The quantum computing space is a great place to find stocks with millionaire potential. This emerging technology has the ability to complement some of the incredible techniques being developed in classical computing in extraordinary ways. Hybrid systems that connect quantum computers with conventional machines can solve problems far beyond the capabilities of the most powerful classical supercomputers.
While quantum computing may not be a relevant industry yet—because the technology is not mature enough for commercial applications—it could become one by 2030. By 2035, many tech industry experts expect it to be in fairly widespread use. With that in mind, investing in emerging quantum computing stocks might be a bit risky right now, but I think they could pay huge dividends if you pick the right stocks.
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According to forecasts released by McKinsey & Company, the quantum computing market could be worth approximately $72 billion per year by 2035. This is the highest point the consulting firm has forecast, while the lowest point is $28 billion. Still, this is a huge market that basically doesn’t exist yet, if Ion Q(NYSE: IONQ) or D wave quantum(NYSE: QBTS) If they can capture a significant portion of that, their investment should be very successful.
But that prediction is ten years from now, and if these two don’t pan out, the opportunity cost for investors will be high.
Every quantum computer is built around qubits, the basic units by which quantum computers store and manipulate data. But there are many different technological approaches to creating these qubits, and players in the field are exploring them all. The most popular is the creation of superconducting qubits, which involves cooling circuits to almost absolute zero – a temperature that enables them to operate according to the principles of quantum mechanics. This technology is used by several well-known technology companies as well as some quantum computing startups.
IonQ uses a trapped ion approach—isolating and supercooling individual atoms to create qubits—while D-Wave uses a more unusual technique called quantum annealing. IonQ’s trapped ion approach offers the advantage of high fidelity, which is important. The main challenge facing all quantum computing systems today is that they are not accurate enough to compete with traditional computing.
IonQ achieved the world’s best 2-qubit gate fidelity score, a common metric for evaluating the accuracy of quantum computers. While most other companies are struggling to cross the 99.9% threshold, IonQ achieved 99.99% fidelity in October 2025. Time will tell if IonQ can maintain its lead, but if it does, it has a good chance of success. While 1 error per 10,000 calculations is better than comparable products, conventional computers have an error rate of about 1 in 5 trillion calculations. (Five billion? That’s a billion times a billion.) So quantum computing is still a long way off.
IonQ and most of its peers are trying to build universal quantum computers suitable for handling a variety of extremely complex problems. D-Wave Quantum is taking a more professional approach. Its quantum annealing system is particularly suited to optimization problems—its technology can quickly find some of the lowest energy points in complex systems that correspond to optimal or near-optimal solutions to the calculations they are handling.
Researchers hope to use quantum computers to solve many other types of problems, but some of the most promising use cases are optimization problems, including logistics networks, weather modeling, artificial intelligence (AI) training and inference, and statistics. If D-Wave can carve out a niche for itself in this space, it could become one of the top quantum computing investments in the long run.
But can any of these stocks make you a millionaire? It’s hard to say. Let’s assume that by 2035, one company can capture the entire $72 billion annual market opportunity. It’s a nearly impossible task, but it shows the maximum upside potential for each stock. If such a company could generate a 50% profit margin on those sales (similar to the best computing hardware companies today), that would translate into $36 billion in profits. If the company traded at 50 times earnings, it would have a market capitalization of $1.8 trillion.
IonQ and D-Wave have market capitalizations of $11.8 billion and $6.7 billion respectively. Therefore, if each stock seizes this market opportunity, their maximum potential 10-year return is approximately 152x to 269x.
These would be huge gains, but they would only happen under the best-case scenario, which is extremely unlikely to happen. I think these stocks are all worth investing in, but investors must understand the risks associated with them. Every company has huge upside potential, but if their technology doesn’t succeed or competitors surpass them, the stock price could drop to $0.
But their advantages are nearly limitless, a proposition that may appeal to risk-tolerant investors. If you want to open a small position (e.g., no more than 1% of your portfolio value), each of these stocks could be a good ticket to add to your collection.
Before buying IonQ stock, consider the following factors:
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Keithen Drury works at IonQ. The Motley Fool has an interest in and recommends IonQ. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
2 Millionaire Maker Quantum Computing Stocks Originally Posted by The Motley Fool
