Stocks to Gain From Quantum Computing in 2025: MSFT, IBM, QBTS, IONQ

The quantum computing sector is transitioning from research to practical deployment in 2025, marked by significant engineering advancements and commercialization efforts from key players. Microsoft is advancing scalable topological qubits and cloud integration, while IBM focuses on fault-tolerant systems and industrial-scale platforms. Concurrently, D-Wave reported strong Q2 2025 revenue from its commercial annealing solutions, and IonQ achieved performance milestones and quantum-Internet compatibility, underscoring the accelerating progress toward real-world quantum applications and market opportunities.

Analysis

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ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities. If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel. Stocks to Gain From Quantum Computing in 2025: MSFT, IBM, QBTS, IONQ Read MoreHide Full Article Key Takeaways Microsoft unveiled Majorana 1 and partnerships to scale hardware and cloud-integrated quantum systems. IBM is expanding fault-tolerant platforms with new data centers, global deployments and Nighthawk updates. D-Wave and IonQ highlight revenue gains, hybrid solutions, performance milestones and telecom integration. This year has seen quantum computing being pushed from lab interests toward practical deployments. Vendors and tech giants published official updates showing progress on error correction, larger qubit systems, hybrid quantum-classical stacks and new research centers aimed at real-world use. Google reiterated its Willow roadmap and published research on error correction and scalable chips and NVIDIA (NVDA - Free Report) launched a dedicated “Quantum Day” and announced an Accelerated Quantum Research Center to couple AI supercomputing with quantum research. Pure plays like Rigetti highlighted multi-chip systems and new commercial availability in their quarterly results. Together, these companies have sketched a year of measurable engineering advances and growing commercialization pathways. Below are four stocks expected to gain from quantum computing in 2025. Microsoft’s first-half 2025 quantum computing-based developments center on Majorana 1 and on partnerships to scale quantum hardware and control. Earlier this year, the company unveiled Majorana 1 as a breakthrough topological-qubit processor and a measurement/control approach intended to simplify qubit control and make very large qubit counts practical, positioning Microsoft to pursue a distinct, potentially more scalable hardware path than superconducting or trapped-ion approaches. Microsoft’s focus on developer toolchains and collaborations to accelerate scalable systems suggests the company is pushing both hardware differentiation and cloud integration as its path to commercial quantum advantage. For investors who prefer a diversified tech heavyweight’s exposure to quantum instead of startups, Microsoft’s official roadmap points to multi-front engagement. IBM in 2025 is pursuing a stepwise engineering route to fault-tolerant quantum computing that includes building a new IBM Quantum Data Center and an explicit roadmap toward large-scale, fault-tolerant machines. IBM also highlighted international System Two deployments, including a collaboration with RIKEN, along with continued Nighthawk-family hardware and software releases to expand circuit complexity, all signaling IBM’s investment in data-center-scale infrastructure, strategic partnerships and software stacks to support near-term commercial users and research collaborators. As IBM has outlined, its current focus is on building industrial-scale, co-located classical–quantum platforms and ecosystems that enterprises and governments are likely to adopt first. The company’s 2025 outlook emphasizes steady platform expansion and strategic deployments rather than relying on a single near-term “killer app.” D-Wave is currently emphasizing commercial traction, revenue growth and customer engagement for its quantum annealing and hybrid-solver offerings. In its last-reported second-quarter 2025 result, D-Wave reported stronger year-over-year revenue and rising cash balances. The company has also emphasized user conferences, including Qubits Japan and promoted product updates targeting hybrid workflows. D-Wave continues to highlight its value proposition around already-usable optimization and hybrid solutions (rather than waiting for fault tolerance), pointing to commercial channels where enterprises can deploy quantum-enhanced workflows today. For investors seeking exposure to a vendor selling commercialized quantum services and software, D-Wave shows revenue momentum and active customer outreach. For IonQ, this year is marked by strong performance milestones and strategic technological advancements toward broader utility. Recently, the company announced new AQ performance milestones, surpassing its prior benchmarks and a quantum-Internet related advance converting trapped-ion photon emissions into telecom-band photons, enabling compatibility with existing fiber networks. These developments portray IonQ as pushing both raw system performance and practical networking/connectivity features that would make trapped-ion systems more interoperable with classical telecom infrastructure. IonQ appears focused on performance leadership and ecosystem expansion, two themes that, if realized, will support the company’s long-term commercial case. See More Zacks Research for These Tickers Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE: Image: Bigstock Stocks to Gain From Quantum Computing in 2025: MSFT, IBM, QBTS, IONQ Key Takeaways This year has seen quantum computing being pushed from lab interests toward practical deployments. Vendors and tech giants published official updates showing progress on error correction, larger qubit systems, hybrid quantum-classical stacks and new research centers aimed at real-world use. Google reiterated its Willow roadmap and published research on error correction and scalable chips and NVIDIA (NVDA - Free Report) launched a dedicated “Quantum Day” and announced an Accelerated Quantum Research Center to couple AI supercomputing with quantum research. Pure plays like Rigetti highlighted multi-chip systems and new commercial availability in their quarterly results. Together, these companies have sketched a year of measurable engineering advances and growing commercialization pathways. Below are four stocks expected to gain from quantum computing in 2025. Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) Microsoft’s first-half 2025 quantum computing-based developments center on Majorana 1 and on partnerships to scale quantum hardware and control. Earlier this year, the company unveiled Majorana 1 as a breakthrough topological-qubit processor and a measurement/control approach intended to simplify qubit control and make very large qubit counts practical, positioning Microsoft to pursue a distinct, potentially more scalable hardware path than superconducting or trapped-ion approaches. Microsoft’s focus on developer toolchains and collaborations to accelerate scalable systems suggests the company is pushing both hardware differentiation and cloud integration as its path to commercial quantum advantage. For investors who prefer a diversified tech heavyweight’s exposure to quantum instead of startups, Microsoft’s official roadmap points to multi-front engagement. IBM (IBM - Free Report) IBM in 2025 is pursuing a stepwise engineering route to fault-tolerant quantum computing that includes building a new IBM Quantum Data Center and an explicit roadmap toward large-scale, fault-tolerant machines. IBM also highlighted international System Two deployments, including a collaboration with RIKEN, along with continued Nighthawk-family hardware and software releases to expand circuit complexity, all signaling IBM’s investment in data-center-scale infrastructure, strategic partnerships and software stacks to support near-term commercial users and research collaborators. As IBM has outlined, its current focus is on building industrial-scale, co-located classical–quantum platforms and ecosystems that enterprises and governments are likely to adopt first. The company’s 2025 outlook emphasizes steady platform expansion and strategic deployments rather than relying on a single near-term “killer app.” D-Wave (QBTS - Free Report) D-Wave is currently emphasizing commercial traction, revenue growth and customer engagement for its quantum annealing and hybrid-solver offerings. In its last-reported second-quarter 2025 result, D-Wave reported stronger year-over-year revenue and rising cash balances. The company has also emphasized user conferences, including Qubits Japan and promoted product updates targeting hybrid workflows. D-Wave continues to highlight its value proposition around already-usable optimization and hybrid solutions (rather than waiting for fault tolerance), pointing to commercial channels where enterprises can deploy quantum-enhanced workflows today. For investors seeking exposure to a vendor selling commercialized quantum services and software, D-Wave shows revenue momentum and active customer outreach. IonQ (IONQ - Free Report) For IonQ, this year is marked by strong performance milestones and strategic technological advancements toward broader utility. Recently, the company announced new AQ performance milestones, surpassing its prior benchmarks and a quantum-Internet related advance converting trapped-ion photon emissions into telecom-band photons, enabling compatibility with existing fiber networks. These developments portray IonQ as pushing both raw system performance and practical networking/connectivity features that would make trapped-ion systems more interoperable with classical telecom infrastructure. IonQ appears focused on performance leadership and ecosystem expansion, two themes that, if realized, will support the company’s long-term commercial case. The quantum computing sector is demonstrating a clear transition from theoretical research to practical deployment, marked by significant, measurable engineering and commercialization milestones from key industry players. Large-cap technology firms are pursuing distinct, long-term strategies: Microsoft (MSFT) is focused on hardware differentiation with its Majorana 1 topological-qubit processor, aiming for superior scalability and cloud integration, while IBM is building out an industrial-scale, fault-tolerant ecosystem, evidenced by its new Quantum Data Center and international System Two deployments. In contrast, pure-play quantum companies are targeting more immediate market penetration. D-Wave (QBTS) is gaining commercial traction with its quantum annealing and hybrid-solver offerings, reporting stronger year-over-year revenue and rising cash balances in its second-quarter 2025 results. Concurrently, IonQ (IONQ) is establishing performance leadership, achieving new AQ performance benchmarks and a critical technological advance that enables its trapped-ion systems to integrate with existing telecom fiber networks. These parallel developments underscore a sector-wide acceleration toward creating commercially viable, real-world quantum applications.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Investors should differentiate between quantum investment strategies: diversified exposure through tech heavyweights like Microsoft and IBM, which are building long-term ecosystems, versus higher-risk, pure-play exposure through companies like D-Wave and IonQ, which offer more direct but volatile market participation.
• For those targeting near-term commercialization, D-Wave (QBTS) warrants attention due to its reported Q2 2025 revenue growth and focus on currently deployable hybrid solutions, representing one of the few avenues for exposure to actual quantum-related sales momentum.
• Consider the varied technological roadmaps as a basis for investment theses, weighing Microsoft's novel hardware approach, IBM's focus on a complete fault-tolerant stack, and IonQ's push for raw performance and network interoperability.
• Given the optimistic sentiment and tangible progress across the sector, investors with a long-term horizon could consider the current period as an opportunity to build a strategic allocation, while closely monitoring qubit scalability, error correction milestones, and customer adoption rates as key performance indicators.