Key Points
Quantum computing stocks are on fire, with investors clearly excited about this $850 billion addressable opportunity.
Insiders at pure-play quantum computing companies IonQ, Rigetti, and D-Wave have been decisive net sellers of their company's shares over the last five years.
Quantum computing stock valuations are astronomical, and history hasn't been too kind to game-changing innovations in their early stages.
- 10 stocks we like better than IonQ ›
Although artificial intelligence (AI) has been Wall Street's hottest trend over the last four years, it's quantum computing stocks that have outperformed AI stocks. As of mid-October 2025, trailing 12-month returns for IonQ (NYSE: IONQ), Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ: RGTI), and D-Wave Quantum (NYSE: QBTS) were up to 6,217%!
While sizable addressable opportunities -- Boston Consulting Group foresees quantum computing adding up to $850 billion in global economic value by 2040 -- and early stage deals have investors excited about this new technology, this trio has collectively sounded a $931 million warning that's reverberating through Wall Street.
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The people who know quantum computing stocks best are telling a worrisome tale
Amid the hype about real-world use cases for this game-changing technology, we've witnessed a pattern emerge among the individuals who know IonQ, Rigetti, and D-Wave the best: their insiders.
An "insider" is a high-ranking executive, board member, or beneficial owner of at least 10% of a company's outstanding shares who may possess non-public information. For the sake of transparency, as well as to follow securities law, insiders are required to file Form 4 with the Securities and Exchange Commission within two days of transacting in their company's stock. In other words, if an insider buys or sells stock, including exercising option contracts, it needs to be filed with regulators.
Over the trailing five years, insiders at IonQ, Rigetti Computing, and D-Wave Quantum have been decisive net sellers of their company's shares:
- IonQ: $576,017,989 in net selling
- Rigetti: $60,258,276 in net selling
- D-Wave: $294,956,821 in net selling
In aggregate, pure-play quantum computing insiders have sold approximately $931 million more in stock than they purchased since mid-May 2021.
The caveat to the above data is that most high-ranking executives and board members receive the bulk of their compensation in stock and/or options. Insiders typically have to sell a portion of their shares to cover their federal and/or state tax liability. Tax-based selling isn't nefarious and shouldn't concern investors.
But the other side of the coin is equally disturbing. Whereas several reasons exist to sell a stock, not all of which are inherently bad, there's only one reason for an insider to buy shares of their company: the expectation of future appreciation.
Over the same trailing five-year period, IonQ's insiders have spent just $3.35 million buying their company's shares, while insider buying at Rigetti Computing ($625,000) and D-Wave Quantum ($309,080) has been even more anemic.
Insiders likely recognize how historically expensive quantum computing stocks are at this early stage of commercialization. Historically, a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 30 for companies at the forefront of game-changing trends has proven unsustainable over the long term. As of this writing on May 22, IonQ, Rigetti, and D-Wave are trading at P/S ratios of 109, 836, and 791, respectively.
Furthermore, history hasn't been kind to next-big-thing trends over the last 30 years. Every hyped trend has endured an early innings bubble-bursting event, brought about by investors overestimating the adoption and/or optimization of an innovation. Quantum computing has neither widespread adoption nor a path to rapid enterprise optimization.
Although quantum computing stocks are scorching-hot yet again, the actions of their insiders should give investors pause.
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Sean Williams has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends IonQ. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
