Over the past year, Trump has repeatedly stressed the importance of quantum computing, arguing that the U.S. should establish an early lead over China.

Thursday’s development sparked widespread optimism for the industry.

However, some traders argued the gains might not hold due to the weak fundamentals of the companies in question, the early-stage nature of quantum computing, and high short interest.

Shares of Rigetti Computing (RGTI), D-Wave Quantum (QBTS), and Infleqtion (INFQ) surged more than 30% on Thursday — adding nearly $4.9 billion in combined market value in a single session — and climbed another 7% in overnight trading after the Trump administration announced $100 million grants for each company as part of a broader $2 billion package aimed at boosting the U.S. quantum computing industry.

Shares of IonQ, another leading player that was left off the initial award list, rose 12%, apparently because the government said it “continues to solicit proposals from eligible applicants.”

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Over the past year, Trump has repeatedly stressed the importance of quantum computing, a fast-emerging deep-tech industry where he believes the U.S. should establish an early lead over China. Even broad or speculative pro-quantum comments from Trump or other officials have often sparked outsized rallies in quantum stocks, and the sector remains heavily driven by sentiment and expectations of future government funding and commercialization.

On Thursday, RGTI had its best single-day gains in over a year, while QBTS’ gains were the best since last May, and INFQ had its best day on record.

Retail View Turns Bullish, Some Worry About Durability Of Gains

The development sparked widespread enthusiasm for RGTI, QBTS and INFQ among retail investors on Stocktwits, with sentiment turning “extremely bullish” on all three. Still, pockets of skepticism remained.

Some traders argued the surge in valuations was disproportionate to the size of the grants, while the usual risks tied to the companies’ early-stage development, unproven commercial viability and elevated short interest — particularly in Rigetti Computing and D-Wave Quantum — remained in place.

The debate centered on whether the gains would sustain or fizzle out, with some traders opportunistically booking profits into the rally.

“Receives 100M from Socialist Captialism and stonk price adds 2310M market cap. Can someone explain!?” said a trader.

Another wrote: “$RGTI imagine making 4 million in revenue as a loss making company with failing R&D milestones and youre up 40% in a day. you've just added 3 billion in market cap in a week. feeling pretty good, huh?”