The world of quantum computing has its fair share of believers and sceptics. While some call it the technology of the future that could see many modern technologies like cryptography rendered useless, others warn that practical applications might be years away.
On March 19, Wang Xiaoyun, a professor at Tsinghua University’s Institute for Advanced Study, mentioned that China is likely to start developing national standards for post-quantum cryptography within the next 3 years. This suggests early preparations are already underway to deal with the implications of quantum computing. Reuters quotes the professor as saying:
I personally think that the next three-to-five-year period is potentially one of explosive growth for post-quantum cryptography industry migration (in China).
Similar comments came out of Canada on March 27 when Kim Bolton, president at investment firm Black Swan Dexteritas, said the technology may be in early stages, but it is about to arrive on the big stage:
It may be young, but certainly by the end of this year and the beginning of next year, with all the progress that the scientists and the engineers and so on developers have made, it will be front and centre.
To be able to bet on the technology early, we decided to create a list of the 7 best quantum computing stocks to invest in according to analysts. These are companies that are relatively well-established and well-positioned to be leaders in quantum computing.
Our Methodology
To compile our list of 7 best quantum computing stocks to invest in, according to analysts, we considered only companies that either derive a significant portion of their business from quantum computing products or are developing technologies that would significantly alter how future quantum computing systems are built. These companies have a market cap of at least $1.5 billion. We further narrowed the list to stocks with upside of more than 10% according to Wall Street analysts, then ranked them in ascending order of upside potential.
We have limited our final selection to companies that have recently reported noteworthy developments likely to impact investor sentiment. These stocks are also popular among analysts and elite hedge funds.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 498.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 303 percentage points (see more details here).
Note: All share price data in the article is as per market close on March 27.
7. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) secured an important partnership with leading cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike on March 25. CrowdStrike announced an extended partnership with Intel to improve security for AI-powered PCs. The companies are working together to optimize CrowdStrike’s Falco platform for Intel devices, helping organizations detect threats faster and protect sensitive data. As AI workloads move directly onto devices, security risks are increasing. AI assistants now process sensitive data locally, which expands the attack surface and creates new challenges for organizations.
Daniel Bernard, chief business officer, CrowdStrike, commented:
The rise of AI PCs is changing not just how work gets done, but where execution and risk live. As AI moves directly onto the endpoint, security has to operate where those interactions happen. With Intel as a lead AI PC innovation partner, our collaboration extends Falcon directly into that layer, so customers can protect sensitive data and close the gap between detection and containment.
By combining Falcon’s security capabilities with Intel Corporation’s (NASDAQ:INTC) AI hardware across GPUs, CPUs, and NPUs, the partnership enables real-time threat detection and data protection within AI workflows. It also provides better visibility across users, devices, and cloud activity.
The solutions include features to prevent data leaks, support system recovery, and stop advanced threats using hardware-level intelligence. As a result, this increases the security of Intel’s AI products, helping it potentially become the company of choice for other firms to work with.
Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) is a designer and manufacturer of semiconductors. It designs and manufactures processors and advanced computing technologies, including work in quantum research. Its clients include OEMs, data centers, and enterprise customers around the globe. The company operates in the computing, data center, and Artificial Intelligence markets and is headquartered in the United States.
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