Sophie C. Ames, D-Wave Quantum’s head of human resources, unloaded 23,025 shares at an average price of $18.9765 on May 20, pocketing roughly $437,000. The transaction, executed through a pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plan dating back to June 2025, came just one day before the company’s stock would surge more than 33% on news that the US government itself was taking a direct equity stake in the quantum computing firm. Ames still holds 596,803 shares, the vast majority in unvested restricted stock units, but the timing has not gone unnoticed on Wall Street.
The catalyst for the rally was a letter of intent signed between D-Wave and the US Department of Commerce, under which Washington will inject $100 million from the CHIPS and Science Act directly into the company — and receive newly issued common shares in return. It marks a rare instance of the federal government becoming a direct shareholder in a publicly traded technology firm. CEO Alan Baratz described the development as a “transformative moment,” highlighting D-Wave’s unique position as the only company commercially offering both annealing and gate-model quantum systems.
The funding is part of a broader $2 billion allocation to nine quantum computing companies under the Trump administration’s initiative to bolster domestic quantum capabilities. IBM is in line for a similar $100 million, while GlobalFoundries has been allocated $375 million. For D-Wave, the capital is earmarked for research and development at its facilities in Boca Raton, New Haven, and Burnaby, and will accelerate the construction of two flagship systems: an annealing platform with 100,000 qubits and a gate-model machine with 10,000 qubits.
The government’s vote of confidence came as D-Wave reported a set of financial results that revealed a stark disconnect between current revenue and future demand. In the first quarter of 2026, revenue slid to $2.86 million — an 81% plunge from the prior year, when a one-off full system sale inflated the comparison base. The figure also fell short of the consensus estimate of $4.14 million. On the plus side, the net loss per share of $0.05 was better than the $0.08 loss analysts had expected.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying D-Wave Quantum?
Beneath the top-line weakness, order activity told a dramatically different story. Bookings hit $33.4 million, a near-2,000% leap from the year-ago period, while the backlog swelled to $42.4 million — roughly six times higher than a year earlier. Management has guided for at least two full system sales in 2026, with the bulk of revenue recognition slated for the second half of the year. The company’s liquidity position remains robust, with $588 million in cash and marketable securities on hand at the end of March.
D-Wave’s stock has more than doubled since late March, though it remains down roughly 7.8% year-to-date. In the wake of the government announcement, the shares opened at $21.76 on May 21, climbed to an intraday high of $25.77, and closed the session at €22.14 on a euro-denominated basis — a 26.62% gain for the week. The stock currently trades around €22.89, well below the average analyst target of $40, with individual price targets ranging from $34.67 to $43.00. The consensus rating from covering analysts is “Moderate Buy.”
All eyes now turn to June 1, 2026, when D-Wave will host its first-ever Investor Day at the New York Stock Exchange. Management is expected to unveil specific technical milestones, including updates on the company’s dual-rail qubit architecture, and outline the road map toward achieving 100 logical qubits by 2032 — a threshold many experts consider the entry point for genuine quantum advantage. The event could serve as a critical catalyst for a stock that is simultaneously riding a wave of government validation and grappling with the mixed signals of an insider sale and a revenue base that has yet to catch up to its order book.
Ad
D-Wave Quantum Stock: Buy or Sell?! New D-Wave Quantum Analysis from May 22 delivers the answer:
The latest D-Wave Quantum figures speak for themselves: Urgent action needed for D-Wave Quantum investors. Is it worth buying or should you sell? Find out what to do now in the current free analysis from May 22.
D-Wave Quantum: Buy or sell? Read more here...
