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Where Will D-Wave Quantum Be in 1 Year?

newsfeedback@fool.com (Jeremy Bowman)
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⚡ Quantum Brief
D-Wave Quantum surged in 2025 after launching Advantage2, its sixth-generation quantum annealer, which management claims outperforms classical computers for complex optimization problems. The system secured high-profile deployments, including a 10M euro deal in Italy. Despite a 100% year-over-year revenue jump in Q3, sales remain minimal at $3.7M, with bookings hitting $2.4M. The company’s $7.9B valuation dwarfs its projected $25.5M annual revenue, raising sustainability concerns amid a 300+ P/S ratio. Operating losses deepened to $27.7M in Q3, with $55.8M in negative free cash flow YTD. However, $836M in cash reserves provides a multi-year runway for R&D, including quantum cloud services and professional consulting expansions. D-Wave’s stock peaked in October 2025 but has since retreated, reflecting volatility typical of pre-profit quantum firms. Analysts warn its sky-high valuation may struggle without clearer paths to profitability or broader commercial adoption. The company’s future hinges on scaling quantum-as-a-service models and proving Advantage2’s real-world utility. Patience is required as breakthroughs remain years away, with competitors like IonQ and Rigetti vying for dominance in the nascent sector.
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By Jeremy Bowman – Nov 30, 2025 at 1:24PMKey PointsD-Wave Quantum has soared this year as it released its Advantage2 quantum computer.The company is still bringing in minimal revenue.It may be hard for quantum stocks like D-Wave to sustain sky-high valuations in the coming years. NYSE: QBTSD-Wave QuantumMarket Cap$7.9BToday's Changeangle-down(1.12%) $0.25Current Price$22.66Price as of November 28, 2025 at 12:59 PM ETD-Wave Quantum has been the best-performing quantum computing stock this year. Can it keep this pace up?Quantum computing has been one of the more surprising stories on the stock market this year. Interest in the emerging technology spiked late in 2024 after Alphabet said it had achieved a milestone with its Willow quantum computing chip. The timing was fortuitous as emerging technology stocks had already gotten a jolt following President Donald Trump's reelection, and little-known quantum computing stocks like D-Wave Quantum (QBTS +1.12%), IonQ, Rigetti Computing, and Quantum Computing Inc. soared on the news after essentially being ignored. As the chart below shows, after the initial rally late last year, those stocks have had mixed results in 2025. D-Wave Quantum has skyrocketed this year, while Quantum Computing Inc. is now in the red. Data by YCharts. As you can see, there's been a significant divergence among these four stocks. D-Wave isn't the biggest of the four -- that title belongs to IonQ -- but it has been the top performer this year. D-Wave has delivered blowout gains through a combination of surging revenue growth and progress with its technology, though the company is still very small. Third-quarter revenue doubled but still amounted to just $3.7 million. Bookings enjoyed 80% sequential growth to $2.4 million. D-Wave specializes in quantum annealing technology, a process that aims to find an answer to a problem by converting it to an energy-minimization problem. In May, the company announced the general availability of Advantage2, its sixth-generation quantum computer, which management says can solve computationally complex problems beyond the reach of classical computers. The launch of Advantage2 has helped stimulate interest in D-Wave as it announced a 10 million euro booking from a research facility in Italy, and it completed an Advantage2 system installation at Davidson Technologies in Huntsville, Alabama. So investors have clearly been impressed by D-Wave's progress this year, but where will the company be this time next year? Let's take a closer look at the numbers. Image source: Getty Images. Where D-Wave Quantum goes from here D-Wave Quantum didn't offer guidance for the fourth quarter, but the company is still building on a small base with $21.8 million of revenue through the first nine months of 2025. Even with the progress from its Advantage2 computer, investors may want to temper their expectations for the stock next year. D-Wave continues to lose money as it invests in research and development; it reported a $27.7 million operating loss in the third quarter alone (and an adjusted net loss of $18.1 million). It also reported negative free cash flow of $55.8 million year to date. Cash burn is a concern for any development-stage company, but D-Wave is well-capitalized with $836.2 million in cash on its balance sheet, which should fund operations at its current level for several years. ExpandNYSE: QBTSD-Wave QuantumToday's Change(1.12%) $0.25Current Price$22.66Key Data PointsMarket Cap$8BDay's Range$22.25 - $22.9552wk Range$2.50 - $46.75Volume343KAvg Vol53MGross Margin82.82%Dividend YieldN/A Looking ahead to 2026, management expects to deploy some of that cash to research and development, including the build out of its professional services and quantum computing as a service. Management sees its business growing in part through cloud software revenue streams like consulting and remote cloud service, meaning D-Wave would allow customers to access its quantum computers remotely, rather than purchasing their own. The investor interest in the stock also gives D-Wave more flexibility to raise capital if its spending needs increase. Still, like the rest of its quantum computing peers, D-Wave remains a high-risk stock as its market cap has risen to $8.1 billion despite a full-year revenue forecast of just $25.5 million. Its price-to-sales ratio is more than 300. D-Wave and its peers are still years away from generating profits, and while quantum computing's improving utility and technological breakthroughs are promising, the current financial picture means patience will be required with the stock. Shares have pulled back sharply since hitting their peak in October, but even with continued progress next year, it will take a lot to push the stock significantly higher.About the AuthorJeremy Bowman has been a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst, covering technology, consumer goods, and macroeconomic trends since 2011.

Before The Motley Fool, Jeremy was a newspaper reporter, restaurant manager, and English teacher abroad. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Colorado College and a master’s degree in business administration from American University. One of his Motley Fool headlines was briefly featured on Late Night with Stephen Colbert.TMFHoboX@TMFBowman

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d-wave
energy-climate
ionq
partnership
quantum-annealing
quantum-computing
rigetti

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