Sifting through countless of stocks in the Software industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Qualys, Inc., IonQ or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Qualys, Inc., IonQ and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Qualys, Inc., IonQ and Inc.

Qualys, Inc. provides cloud-based platform delivering information technology (IT), security, and compliance solutions in the United States and internationally. The company provides Qualys Cloud Apps, which include cybersecurity asset management; enterprise TruRisk management; vulnerability management, detection, and response; total application security; patch management; custom assessment and remediation; multi-vector endpoint detection and response; policy audit; and file integrity monitoring. It offers TotalCloud, a cloud-native application protection platform, which include cloud workload protection, cloud detection and response, cloud security posture management, infrastructure as code, SaaS security posture management, cloud infrastructure and entitlement management, and Kubernetes and container security. In addition, the company markets and sells IT, security, and compliance solutions; offers Qualys' Enterprise TruRisk platform that enables customers to identify and manage IT and operational technology assets; collect and analyze IT security data; discover and prioritize vulnerabilities; quantify cyber risk exposure; recommend and implement remediation actions; and verify the implementation of such actions. Further, it offers asset tagging and management; reporting and dashboards; questionnaires and collaboration; remediation and workflow; big data correlation and analytics engine; and alerts and notifications. The company offers its solutions to enterprises, government entities, and small and medium-sized businesses in various industries, including education, financial services, government, healthcare, insurance, manufacturing, media, retail, technology, and utilities through its sales teams, as well as through security consulting organizations, managed service providers, resellers, cloud providers, and consulting firms. Qualys, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Foster City, California.

IonQ, Inc. develops quantum computing systems in the United States, Switzerland, and Internationally. It sells access to quantum computers of various qubit capacities. The company also makes access to its quantum computers through cloud platforms, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Braket, Microsoft’s Azure Quantum, and Google’s Cloud Marketplace, as well as through its cloud service. The company engages in quantum-safe communications and quantum detection systems. It provides contracts associated with the design, development, construction, and sale of specialized quantum computing hardware systems; maintenance and support services; and consulting services related to co-developing algorithms on quantum computing systems. In addition, it provides semiconductor manufacturing services. The company has a collaboration agreement with University of Chicago. The company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in College Park, Maryland.

Latest Software and Qualys, Inc., IonQ, Inc. Stock News

As of August 3, 2026, Qualys, Inc. had a $5.5 billion market capitalization, compared to the Software median of $1.0 million. Qualys, Inc.’s stock is up 16.5% in 2026, up 14.9% in the previous five trading days and up 16.4% in the past year.

Currently, Qualys, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 27.8. Qualys, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $684.9 million with a 29.4% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 9.8%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $7.577 per share for the current fiscal year. Qualys, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

As of August 3, 2026, IonQ, Inc. had a $14.5 billion market cap, putting it in the 82nd percentile of all stocks. IonQ, Inc.’s stock is down 13.4% in 2026, up 8.2% in the previous five trading days and down 2.56% in the past year.

Currently, IonQ, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 42.2. IonQ, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $187.1 million with a 174.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 751.3%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $-1.164 per share for the current fiscal year. IonQ, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare Qualys, Inc., IonQ and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Qualys, Inc., IonQ and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Qualys, Inc., IonQ and Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Qualys, Inc.	QLYS	D
IonQ, Inc.	IONQ	F

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Qualys, Inc. has a Value Score of 27, which is Expensive. IonQ, Inc. has a Value Score of 6, which is Ultra Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Qualys, Inc., IonQ or Inc. has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Qualys, Inc., IonQ or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

Qualys, Inc., IonQ and Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Qualys, Inc.	QLYS	A
IonQ, Inc.	IONQ	na

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Qualys, Inc. has a Growth Score of 89, which is Very Strong. IonQ, Inc. does not have a meaningful Growth Score.

The Growth Stock Winner: Undetermined

If you are strictly a growth investor, you may want to add Qualys, Inc. to your watch list. However, because only one of the companies in this comparison has a valid Growth Grade, we cannot call it a clear winner. Evaluation of the other grades for both companies is necessary in order to understand which stock is the better investment based on AAII’s proprietary scores and analysis.

Qualys, Inc., IonQ and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Qualys, Inc.	QLYS	B
IonQ, Inc.	IONQ	D

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Qualys, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 65, which is Positive. IonQ, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 21, which is Negative.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Qualys, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Qualys, Inc. has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than IonQ, Inc.. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, Qualys, Inc. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Qualys, Inc., IonQ and Inc. Grades

In addition to Growth, Estimate Revisions and Value, A+ Investor also provides grades for Momentum and Quality.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Qualys, Inc., IonQ and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Qualys, Inc., IonQ or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Qualys, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 27, Growth Score of 89 and Estimate Revisions Score of 65.

IonQ, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 6, Growth Score of and Estimate Revisions Score of 21.

Comparing Qualys, Inc., IonQ and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.