3 Quantum Computing Stocks Worth the Speculative Bet in August - 24/7 Wall St.

Quantum computing stocks entered August at what looks like a reset point. All three US-listed pure-plays cooled sharply from their late-spring highs: IonQ (NYSE:IONQ | IONQ Price Prediction) slid from $69.28 on June 1 to $41.72 by August 4, Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) dropped from $25.63 to $17.45, and D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS) slipped from $29.18 to $21.83 over the same window. The last week has already snapped back hard, with all three up roughly 20% or more in seven sessions.nextstayCCSettingsOffArabicChineseEnglishFrenchGermanHindiPortugueseSpanishFont ColorwhiteFont Opacity100%Font Size100%Font FamilyArialText ShadownoneBackground ColorblackBackground Opacity50%Window ColorblackWindow Opacity0%WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan100%75%50%25%200%175%150%125%100%75%50%ArialGeorgiaGaramondCourier NewTahomaTimes New RomanTrebuchet MSVerdanaNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDrop ShadowWhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan100%75%50%25%0%WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan100%75%50%25%0%Video Muted The setup matters because IBM’s CEO has publicly framed 2026 as the year the industry could deliver its first credible commercial quantum advantage benchmark. Positioning ahead of that milestone is the entire August thesis. These names carry extreme valuations relative to revenue and burn hundreds of millions of dollars a year, so this is speculative capital only. With that framing established, here is where the risk/reward looks most interesting. IonQ (NYSE: IONQ): The Scale Leader IonQ is the only pure-play quantum name with a nine-figure revenue base, and Q1 numbers reinforced that gap. Revenue hit $64.67 million, up 755% year over year and 30% above the midpoint of guidance. Management raised FY2026 revenue guidance to $260 million to $270 million, and remaining performance obligations grew 554% year over year to $470 million, a leading indicator that revenue visibility is durable. CEO Niccolo de Masi framed the quarter this way: "We are raising our revenue expectations for the full year to $270 million at the high end, based upon the strong and growing demand for our leading quantum computers." The first 256-qubit system sale to University of Cambridge and DARPA HARQ selection add validation. Retail is leaning back in: r/wallstreetbets sentiment on IONQ has flipped from a bearish 35 score on July 14 to Very Bullish 88 readings across early August, driven by chatter around the completed SkyWater Technology acquisition. Risk: The burn is enormous. FY2026 adjusted EBITDA loss guidance sits at negative $310 million to negative $330 million, Q1 operating cash flow was negative $151.02 million, and stock-based comp alone hit $128.52 million in the quarter. Polymarket traders currently price just a 16% probability that IonQ beats its Q1 earnings report, a reminder that near-term GAAP results can whipsaw. Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ: RGTI): The Balance-Sheet Fortress Rigetti Computing offers the cleanest liquidity profile in the group. The company sits on $569 million in cash and investments with zero debt as of Q1 2026, versus a market cap that leaves a very long runway for R&D. Q1 revenue nearly tripled to $4.4 million from $1.47 million a year earlier, and the 108-qubit Cepheus-1-108Q system went generally available on Rigetti QCS, Amazon Braket, Microsoft Azure Quantum, and qBraid. CEO Subodh Kulkarni called Cepheus-1-108Q "one of the most powerful generally available gate-based quantum computers in the world". Prototype fidelity data is impressive too: two-qubit gate fidelities as high as 99.9% and median 99.8% at 40 nanosecond gate speeds. Add in the up to $100 million UK investment plan to deploy a 1,000+ qubit system and Rigetti has a credible path forward without near-term financing pressure. Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and IonQ didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today. Risk: Revenue is tiny and lumpy. Full-year 2025 revenue came in at $7.09 million, down from $10.79 million in 2024, and the full-year operating loss was $84.66 million. Composite prediction sentiment on RGTI currently reads neutral at 45.81 with medium confidence, reflecting the wide gap between technical progress and commercial traction. D-Wave Quantum (NYSE: QBTS): The Dual-Platform Bet D-Wave Quantum is the only name in the group running both annealing and gate-model architectures. The bookings line tells the story: Q1 bookings surged to $33.40 million, up nearly 2,000% year over year, anchored by a $20 million Florida Atlantic University system agreement and a $10 million enterprise QCaaS deal with an undisclosed Fortune 100 company. Remaining performance obligations grew 563% year over year to $42.4 million, with 54% expected to convert to revenue inside 12 months. CEO Alan Baratz framed the differentiation this way: "As the only quantum computing company pursuing both annealing and gate-model quantum computing systems, we believe that D-Wave is uniquely positioned to participate in the full addressable quantum computing market." Composite prediction sentiment on QBTS registers bullish at 63.59 with medium confidence, the strongest reading of the three. Risk: Reported revenue is jarring. Q1 2026 revenue fell 81% year over year to $2.86 million against a tough comp, and the gate-model roadmap stretches to 2032 for 100 logical qubits. This is a multi-year execution story where investors are being asked to underwrite a 2028-to-2032 payoff. What to Watch Next The near-term catalyst path runs through IONQ’s Q2 earnings report, IBM’s next quantum advantage benchmark disclosure, and any incremental federal contract flow. Polymarket is also tracking an 18.5% probability that the US federal government takes a stake in IonQ, an outcome that would re-rate the entire group. Position sizing should reflect the speculative nature of this basket. The upside case is a genuine commercial quantum advantage moment; the downside case is another sharp drawdown of the magnitude seen in June. Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and IonQ didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today. Contact editorial@247wallst.com for any questions or corrections.