Quantum computing stocks have become known for their massive volatility, something that rang particularly true on May 22. The most followed pure-play quantum computing stocks skyrocketed that day. This includes IonQ (NYSE: IONQ), Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ: RGTI), D-Wave Quantum (NYSE: QBTS), Quantum Computing (NASDAQ: QUBT), and Quantum-Si (NASDAQ: QSI).
All these names rose by at least 14%.
As of the May 23 close, they are all now up at least 60% over the past month. However, three of them are still down in 2025 overall, encapsulating the dramatic swings that characterize quantum stocks.
This volatility is understandable. Quantum computing is still in the early stages of being useful in the real world. Combined, these stocks have generated only around $77 million in revenue over the last 12 months and free cash flow of -$365 million.
Despite this, these five stocks total over $23 billion in market capitalization as of the May 23 close. Naturally, the stock that was the driving force behind the rise, IonQ, was also the largest gainer.
IonQ shares rose over 36%. The company laid out highly ambitious aspirations that got investors very excited.
IonQ’s “Big Green” Vision Creates Billions in Value Overnight
In an interview with financial publication Barron’s, IonQ’s top leader likened the company’s future to one of the world's most successful firms, NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA).
When discussing the future of quantum computing, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Niccolo de Masi told Barron's, “I believe IonQ will be the NVIDIA player. There will be other people who copy us and follow us; they have always copied and followed us.”
This led to IonQ gaining over $3 billion in market capitalization in just one day.
Why Other Quantum Stocks Jumped on the IonQ News
As often happens, other quantum stocks also rallied big-time on the news. Quantum stocks tend to move together because the technology is still far from generating large, steady revenues. Strong positive declarations and events are typically seen as good for all of these firms, signaling a promising path forward for the industry as a whole.
This is especially true as Masi noted that IonQ is “trying to drive ecosystem” around quantum. This suggests that the success of IonQ would lead to the success of other quantum firms and related technologies. This certainly makes some sense when considering the vast ecosystem that has been created around NVIDIA.
NVIDIA’s state-of-the-art graphics processing units (GPUs) lie at the heart of the AI ecosystem. Their success has led to the success of many other firms.
One example is a company like Arista Networks (NYSE: ANET). They make routers and switches that direct the flow of information around data centers.
Arista likely would not have succeeded to the degree it has if not for the downstream demand created for its products due to NVIDIA’s products.
This is true, even though NVIDIA competes with Arista to some extent. Still, Arista benefits as NVIDIA’s chips help grow the overall AI infrastructure pie.
IonQ hopes to establish itself as a similar ecosystem leader as the quantum computing industry progresses.
Short Interest Emphasizes High-Risk-High-Reward Quantum Dynamic
Despite these soaring stock prices, it makes sense to have reasonable apprehension. Becoming the NVIDIA of quantum is exponentially easier said than done.
This statement alone does not seem to justify the roughly $5.2 billion in market value it generated in one day for these five companies combined.
The market's ability to respond in this way is likely one reason why these names all have such high short interest.
Quantum-Si’s percentage of its floated shares sold short is just over 12%, the lowest among these names.
For Rigetti, the figure comes in at 23%. The other three see the number in the mid-to-high teens range.
Sure, these levels of short interest could lead to short squeeze potential, but they also indicate a large amount of bearish sentiment. At the same time, however, these valuations also show the massive long-term potential many see for quantum computing.
Overall, IonQ’s sky-high ambitions are but another interesting turn in the ever-evolving world of quantum computing.