Quantum computing is one of the hottest market opportunities on Wall Street. Quantum computers could eventually help society reach new heights in innovation, unlocking lucrative investment opportunities in the process. Investors have piled into quantum computing stocks over the past couple of years in anticipation of this.
While stocks such as IonQ, Rigetti Computing, and D-Wave Quantum have soared over the past couple of years, they are early-stage companies entirely focused on quantum computing. These pure plays are riskier because they have very low floors if their businesses don't pan out.
Instead, investors may want to look toward some safer quantum computing stocks, companies with exposure to the upside of quantum computing, but complement that with established businesses.
These three top tech stocks don't depend on quantum computing, but they still pack enough upside to warrant a closer look.
Image source: Nvidia
1. Nvidia
One of the world's leading semiconductor (chip) design companies, Nvidia (NVDA +2.65%), has become the gold standard for chips used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. It has carved out a competitive moat through its cutting-edge graphics processing units (GPUs) and CUDA programming, as evidenced by the company's explosive growth and illustrated in its latest earnings report.
NASDAQ: NVDA
Key Data Points
AI's constant thirst for computing power creates a natural opportunity for quantum computers, which use quantum mechanics to perform calculations exponentially faster than classical computers. Nvidia has its eyes closely on quantum computing. It has fused quantum computing hardware with its GPUs to create hybrid systems and has developed CUDA-Q, a development platform for quantum computing applications.
Nvidia is wisely covering all of its angles. If quantum computing emerges, Nvidia can adapt to that hardware shift. If not, Nvidia is likely to remain a leading supplier of AI chips for the foreseeable future. It could be a win-win situation, which makes Nvidia an excellent way to invest in quantum computing's potential.
2. Microsoft
Quantum computers would likely be a small puzzle piece for tech conglomerate Microsoft (MSFT +15.51%). It's already diversified across almost every aspect of the tech sector, including consumer and enterprise software, cloud computing, AI, gaming, and more. However, the company's history of pursuing growth wherever opportunities arise makes Microsoft a natural competitor in quantum computing.
NASDAQ: MSFT
Key Data Points
Microsoft's cloud platform Azure is already the world's second-largest cloud services provider, and the company is a leading AI hyperscaler, aggressively investing to build data centers to meet the computing needs of AI and related applications. Microsoft has also been developing quantum computers, including the announcement of Majorana 1, a breakthrough quantum chip, earlier this year.
Again, investors won't get as much upside from Microsoft as they would from most other stocks. The company is too large at this point. However, you almost assuredly won't go broke owning Microsoft stock either, so it's a way to invest in a very speculative technology without losing too much sleep at night.
3. Alphabet
The narrative can shift quickly in tech. Google's parent company, Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (GOOGL -0.91%), was viewed as a potential victim of AI not too long ago. Now, it's arguably the hottest AI stock you'll find on the market. However, Alphabet continues to innovate, including in quantum computing, where its Google Quantum segment is hard at work.
NASDAQ: GOOGL
Key Data Points
Alphabet announced a quantum chip late last year and has shown its ability to develop hardware, as evidenced by the in-house TPU chips it trained its latest AI model, Gemini 3, on. The company has gone from an AI victim to a market darling, with a complete AI stack comprising hardware, a cloud platform, data to train its models, and billions of dollars in cash flow from its other businesses to fund it all.
Alphabet has emerged as an AI power and is pulling ahead in autonomous vehicles. Given that quantum computing is already on Alphabet's radar, its proven track record of innovation and execution makes the company a strong bet for the future. If quantum computing does wind up realizing its potential, you can probably assume that Alphabet will factor somewhere in that.
