D-Wave orders surge 1,221% as third-quarter bookings fall

D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NASDAQ: QBTS) reported $38.3 million of remaining performance obligations, up 1,221% from a Sept. 30, 2025 balance of $2.9 million, while third-quarter bookings fell 19% to $1.9 million.

That divergence sets the test for the results: D-Wave must convert a much larger order book into revenue and cash while its operating losses widen. Remaining performance obligations are orders that D-Wave cannot cancel and has not yet served.

D-Wave expects about 59% of the $38.3 million balance to become revenue within 12 months and about 71% within 24 months. Nine-month bookings reached $37.4 million, up 611% from $5.3 million in 2025, including $2.3 million of Quantum Circuits bookings closed before D-Wave completed that acquisition in January 2026.

Third-quarter bookings of $1.9 million compared with $2.4 million a year earlier, a decline of about $0.4 million. D-Wave said: "Quarterly bookings swing with the timing of larger deals." That explanation addresses timing, but does not establish that the larger total order book will convert on schedule.

What is driving the order growth?

Separately from bookings, D-Wave signed a definitive agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce for up to $100 million in CHIPS and Science Act funding. The money arrives in installments against set milestones and conditions. In exchange, the Commerce Department receives a minority, non-controlling equity stake.

Government backing creates a conditional funding route, but the agreement does not place $100 million in D-Wave's hands.

Did revenue growth improve operating performance?

Third-quarter revenue rose 21% to $4.5 million from $3.7 million. Professional services revenue increased $1.5 million and quantum computing as a service revenue rose $0.8 million, while system sales fell $1.5 million.

Gross margin declined to 52.9% from 71.4% a year earlier. D-Wave attributed the decrease mainly to a larger share of lower-margin professional services revenue and a $0.2 million increase in non-cash stock-based compensation.

GAAP operating expenses reached $55.9 million, up $25.5 million, or 84%. Personnel costs added $12.3 million and stock-based compensation added $4.1 million. Adjusted EBITDA loss widened to $37.7 million, an increase of $17.0 million, or 83%.

The net loss narrowed to $48.2 million, or $0.13 per share, from $140.0 million. D-Wave attributed the improvement mainly to a $121.9 million decrease in non-cash warrant-liability remeasurement charges. All remaining public warrants were redeemed in November 2025.

Revenue for the first nine months fell to $10.4 million from $21.8 million a year earlier. The smaller net loss did not mark better operations, because product development and go-to-market spending drove adjusted EBITDA loss higher.

What do the customer deployments show?

NTT DOCOMO deployed a second production application using D-Wave's hybrid quantum technology. It cut daily peak location-registration signals by 65.3% and paging signals by 7.0%. A representative problem covering 333 base stations finished in about five minutes.

D-Wave delivered a 4,400-plus-qubit Advantage2 system for installation at Villa Saporiti in Como, Italy, funded by Swiss Quantum Technology SA. A SkyWater proof of technology cut lot delays by up to 30% and will advance to a proof of concept.

D-Wave also partnered with CGI to add its platforms to CGI's services portfolio and signed a memorandum of understanding with LG CNS. Its gate-model simulator beta includes BBVA, FirstQFM, Florida Atlantic University and the Jülich Supercomputing Centre.

More than 100 customers generated revenue, and 48% were commercial enterprises. OptimistFi has called D-Wave a high-risk bet on annealing becoming a practical optimization platform. The DOCOMO results and contracted-order increase support that view, while the small revenue base and wider adjusted EBITDA loss keep the risk high.

The deployments show practical use cases, but the reported data do not quantify revenue from each customer or contract.

How much financial room remains?

Cash and marketable investment securities totaled $503.4 million at the latest reporting date. Cash and equivalents alone fell to $279.4 million from $635.3 million at Dec. 31, 2025. Operations used $109.0 million over nine months, and the Quantum Circuits purchase cost $252.8 million net of cash acquired.

The cash decline matters alongside operating losses, while the CHIPS award remains conditional rather than cash in hand. D-Wave has liquidity, but cash burn and the acquisition reduce its margin for error.

What must happen next?

The cleanest test is whether about 59% of the $38.3 million order balance becomes revenue within 12 months, as D-Wave expects. Delivery of the CHIPS milestones would turn government support into cash. Those milestones unlock installments toward a 100,000-qubit annealing computer and a 10,000-qubit gate-model computer.

D-Wave will discuss the results and business outlook on a conference call at 8:00 a.m. Eastern on Nov. 10, 2026. CEO Alan Baratz and Acting Chief Financial Officer Greg Golkov are scheduled to address the results and outlook.

The next proof point is cash conversion, not another surge in headline orders.