D-Wave Quantum Stock Is Up Over 200% Over the Last Year. Time to Buy?
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By Will Healy – Jan 12, 2026 at 8:45AM ESTKey PointsShares of D-Wave Quantum have rewarded investors with huge gains over the past year.The tech upstart has stood out by making advancements in commercial quantum computing.But the company's financials and valuation present challenges for prospective investors.CEO says this is worth 18 Nvidias. Will this make the world's first trillionaire? ›NYSE: QBTSD-Wave QuantumMarket Cap$9.8BToday's Changeangle-down(0.87%) $0.24Current Price$28.36Price as of January 12, 2026 at 9:50 AM ETCan the stock price increases continue, or has the stock set itself up for a pullback?D-Wave Quantum (QBTS +0.87%) benefited from the bull market in quantum computing stocks in 2025. Amid those gains, the stock rose more than 380% over the previous 12 months. Unfortunately, such gains leave prospective investors wondering what to do about this stock. Should they interpret that gain as a signal to buy D-Wave Quantum stock, or does it signify that the stock's run has ended and investors should stay away? Image source: Getty Images. Why D-Wave Quantum At first glance, D-Wave Quantum may look similar to other emerging quantum computing companies. Quantum computing promises exponentially faster speeds than traditional computing. That advancement points to potential applications in fields ranging from materials science to finance to cybersecurity. To that end, many companies, including D-Wave Quantum, have emerged with the explicit purpose of capitalizing on this opportunity. The company bills itself as the "practical quantum computing company," and as that moniker implies, its unique approach is to foster large-scale commercial applications. That helps the industry address a perception that quantum computing is primarily a research tool. More recently, D-Wave also announced a breakthrough in the technology. One challenge has been to gather enough bits to run an application while keeping the bits cool enough to function properly. The company claims it has solved this problem through multiplexing (which improves chip communication), bump bonding (stacking a control chip and a quantum processing unit), and controlling quantum bits (qubits) through the use of magnetic fields. Assessing D-Wave Quantum's financials Additionally, the company said in the quarterly report in the third quarter of 2025 that it had $836 million in liquidity, giving it more investment capital for research. However, the financials also highlight the difficulties that come with investing in D-Wave Quantum stock. Its revenue in the first nine months of 2025 was just under $22 million, a 235% increase compared to the same period in 2024.Advertisement Unfortunately, that rise did little to offset the increase in operating expenses. Also, the results took a hit from a $260 million change in the change in fair value of warrant liabilities. Consequently, D-Wave's net loss in the first three quarters of 2025 was $313 million, up from a $58 million loss in the same year-ago period. Still, while the net losses may appear concerning, the $56 million in negative free cash flow for the first nine months of 2025 is a more critical figure to investors. Along with the $836 million in cash, the $56 million in negative free cash flow implies that D-Wave Quantum can stay in business and maintain its current pace of innovation for the foreseeable future. ExpandNYSE: QBTSD-Wave QuantumToday's Change(0.87%) $0.24Current Price$28.36Key Data PointsMarket Cap$9.8BDay's Range$27.52 - $28.6052wk Range$3.74 - $46.75Volume4.9MAvg Vol43MGross Margin82.82% Furthermore, the rising losses did not stop investors from bidding its stock price higher, and the forecasted revenue growth of 190% for 2025 and 55% in 2026 points to slowing but still robust increases in revenue. Still, valuation metrics indicate that speculation has driven the stock. Ongoing losses leave it without a P/E ratio, and a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio exceeding 350 implies that the stock price has disconnected from the company's fundamentals. Such predictions leave investors with no clue about where the stock could go next. Is it time to buy D-Wave Quantum stock? Considering the company's financials and the stock's valuation, long-term investors should probably avoid this stock. If sales of its commercial computers take off and sustain their popularity, that could justify the recent stock price gains. But the company's continued success is not guaranteed despite the recent breakthroughs. Moreover, the highly elevated P/S ratio makes it difficult for prospective investors to justify buying the stock, even with its massive revenue growth. Ultimately, while its successes in commercial quantum computing and technical breakthroughs give the company potential, the cost of this stock and the uncertainties surrounding it make D-Wave Quantum too speculative to touch.Read NextJan 11, 2026 •By Geoffrey Seiler3 Millionaire-Maker Technology Stocks Worth a LookJan 8, 2026 •By Geoffrey Seiler3 Quantum Computing Stocks That Could Make a MillionaireJan 6, 2026 •By Will EbiefungIs D-Wave Quantum Stock a Buy in 2026?Jan 6, 2026 •By Leo SunBetter Quantum Stock: D-Wave Quantum vs.
Quantum Computing Inc.Jan 6, 2026 •By Will HealyDirector Sells 8,000 D-Wave QuantumShares for $218,900Jan 5, 2026 •By Keith NoonanD-Wave Quantum Skyrocketed Today -- Is the Stock a Buy for 2026?About the AuthorWill Healy is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering technology and consumer goods industries.
Before The Motley Fool, Will was a freelance writer covering stocks and personal finance for MSN Money, Yahoo! Finance, and Nasdaq. Earlier in his career, he was an expert in geographic information systems, applying spatial and IT skills to perform RF and demographic analysis in the telecom industry. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Texas A&M University and an MBA in finance and strategy from the University of Texas at Dallas.TMFWillHealyX@HealyWritingStocks MentionedD-Wave QuantumNYSE: QBTS$28.36 (+0.01%) $+0.24*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.Advertisement