D-Wave Quantum is heading into its first-ever investor day next week with a tale of two quarters: a sharp revenue miss overshadowed by a bookings explosion that topped 1,994% and a $100 million federal grant that gives Washington a seat at the table. The quantum-computing pioneer’s shares closed at €25.30 on Thursday, surging 7% on the news, before easing 4.23% on Friday to €24.23 — still 54% above the month-ago level and more than double the 52-week low of €11.32.
Trading volume on Thursday hit a staggering 54.2 million shares, 69% above the daily average, as investors digested the twin catalysts. The U.S. Commerce Department on May 21 pledged over $2 billion in quantum funding under the CHIPS and Science Act, with D-Wave signing a non-binding letter of intent for $100 million. In a strategic shift, the government will take minority equity stakes in the companies it backs, effectively becoming a shareholder in the commercialisation of the technology.
The grant is earmarked for developing superconducting annealing and gate-model systems — a dual-platform approach that CEO Dr. Alan Baratz has been championing. D-Wave already demonstrated the power of its annealing lineage on Thursday at the TD Cowen Technology Conference, where the company unveiled performance data for its sixth-generation Advantage2 system. The machine packs more than 4,400 qubits with a 20-fold increase in connectivity, delivering a 25,000-fold performance improvement on large optimisation problems versus earlier iterations. The first Advantage2 installation is slated for Florida Atlantic University, with completion expected by year-end 2026.
That university sale is part of a blockbuster first quarter. D-Wave reported on May 12 that new bookings for the period ended March 31 soared to $33.4 million — a near-2,000% jump — driven by a $20 million system sale to Florida Atlantic and a $10 million enterprise contract with a Fortune 100 company under the company’s Quantum-as-a-Service (QCaaS) model. Revenue, however, fell 81% to $2.9 million, well short of the $4.19 million consensus estimate, as a large system sale in the prior-year period created tough comparables. The net loss per share of $0.05 beat expectations of a $0.08 loss, and the balance sheet remains flush with $588.4 million in cash.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying D-Wave Quantum?
Analysts remain largely bullish. Of 17 covering the stock, 14 rate it a buy, two a hold, and one a sell. The average 12-month price target sits at roughly $34. Canaccord Genuity reiterates a buy with a $41 target, while Rosenblatt Securities keeps a $43 price objective. Mizuho recently trimmed its target to $29 but maintains an outperform rating. Institutional interest is also rising: Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management built a 39,400-share position in the fourth quarter of 2025.
The 50-day moving average of €16.70 now sits well below the current price, underscoring the recent momentum. The market capitalisation has swelled to nearly $11 billion.
All eyes now turn to June 1, when D-Wave hosts its first investor day at the New York Stock Exchange under the banner “The D-Wave Difference.” Management is expected to lay out detailed technology roadmaps, growth strategies, and the dual-platform model that couples annealing with gate-model systems. Coming on the heels of a federal windfall and record order intake, the event marks a potential inflection point for a sector that is rapidly moving from laboratory curiosity to commercial reality.
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