How Does D-Wave Stack Up to Quantum Rivals After Earnings Season? - MarketBeat

How Does D-Wave Stack Up to Quantum Rivals After Earnings Season? Written by Nathan Reiff | Reviewed by Shannon TokheimNovember 17, 2025 ShareLink copied to clipboard. Image from MarketBeat Media, LLC. Key Points D-Wave Quantum shares have declined over the last month, despite a fairly strong earnings report. This is in line with recent declines among rivals such as IonQ and Rigetti Computing, all of which are struggling to achieve profitability. There are signs the niche quantum industry may continue to see a pullback, which would leave legacy tech companies like IBM with a crucial advantage as the technology needs time to mature and develop. Five stocks we like better than D-Wave Quantum. D-Wave Quantum TodayQBTSD-Wave Quantum$24.69 +0.94 (+3.96%) As of 01/27/2026 03:59 PM Eastern52-Week Range$4.45▼$46.75Price Target$37.86Add to Watchlist Shares of quantum computing firm D-Wave Quantum Inc. NYSE: QBTS seem to be cooling, despite a third-quarter earnings report that was notably strong on multiple fronts. The stock has plunged by more than 38% in the last month, essentially reversing all gains achieved since mid-September 2025. The latest decline brings D-Wave's rally down to "only" 146% year-to-date (YTD)—the firm has still vastly outperformed the large majority of the market in 2025. One likely reason for investors' disappointment in D-Wave post-earnings, despite the firm doubling its revenue in a year and achieving other key benchmarks, is that they feel the company has yet to demonstrate that its quantum technology is both vital to the average user and broadly marketable.Get D-Wave Quantum alerts:Sign Up But is this a significant problem if other companies in the quantum computing space have also failed to achieve these goals? Rivals like Rigetti Computing NASDAQ: RGTI and IonQ Inc. NYSE: IONQ likewise experienced cratering share prices in the last several weeks. Each of these firms may face additional challenging terrain in the coming quarters. In the near term, this may prove to be an even greater challenge for the industry than these stocks pose to one another as competitors. Comparing D-Wave and IonQ Post-Earnings D-Wave's revenue growth for the latest quarter, though significant, failed to match that of its larger peer, IonQ. The latter firm's sales more than tripled year-over-year (YOY) in the latest period, reaching almost $40 million—IonQ's revenue is thus over an order of magnitude larger than D-Wave's and is accelerating at a faster pace. To top it off, IonQ has secured major contracts, including a partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and has achieved significant technical milestones in recent months. Multiple analysts have recently upgraded their ratings of IonQ following the company's earnings highlights and optimistic guidance. However, the company's losses per share came in much wider than expected, and it too faces persistent questions about its profitability potential. Sizing Up D-Wave Next to Rigetti Rigetti's third-quarter earnings were not as rosy as those of some its competitors. In one bright spot, losses per share came in narrower than analysts had predicted. However, this was offset by YOY declines in revenue and gross margin as operating losses actually widened. It's no surprise, then, that Rigetti experienced the sharpest stock price drop of these three firms in the past month, with shares shedding about 45% of their value during that time. That said, investors should not dismiss Rigetti entirely when considering quantum stocks. The firm has an ambitious technology development timeline that could enable it to achieve a 1,000+ qubit system and gain a significant advantage by late 2027. The firm's balance sheet remains strong, with cash and similar investments totaling nearly $600 million at the end of the third quarter.

