<div id="readability-page-1"><p>D-Wave Quantum Inc. ((QBTS)) has held its Q1 earnings call. Read on for the main highlights of the call.</p><h3>Claim 55% Off TipRanks</h3>Forget margin or options. Here's how the pros trade QBTS <p>D-Wave Quantum’s latest earnings call painted a split-screen picture of rapid commercial and technical momentum against a backdrop of weak near-term financials. Management emphasized record bookings, a swelling backlog, and strong liquidity post-acquisition, even as GAAP revenue plunged, losses widened, and system sales remained unevenly recognized across quarters.</p> <h2>Record Bookings Signal Demand Inflection</h2> <p>Bookings surged to $33.4 million in Q1 2026, up nearly 2,000% year over year and 149% sequentially, underscoring strengthening demand for D-Wave’s quantum offerings. Management framed this as evidence that larger customers are starting to commit to multi-year engagements rather than small pilots.</p> <h2>Backlog and RPO Provide Revenue Visibility</h2> <p>Remaining performance obligations jumped to $42.4 million, rising 563% year over year and 216% quarter over quarter, providing investors with improved line of sight on future revenue. The company expects roughly 54% of this backlog to be recognized within 12 months and 71% within two years, suggesting a multi-year ramp.</p> <h2>Liquidity Strengthened by Quantum Circuits Deal</h2> <p>Cash and marketable securities reached $588.4 million at quarter-end, up 93% from a year ago despite a $250 million cash outlay for the Quantum Circuits acquisition. Management argued this war chest gives D-Wave a fully funded path to profitability while it invests heavily in its technology roadmap and go-to-market engine.</p> <h2>Expanding Commercial Footprint and Customer Diversity</h2> <p>D-Wave recognized revenue from more than 100 customers in the quarter, with commercial clients representing over half of the base and about 73% of the $2.9 million in revenue. Over two dozen commercial accounts drove roughly 31% of bookings, highlighted by a $20 million system sale to Florida Atlantic University that showcases growing appetite for on-premise systems.</p> <h2>Recurring QCaaS and Services Revenue Climb</h2> <p>Quantum-computing-as-a-service subscription revenue reached $1.8 million, up nearly 15% year over year, signaling steady growth in recurring usage-based business. Professional services revenue grew even faster, rising over 26% to $1.0 million as customers increasingly tap D-Wave for implementation and co-development support.</p> <h2>Acquisition Accelerates Gate-Model Roadmap</h2> <p>The Quantum Circuits acquisition is central to D-Wave’s push into gate-model quantum computing, where it reported promising dual-rail qubit metrics including the ability to catch about 90% of errors as they occur. The company cited an observed erasure rate near 0.5%, fidelity above 99.9% on small systems, and a potential tenfold reduction in physical qubits per logical qubit versus conventional approaches.</p> <h2>Long-Term Gate-Model Milestones Set</h2> <p>Management laid out an ambitious roadmap targeting around 175 physical qubits by the end of 2028, followed by approximately 10 logical qubits by 2030 and 100 by 2032. With only 8 operational qubits today and 17 expected by year-end, D-Wave acknowledged that meaningful commercial impact from gate-model systems remains several years away and contingent on successful scaling and error correction.</p> <h2>Early Proof Points in Blockchain and Quantum-AI</h2> <p>In blockchain, Postquant Labs’ TestNet has attracted more than 18,500 sign-ups and over 1,600 nodes, with D-Wave’s Advantage2 processor reportedly winning the majority of blocks versus classical nodes. In quantum-AI, a collaboration with Shionogi yielded a tenfold increase in promising molecules in a drug discovery project compared with a classical machine-learning baseline.</p> <h2>Pipeline Growth and Larger Deal Sizes</h2> <p>The company said the dollar value of its sales pipeline has more than doubled since Q4 2025, with average potential deal size also more than doubling over that span. This expanding pipeline underpins management’s expectation of selling two to three systems per year, up from its earlier assumption of just one annually.</p> <h2>Ongoing Product and R&amp;D Advances</h2> <p>On the technology side, D-Wave highlighted multicolor annealing protocols that enable certain gate-model-like operations on its Advantage2 platform. It also reported progress on multichip processors and a new scalable I/O architecture, with prototype masks and chips ready for testing to support future performance and scale.</p> <h2>Revenue Drops Sharply on System Sale Comparison</h2> <p>Total revenue fell to $2.9 million, down 81% from $15.0 million a year earlier, primarily due to the absence of a large $12.6 million system sale recorded in the prior-year quarter. GAAP gross profit slid 87% to $1.8 million, and gross margin compressed to 63.6% from 92.5%, reflecting a less favorable mix and lower scale.</p> <h2>Operating Expenses and Losses Balloon</h2> <p>GAAP operating expenses climbed to $56.5 million, up 125% year over year, while non-GAAP operating expenses rose 73% to $34.8 million as the company ramped hiring in sales, marketing, and R&amp;D. Net loss widened to $18.4 million, or $0.05 per share, and adjusted EBITDA loss expanded to $32.8 million, underscoring the cost of D-Wave’s growth strategy.</p> <h2>Revenue Timing Volatility Remains a Risk</h2> <p>Management stressed that system sales require lengthy processes such as site preparation, installation, and calibration, which can push revenue recognition across multiple quarters. This complexity contributes to lumpy top-line results and a heavy concentration of expected revenue in the second half of 2026, with limited detail offered on the precise mix of deferred revenue.</p> <h2>Bookings Still Skewed to Big and Academic Deals</h2> <p>A substantial piece of Q1 bookings came from the single $20 million Florida Atlantic University system sale and other research and education customers. While the company is adding more commercial accounts, the academic tilt of some large deals suggests that D-Wave’s commercialization curve, particularly in enterprise adoption, is still in its early stages.</p> <h2>Sentiment Tempered by Commercial and Technical Uncertainty</h2> <p>Investors were reminded that D-Wave’s gate-model hardware is only at 8 qubits today, with 17 targeted by year-end, making large-scale commercial applications a medium- to long-term prospect. The path to achieving 10 and then 100 logical qubits by 2030 and 2032 respectively is technically demanding, leaving execution risk around timelines, performance, and monetization.</p> <h2>Guidance Points to Modest Near-Term Growth</h2> <p>For the near term, management expects Q2 revenue to rise modestly from Q1’s $2.9 million, with a substantial share of 2026 revenue back-end loaded into the second half. They anticipate delivering at least two systems this year and reiterate a target of two to three system sales annually, leaning on the $42.4 million backlog and strong dual-rail roadmap metrics to support a multi-year growth narrative.</p> <p>D-Wave’s earnings call offered a classic high-risk, high-reward profile: explosive bookings, a fortified balance sheet, and cutting-edge technology offset by steep losses, lumpy revenue, and long-dated gate-model milestones. For investors, the story hinges on whether the company can convert its swelling backlog and early application wins into durable, profitable growth over the coming years.</p></div>

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<p>D-Wave Quantum Inc. reported significant growth in bookings and backlog during its Q1 earnings call, with bookings reaching $33.4 million, a 2,000% increase year-over-year. Despite this, the company faced rising losses, with total revenue dropping to $2.9 million, an 81% decline from the previous year. Operating expenses surged by 125%, leading to a net loss of $18.4 million. The company emphasized strong liquidity post-acquisition and a focus on expanding its commercial footprint, while also outlining ambitious long-term goals for its gate-model quantum computing roadmap.</p>

D-Wave Quantum Balances Rapid Growth With Rising Losses