Be Careful With These Quantum Computing Stocks
All it took to derail a rally that had sent shares of pure-play quantum computing stocks soaring was a single comment from a tech CEO. When Nvidia's Jensen Huang suggested that a useful quantum computer was likely decades away, shares of IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) and D-Wave Quantum (NYSE: QBTS) fell off a cliff. As of midday Tuesday, both stocks were down at least 45% from their recent highs.
Quantum computing is a technology that has tremendous long-term potential, but no one has yet cracked the code on how to successfully apply it to real-world problems. By taking advantage of bizarre quantum properties, quantum computers can complete certain types of computations exponentially faster than traditional supercomputers. So far, though, existing quantum computers have only been able to speed up calculations that have no practical applications.
If useful quantum computing is truly decades away, large tech companies with deep pockets are much more likely to still be around when the technology matures. Betting on IonQ or D-Wave is ultimately a bet that a breakthrough is right around the corner, the odds of which are vanishingly small.
Source Fool.com
