Quantum Computing Posts Record $9.5M Revenue, Still Misses EPS Estimates

Quantum Computing Inc. (NASDAQ:QUBT) reported $9.5 million in quarterly revenue on Monday, up from $384,000 a year earlier — a roughly 25-fold jump that still couldn't keep the bottom line clear of expectations. The company posted a loss of $0.07 per share, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.03, while revenue beat analyst forecasts of $7.61 million.

What drove the record revenue?

Mostly acquisitions. Management said on the earnings call that the record top line was largely driven by acquired photonics businesses. But profitability tells a harder story:

• Gross margin came in at just 4.5%.
• Operating expenses climbed to $29 million.
• The net loss for the quarter was $15.1 million.

The takeaway in plain words: revenue is scaling fast, but QCi is spending heavily to get there.

Cash position and the $80 million bet

QCi ended the quarter with roughly $1.3 billion in cash, cash equivalents and investments, and said that liquidity should fund operations for at least 12 months. The company plans approximately $70–80 million of investment in its NHanced-related manufacturing expansion (a semiconductor packaging and integration partnership), with most of that spending expected by March 2027.

What's new on the technology front?

The company announced Dirac-3S, an optimization system (hardware that finds the best solution among many possible configurations) designed for problems with up to 9,980 variables. First customer shipments are expected in Q4. Management said published tests showed better time-to-solution and solution quality than competitor Hexaly on most tested problems — though they acknowledged results varied by problem type and that further application testing is needed.

QCi also said it has completed the objectives in its 2024–2026 technology roadmap and is now shifting focus toward scaling manufacturing and commercial deployments. Management expects to demonstrate heterogeneous integrated circuits (chips combining different materials and functions) within 12–18 months, but emphasized that integration, production scaling and customer adoption remain ongoing work.

What does the backlog look like?

Contract backlog stood at about $39.1 million, with roughly 70% tied to aerospace and government work. Management cautioned that awards and revenue are lumpy, and backlog typically converts to revenue over 12–18 months. The company didn't provide revenue guidance, though it expects a solid backlog heading into 2027.

How did the stock and analysts respond?

QUBT traded up $0.53 on Monday to $6.86, on volume of 11,248,048 shares — below its average of 13,312,824. The stock has a 52-week range of $5.39 to $14.45, a 50-day moving average of $7.55 and a 200-day average of $8.62. Market capitalization sits at $1.55 billion, with a P/E ratio of -97.99 (negative because the company is unprofitable) and a beta of 3.95, signaling well above-average volatility.

The analyst picture is split:

• Ascendiant Capital Markets raised its target from $30.00 to $32.00 with a "buy" rating (August 26).
• Wedbush assumed coverage with a "neutral" rating and $12.00 target (August 3).
• Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated "neutral" with a $10.00 objective (August 11).
• Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating (September 21).
• Wall Street Zen upgraded from "strong sell" to "sell" (October 31).

Four analysts rate the stock Buy, two Hold and one Sell, for an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $18.67, per MarketBeat.com.

The bottom line: record revenue, a $1.3 billion war chest and a new product shipping this quarter — but 4.5% gross margins and no guidance mean the execution burden is squarely on 2027.