Quantum meme stock was smashed by Jensen Huang
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang admitted yesterday that quantum computing applications will take several decades to materialize. Related concept stocks plummeted in after-hours trading, with IonQ and Quantum Computing seeing their stock prices drop by more than 16% at one point. Previously, these companies' stock prices soared due to market expectations of the potential of related technologies, with Quantum Computing's price increasing by over 1800% in the past 12 months
The recently heated quantum computing sector was doused with cold water by Jensen Huang, causing several "potential stocks" to plummet overnight.
On Tuesday, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang candidly stated during the Q&A session of the company's Analyst Day that "very useful" quantum computers may still take decades to arrive. He remarked:
"If we say that very useful quantum computers will appear in fifteen years, that might be too early. If we say thirty years, that might be a bit too pessimistic; if we say twenty years, I think many of us would believe that."
Jensen Huang's comments triggered a strong reaction in the capital markets. Stocks related to the quantum computing concept plummeted in after-hours trading. Among them, IonQ and Quantum Computing saw their stock prices drop by over 16% at one point, while D-Wave Quantum and Rigetti Computing's stock prices also fell by more than 14%, though the declines have since narrowed.
In recent months, the stocks of these companies had been highly sought after due to market expectations of the enormous potential of quantum computing technology, with stock prices soaring. Especially after Google's parent company Alphabet made breakthrough progress in quantum computing last December, market excitement was further boosted, and the company's stock price achieved its best monthly performance since May 2023 at one point that month.
Other companies also experienced significant stock price increases for a period. As of Tuesday's close of U.S. stocks, Quantum Computing's stock price had surged over 1800% in the past 12 months, reaching $17.49 per share; Rigetti's stock price also rose over 1500% to $18.39 during the same period; D-Wave and IonQ's stock prices achieved nearly 1000% and over 300% increases, respectively, at $9.55 per share and $49.59 per share.