The Greater Concern: A Massive Industry-Wide Pullback Investors comparing these niche quantum computing firms may find reasons to favor one over the other based on their focus—those interested in pure revenue performance might prefer IonQ, while those valuing the flexibility a strong cash balance offers might choose D-Wave, for example. D-Wave Quantum MarketRank™ Stock AnalysisOverall MarketRank™72nd Percentile Analyst RatingModerate Buy Upside/Downside53.3% Upside Short Interest LevelN/A Dividend StrengthN/A News Sentiment0.42 Insider TradingSelling Shares Proj. Earnings GrowthGrowing See Full Analysis However, a bigger concern may be whether the quantum industry as a whole is significantly overvalued relative to what it currently provides to users. Undoubtedly, there is tremendous hype surrounding quantum—it may even be bigger based on share price boosts in the last year or so alone than AI—but no company has yet been able to crack the code on delivering affordable, easily marketable quantum products or services. Even more troubling for short-term share performance is the fact that none of these firms have successfully convinced a broader public that quantum technology is right now capable of addressing their everyday business and organizational problems. While companies continue to sort out the technology and determine the best approach to this case, investors will likely lose patience, and their stocks will struggle to maintain their rallies. This could give a crucial advantage to legacy tech firms with quantum operations, such as IBM Corp. NYSE: IBM, that aren't entirely reliant on the success of quantum to remain viable. Stock performance like this would test the resolve of buy-and-hold investors for the firms above.Should You Invest $1,000 in D-Wave Quantum Right Now?Before you consider D-Wave Quantum, you'll want to hear this.MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and D-Wave Quantum wasn't on the list.While D-Wave Quantum currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.View The Five Stocks Here Analysts Agree—These Gold Picks Outshine the RestUnlock the timeless value of gold with our exclusive 2026 Gold Forecasting Report. Explore why gold remains the ultimate investment for safeguarding wealth against inflation, economic shifts, and global uncertainties. Whether you're planning for future generations or seeking a reliable asset in turbulent times, this report is your essential guide to making informed decisions.Get This Free Report Like this article? Share it with a colleague. Link copied to clipboard. Companies Mentioned in This ArticleCompanyMarketRank™Current PricePrice ChangeDividend YieldP/E RatioConsensus RatingConsensus Price TargetD-Wave Quantum (QBTS)3.6224 of 5 stars$24.694.0%N/A-18.29Moderate Buy$37.86International Business Machines (IBM)4.005 of 5 stars$294.07-0.8%2.29%35.18Moderate Buy$306.86Rigetti Computing (RGTI)3.3241 of 5 stars$22.312.5%N/A-17.16Moderate Buy$32.60IonQ (IONQ)3.6543 of 5 stars$45.545.0%N/A-8.51Moderate Buy$75.91 Compare These Stocks Add These Stocks to My Watchlist News From Our Partners Business When the world gets crazy, the smart investor invests in gold and silver Business Gen X Workers Staring Down a ‘Retirement Crisis,’ Apollo Chief Economist Warns Business Trump’s Policies Come With Unintended Consequences for Social Security Business SBA Orders More Than 4,300 Small Businesses to Produce Financial Records in Fraud Clampdown Business News Media Over-Reports Homicides By 4,300% in the US, Shows New Study Business Boeing Wins More Than $7 Billion in Pentagon Contracts Business Trump Proposes Cutting SSI to Nearly 400,000 Recipients: Could It Hurt You or Someone You Love? Business Here’s How Big Joe Biden’s Social Security Check Is — To the Dollar Discover morecell phoneStock Average CalculatorDividend tracking softwareTrending Stocks ReportStock Market NewsStock Market HolidaysFinancial planning servicesStock market analysis toolsFinancial calculatorsStock Profit Calculator Featured Articles and OffersBeyond Biotech—3 Healthcare Stocks for Growth-Minded InvestorsBy Chris Markoch | January 25, 2026Trump just signed itFrom Investors Alley (Ad)The One Metric Bulls Watch in Palantir Before EarningsBy Chris Markoch | January 21, 2026Pelosi’s Bullish 2026 Buy List: AI, Power & DividendsBy Jeffrey Neal Johnson | January 26, 2026What’s the Best Way to Buy Gold in 2026?By Chris Markoch | January 24, 2026BlackRock and JP Morgan are pouring hundreds of billions into this …From Weiss Ratings (Ad)Is Abbott’s January Pullback a Good Time to Buy?

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