Quantum computing stocks soar, then fall, in holiday week trading. What's up with D-Wave, Rigetti, and IonQ?

"The exact catalyst spurring those increases is unclear. It may have initially been sparked in part by D-Wave's Monday announcement that it would be attending the CES 2026 trade show next month. The Palo Alto-based company plans to showcase its "award-winning annealing quantum computing technology, hybrid quantum-classical solvers, and real-world customer use cases that are demonstrating measurable performance benefits, often beyond classical computing alone.""

"A June report published by McKinsey & Company dug into the appeal, saying that "surging investment and faster-than-expected innovation could propel the quantum market to $100 billion in a decade." It added that as quantum computing startups have received more funding from both public and private sources, the technology itself has started seeing more commercial deployment, and companies are also making progress in patenting the technology they're developing."

"Publicly traded quantum computing firms have captivated investors over the past year or more, despite the speculative nature of the underlying technology that some say will transform the computer industry. Year-to-date growth for these stocks has been mostly impressive and in some cases eye-popping. As of Tuesday morning, D-Wave shares are up 235% since January 1. IonQ shares are up 25%, and Rigetti shares are up 34%. The outlier is Quantum Computing Inc., which has seen its stock price fall 35% year-to-date."

Shares of multiple publicly traded quantum computing companies jumped sharply, with D-Wave Quantum rising about 15%, Quantum Computing Inc. up 11%, and IonQ and Rigetti up roughly 10%. D-Wave announced attendance at CES 2026 and said it will showcase annealing quantum technology, hybrid solvers, and commercial use cases delivering measurable performance benefits. Investors have shown growing interest in quantum firms amid surging funding, faster-than-expected innovation, and increased patenting and commercial deployments. McKinsey estimated the quantum market could reach $100 billion within a decade. Year-to-date gains vary widely, including D-Wave's 235% rise and Quantum Computing Inc.'s 35% decline.

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