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Hyperscalers Bet on AI & Quantum: Watch GOOGL, AMZN, IBM in September
The AI buildout is no longer a future investment game. Hyperscalers are committing hundreds of billions of dollars to data centers, accelerators, networking and power infrastructure to meet surging demand for AI workloads. The scale is evident in Alphabet’s planned $195-$205 billion of 2026 capital spending, while Google Cloud revenues jumped 82% year over year in the second quarter of 2026.
Quantum computing is following a different path. Governments and corporations are increasing funding as the technology moves closer to practical applications, but commercial revenues remain far smaller and the investment timeline considerably longer. The U.S. government recently committed $300 million under the CHIPS and Science Act to D-Wave Quantum QBTS, Rigetti Computing RGTI and QuantinuumQNT--, with each company receiving $100 million in R&D funding in exchange for minority government stakes. Yet D-WaveQBTS-- and RigettiRGTI-- remained more than 25% below their 2026 starting levels even after the announcement.
This divergence matters for investors in the rest of September. Rather than chasing volatile pure-play quantum stocks, investors can gain exposure to the longer-term quantum opportunity through established technology companies that are already generating substantial AI and cloud revenue. IBM IBM, Alphabet GOOGL and Amazon AMZN offer three different ways to participate in this convergence while relying on businesses with current commercial demand to support the investment case.
AI Infrastructure Has a Longer Runway
The scale of the AI buildout supports this approach. PwC estimatesglobal data-center capital spending to reach $31.6 trillion through 2050, with annual spending rising from about $800 billion in 2026 to $1.8 trillion by 2050. The firm expects recurring server, GPU and other equipment upgrades to drive much of the long-term investment.
Per McKinsey, quantum-computing companies generated more than $1 billion of revenues in 2025, with potential to rise to $4.4 billion by 2028. More than 300 companies are already experimenting with quantum technology, but McKinsey also notes that the return on investment remains difficult to quantify because many applications are still experimental or hybrid.
This favors diversified technology leaders over pure-play quantum companies for the remainder of 2026.
3 Stocks to Watch in September
Alphabet: It offers a combination of hyperscaler economics, AI monetization and quantum optionality. Google Cloud revenues jumped 82% year over yearin the second quarter of 2026, while Cloud backlog reached $514 billion. Alphabet also raised its 2026 capital-spending guidance to $195-$205 billion, with AI infrastructure driving a significant portion of the investment.
Alphabet is also advancing its quantum-computing efforts. Google Quantum AI expanded its research into neutral-atom systems in 2026 and expects commercially relevant quantum computers to become available by the end of the decade. This gives GOOGLGOOGL-- exposure to quantum computing without relying on near-term quantum revenues.
GOOGL is projected to report full-year 2026 earnings growth of 89.6% on revenue growth of 26%. The stock carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
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Amazon: Its AI-led development is increasingly centered on AWS, where growth is accelerating as customers expand AI workloads. AWS sales surged 37% year over year in the second quarter, its fastest growth in 18 quarters, pushing the business to a $169 billion annualized revenue run rate. AmazonAMZN-- also said its AI business surpassed a $25 billion annual revenue run rate, growing at a triple-digit rate.
Amazon is expanding its AI infrastructure ecosystem through custom chips and recently entered a long-term partnership with Qualcomm under which it could purchase up to $60 billion of AI data-center chips and related products. The companies are also developing custom silicon and optical connectivity solutions for AI data centers, with the initial focus on AI inference. AWS also operates Amazon Braket, giving customers cloud access to multiple quantum-computing architectures.
AMZN is projected to report full-year 2026 earnings growth of 82.2% on revenue growth of 15.7%. The stock carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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IBM: It provides the strongest direct quantum exposure among the three while retaining a substantial enterprise AI and hybrid-cloud business. In the second quarter of 2026, software revenues increased 5% with Hybrid Cloud (Red Hat) revenues up 11% and Data revenues up 19%. IBMIBM-- expects 2026 constant-currency revenue growth of 4%-5% and plans to invest more than $10 billion in quantum over the next five years.
IBM's quantum roadmap targets quantum advantage in 2026 and a large-scale fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2029. The company also announced a quantum innovation hub with Lockheed Martin in Switzerland this week, with an IBM Quantum System Two to be deployed at the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre. The initiative expands IBM's quantum ecosystem across research, government and industrial applications.
IBM is projected to report full-year 2026 earnings growth of 6.4% on revenue growth of 4.3%. The stock carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN): Free Stock Analysis Report
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM): Free Stock Analysis Report
Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL): Free Stock Analysis Report
Rigetti Computing, Inc. (RGTI): Free Stock Analysis Report
D-Wave Quantum Inc. (QBTS): Free Stock Analysis Report
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