At the moment, quantum computing stocks find themselves in choppy waters after cruising for some time. The benchmark S&P Kensho Global Quantum Computing Technologies Index is up 31.6% in 2026 as of July 20, but the index has shaved off 21.4% in July alone. The decline is a clear sign that despite their run-up earlier in 2026, quantum stocks are deeply speculative and often face severe price swings influenced by government investment and intervention, geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran or China, and a major push by technology companies to commercialize quantum-based artificial intelligence. [Sign up for stock news with our Invested newsletter.] Even so, market experts say the best view to take on quantum stocks, as always, is a long one. If you don’t have the stomach for that, think about asking the captain to drop you off at the next port of call. “The quantum sector is still well funded,” says Jianming Wen, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Binghamton University in New York. “In fact, recent U.S. government support, including a reported $2 billion investment across quantum computing firms, shows that quantum computing is increasingly viewed as a national-security and industrial-competitiveness priority.” Other more specific events, like Quantinuum Inc.’s (ticker: QNT) successful early June IPO, which raised nearly $1.7 billion, also show that investor interest remains strong despite the technology still being in its early stages. Technically, the field has made real progress, especially in quantum error correction, logical qubits and hardware scaling. “Google’s Willow result, for example, demonstrated below-threshold quantum error correction behavior, which is an important milestone toward fault-tolerant quantum computing,” Wen says. Yet Wen advises caution: “We should be careful. This does not mean large-scale commercial quantum computers are already here, although the practical commercial timeline is likely staged.” What it