Main takeaways
- D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) reported third-quarter revenue of $4.5 million, up 21% from $3.7 million a year earlier.
- Nine-month revenue was $10.4 million, down 52% from $21.8 million. Nine-month bookings rose 611% to $37.4 million.
- Orders not yet recorded as revenue were $38.3 million on September 30, up from $2.9 million. D-Wave expects about 59% as revenue within 12 months.
- The U.S. Commerce Department received 7.1 million shares at $14.093 each under an award of up to $100 million, paid on milestones.
- Next: D-Wave said in May that installation of a $20 million Florida Atlantic University system would start before the end of 2026.
D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) reported third-quarter revenue of $4.5 million, up 21% from $3.7 million a year earlier, and a net loss of $48.2 million, the company said in its results release on November 10. Orders signed but not yet recorded as revenue stood at $38.3 million on September 30, more than three times the $10.4 million of revenue D-Wave recorded in the first nine months of 2026.
That nine-month revenue was down 52% from $21.8 million in the same period of 2025, according to the income statement in the release, which D-Wave filed in an 8-K on November 10. In the third quarter, services and cloud revenue rose and system sales fell by $1.5 million.
Most of the nine-month decline came from system sales. The first half of 2025 held $13.7 million of them and the first half of 2026 held $0.3 million, the second-quarter filing shows.
Bookings, which D-Wave defines as customer orders expected to produce revenue later, were $1.9 million in the quarter, down 19% from a year earlier. For the nine months they were $37.4 million, up 611% from about $5.3 million. D-Wave said bookings in a single quarter can vary a lot with the timing of large orders. The nine-month figure includes a $20 million system purchase by Florida Atlantic University, booked in the first quarter. Installation is expected to start before the end of 2026, D-Wave said in May.
The $38.3 million counts orders that cannot be cancelled and for which the work is not yet done. It was $2.9 million a year earlier.
The operating loss grew to $53.5 million from $27.7 million. The net loss was smaller than the $140.0 million of a year earlier because that quarter carried a $121.9 million non-cash charge for revaluing warrants, which have since been redeemed.
Cash and marketable securities were $503.4 million on September 30, down from $884.5 million on December 31, 2025. In those nine months D-Wave paid $252.8 million, net of cash acquired, to buy a business and used $109.0 million in operations.
The Commerce Department award
D-Wave builds quantum annealing machines. Quantum annealing is a kind of quantum computing made for optimization: finding the best answer among a very large number of possible ones, in D-Wave’s description.
The award was signed in September. An 8-K/A filed on September 9 says D-Wave issued 7,095,721 shares to the Department at $14.093 each, about 1.9% of the 374.1 million weighted-average shares it reported for the third quarter. The money, up to $100 million under the CHIPS and Science Act, comes in installments as D-Wave meets milestones, the results release said. Rigetti Computing (RGTI) has an award of up to $100 million that also gave the Department an equity stake, Rigetti said on November 10.
Why it matters
- Company: D-Wave Quantum (QBTS).
- Revenue: D-Wave expects about 59% of the $38.3 million, about $22.6 million, to be recorded as revenue within 12 months of September 30. Revenue in the first nine months of 2026 was $10.4 million.
- Cash: $503.4 million equals about 14 quarters of the average operating cash use in the first nine months of 2026. That count leaves out acquisitions and the award.
- Next: D-Wave said in May that installation of the Florida Atlantic University system would start before the end of 2026. The November 10 release does not update that timing. The release gives no revenue outlook and no date for the fourth-quarter report.
The Many Worlds Team
Last checked 2026-11-12
Sources
- D-Wave Quantum, third-quarter 2026 results release, November 10, 2026: https://www.dwavequantum.com/company/newsroom/press-release/d-wave-reports-third-quarter-2026-results/
- D-Wave Quantum, the same release with its financial statements, Exhibit 99.1 to a Form 8-K filed November 10, 2026: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001907982/000190798226000180/qbts-20261110xexx991.htm
- D-Wave Quantum, Form 8-K/A on the Commerce Department agreements, filed September 9, 2026: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1907982/000190798226000144/qbts-20260904.htm
- D-Wave Quantum, “What is quantum computing?”, on quantum annealing: https://www.dwavequantum.com/learn/quantum-computing/
