Comparative analysis of profitability and volatility of AI, QC and mixed companies using fractional integration

Abstract

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The growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing (QC) firms has heightened interest in the financial behavior of these emerging technology sectors. This study applies fractional integration techniques to analyze the persistence of daily returns and volatility in companies specialized in AI, QC, and hybrid AI–QC activities. The results indicate that AI and QC firms exhibit similar degrees of long memory and deterministic behavior in returns, while hybrid companies display less persistent patterns. Volatility, in contrast, shows higher persistence across all groups, yet without significant structural differences. These findings provide novel evidence on the long term dependence underlying daily financial dynamics in high innovation industries, and highlight the usefulness of fractional models for characterizing the stability and risk profile of firms operating in transformative technological domains.