Here's How D-Wave Quantum's Profitability Remains Under Pressure
D-Wave Quantum’s QBTS revenues remain uneven and dependent on large system contracts, making quarterly performance susceptible to volatility. System sales fell to just $0.3 million in the first half of 2026 from $13.7 million a year earlier.
The company expects most fiscal 2026 revenues in the fourth quarter as two annealing systems reach acceptance milestones. Any delays in installation or calibration could defer some of these revenues to 2027. Although backlog and deferred revenues provide some future visibility, recurring QCaaS revenues are not yet large enough to offset fluctuations in system sales.
Additionally, D-Wave’s gate-model business is at an early stage, with targets extending through 2032 and requiring continued progress in device fabrication, packaging and control-system scaling. Delays in foundry capacity, multi-chip interconnects or customer adoption could further postpone gate-model QCaaS revenues and system sales.
Expense intensity also remains high as the company funds both near-term commercialization and a multi-year technology roadmap. Second-quarter 2026 operating expenses rose 93% year over year, led by higher R&D, G&A and sales and marketing costs, including increased headcount, stock-based compensation and acquisition-related amortization. The company expects these expenses to remain elevated, making stronger recurring revenue growth important for improving profitability.
Peer Update
IonQ’s IONQ revenue recognition depends on delivery schedules and performance obligations, even though larger platform agreements increase contract size and product breadth. In the second quarter, remaining performance obligations increased to $485 million from $470 million in the first quarter.
However, about half is expected to convert to revenues within the next 12 months. IonQ continues to report significant losses as it invests in R&D and manufacturing. Adjusted EBITDA loss was $120.3 million in the second quarter, while R&D expenses rose to $160.6 million, keeping profitability dependent on stronger revenue growth. Also, IonQ’s roadmap depends on successful fabrication, commissioning and deployment of next-generation systems. Any delay could increase costs and defer revenue recognition.
Rigetti’s RGTI revenue profile remains tied to the timing of system deliveries and milestone-based development work rather than recurring commercial usage. Revenues reached $5.1 million in the second quarter of 2026, up from $1.8 million a year earlier, driven mainly by sales of 9-qubit Novera systems and related products.
However, concentration remains high, with one customer accounting for 64% of second-quarter 2026 revenues and another for 16%. Rigetti continues to fund a large research and infrastructure program against a small revenue base.
Operating expenses rose 48% year over year to $30.3 million, including a 53% increase in R&D to $20.7 million. Rigetti’s path to quantum advantage still requires simultaneous progress in scale, fidelity, coherence, controls and error correction.
QBTS’ Price Performance
Over the past year, QBTS’ shares have lost 10.5% compared with the broader Internet Software industry’s 10.6% decline. The S&P composite has risen 16.2% in the same time frame.
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QBTS’ Expensive Valuation
QBTS currently trades at a forward 12-month Price-to-Sales (P/S) of 88.18X compared with the industry average of 4.16X.
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QBTS Stock Estimate Trend
In the past 30 days, the company’s loss per share estimate for 2026 has remained unchanged.
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QBTS stock currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
