While artificial intelligence (AI) has received a lot of attention over the past few years, quantum computing is another emerging technology destined to change how we solve complex problems. Simply put, quantum computing uses the principles of quantum physics to handle calculations far beyond what traditional computers can manage.
One of the premier quantum computing companies is IonQ (IONQ +6.93%). It was the first pure-play quantum computer company to go public when it had its initial public offering in 2021. And over the past year, it has been one of Wall Street's favorite stocks, up over 255% in the past 12 months.
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One reason Wall Street is so bullish on IonQ is its performance relative to competitors. A key metric is its algorithmic qubits (AQ) score, which gives insight into a quantum computing company's reliability and power. A higher score means a company can run more programs without running into errors that throw off its results.
IonQ recently announced that it achieved 99.99% accuracy on key quantum operations, setting a new world record. This means it encounters only one error in 10,000 two-qubit interactions (a critical process that allows quantum bits to work together to perform calculations).
NYSE: IONQ
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The U.S. government has also been in talks to take an equity stake in quantum computing companies (including IonQ), indicating it believes the technology can play a major role in advancing and maintaining America's leadership in tech development.
