Keithen Drury, The Motley Fool

Fri, Jun 13, 2025, 2:30 AM5 min read

• Rigetti Computing and IonQ use different approaches to quantum computing.

• Both companies have adequate cash levels to fund current operations.

• 10 stocks we like better than IonQ ›

Quantum computing stocks are still quite hot in the market, although their week-to-week performance can be incredibly volatile. For example, one of the more popular quantum computing plays, Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ: RGTI), set a new all-time high right at the end of 2024, but plunged 70% just a few weeks into 2025. Now, it's only off around 40% from its all-time high. One of its peers, IonQ (NYSE: IONQ), has also seen extreme volatility, although not quite the same level as Rigetti.

Of these two, is one a more attractive stock to buy? Although quantum computing is still a few years away from being widely used commercially, any quantum company could have a breakthrough at a moment's notice, and send shares soaring. That alone is enough to get some investors excited about the stocks, but I think there's one pick that might prevail in this analysis.

Both IonQ and Rigetti are quantum computing start-ups that rely on external funding to continue their operations. Both companies have issued more shares, taken on debt, and received contracts for their work. Basically, any funding source that's outside of actual profitability. Until these companies can prove quantum computing's relevance to everyday problems, they will be in this external funding state, which makes examining cash piles and resource burn critical.

Free cash flow (FCF) is an excellent measure of understanding how much cash is burning each quarter, as it utilizes operating cash flow and subtracts capital expenditures from that figure as well. For unprofitable companies like IonQ and Rigetti Computing, this allows investors to understand how long their current cash pile would last if operations continued in their present state.

IonQ has around 16 quarters of cash left, and Rigetti has about 13 quarters left. However, Rigetti Computing is also undergoing a capital raise, as it is issuing enough stock to generate $350 million in additional funds for the company. This will ensure the company's finances and allow it to invest more aggressively in its quantum computing capabilities.

Both companies believe that 2030 will be a turning point for quantum computing. IonQ believes it will be profitable by then, and Rigetti points out that the quantum computing market will dramatically expand in the decade following 2030.