter of fiscal year 2026 to $51 billion, and non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share to spike 60% to $1.30 per share. Just as with Micron, the massive increase in tech companies' capex spending this year and beyond will help keep Nvidia's sales and earnings chugging along.

Nvidia isn't immune to competition, but the company has a built-in advantage from the fact that many of its data center hardware customers also use its CUDA software, which essentially helps to keep them locked in to Nvidia's ecosystem.

It might seem like it's too late to buy Nvidia stock right now, but it's worth remembering that we're still in the very early stages of artificial intelligence. Even when AI infrastructure spending eventually slows, the need for advanced processors will remain. And with the world's largest tech companies focused on staying ahead in the AI race, Nvidia's processor business looks poised to benefit for years to come.

Chris Neiger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, IonQ, Meta Platforms, Micron Technology, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.