IBM vs MSFT
Side-by-side quantum stock comparison: market cap, share price, classification, and thesis.
Market cap, head to head
Stat-by-stat
| Metric | IBM | MSFT |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Diversified | Diversified |
| Segment | Hardware + Software | Hardware + Software |
| Exchange | NYSE | NASDAQ |
| Country | US | US |
| Market cap | $235.62B | $3.09T |
| Share price | $250.69 | $416.03 |
| Employees | 270,300 | 228,000 |
| Sector | Technology | Technology |
| Industry | Information Technology Services | Software - Infrastructure |
Quantum thesis
IBM runs the most mature commercial quantum program of any public company. IBM Quantum operates a fleet of superconducting processors over the cloud, publishes a detailed hardware roadmap, and ships Qiskit, the most widely used open-source quantum software stack. Quantum is a tiny share of IBM revenue, but no other diversified bet has more direct quantum exposure or a longer track record.
Full IBM page →Quantum thesis
Microsoft is pursuing topological qubits with its Majorana hardware program while offering Azure Quantum as a cloud aggregator of partner hardware. The topological bet is high-risk and high-reward: if the underlying physics holds up, the resulting qubits would be intrinsically more stable than any competing approach. Software side: the Q# language and Azure Quantum job orchestration.
Full MSFT page →