D‑Wave Quantum reports US$4.5M revenue as quarterly bookings fall

A surge in quantum-computing orders is leaving a much smaller trail through recognized sales. D-Wave Quantum Inc. NASDAQQBTS, which sells quantum computers and cloud access, reported on Tuesday that third-quarter revenue rose 21 per cent to US$4.5 million.

Its Nov. 10 results put nine-month bookings at US$37.4 million, up 611 per cent. Third-quarter bookings fell 19 per cent to US$1.9 million, so the headline growth rate describes orders accumulated over a longer period.

For the quarter ended Sept. 30, the net loss narrowed to US$48.2 million from US$140.0 million a year earlier, according to D-Wave's earnings reconciliation. Its adjusted EBITDA loss widened to US$37.7 million from US$20.6 million.

Shares closed at US$11.47, up 7.40 per cent, on Nasdaq at 4 p.m. EST on Nov. 9, according to Google Finance's NASDAQQBTS snapshot. That close predates the earnings release, which follows the broad technology-share selloff Mugglehead covered on Nov. 6.

Read more: Nasdaq-100 selloff erases US$2.3T as technology shares slide

Most Bookings Arrived Before The Third Quarter

D-Wave had already reported US$35.5 million in first-half bookings in its second-quarter results, issued Aug. 6. Comparing that amount with the nine-month total shows that most orders were recorded before the September quarter, despite the much larger year-to-date growth percentage.

The Nov. 10 release attributes the revenue increase to professional services and quantum computing delivered as a service. Professional-services revenue rose by US$1.5 million from a year earlier, while cloud-service revenue increased by US$0.8 million. System-sales revenue fell by US$1.5 million, partially offsetting those gains.

At Sept. 30, remaining performance obligations stood at US$38.3 million, compared with US$2.9 million a year earlier. These obligations represent contracted work still owed to customers, making them a separate measure from both orders received during the quarter and sales already recognized.

D-Wave expects approximately 59 per cent of those obligations to become revenue within the following 12 months. It expects approximately 71 per cent to be recognized within 24 months, so some contracted revenue extends beyond the nearer delivery window.

The company recognized quarterly revenue from more than 100 customers, 48 per cent of them commercial enterprises. That count describes customers already contributing sales, while management's discussion of its pipeline concerns further business opportunities.

"Our triple-digit increase in year-to-date bookings and robust pipeline reinforce our confidence in the opportunity ahead," D-Wave chief executive Alan Baratz said in the Nov. 10 release.

The Adjusted Loss Widened

The September 2025 quarter carried a US$121.9 million warrant-remeasurement charge, while the latest reconciliation shows none. The adjusted EBITDA calculation removes that charge, along with other specified items, which helps explain the different direction of the two loss measures.

For the September 2026 quarter, the reconciliation also excludes US$10.7 million of stock-based compensation and US$4.9 million of depreciation and amortization. It subtracts US$4.9 million of interest income when calculating the adjusted loss. Those adjustments mean the resulting figure cannot be treated as operating cash use.

Across the first nine months of 2026, D-Wave recorded an adjusted EBITDA loss of US$107.5 million, compared with US$46.7 million a year earlier. The quarterly bookings decline and the wider adjusted loss therefore sit alongside the company's much stronger cumulative order figure.

The Nov. 10 release also describes access to up to US$100 million under a definitive agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce. Payments come in instalments after specified milestones and conditions are satisfied, so the funding ceiling cannot establish how much cash is available to spend.

The Roadmap Targets Hardware Delivery In 2026

D-Wave's second-quarter roadmap targeted delivery of a 17-physical-qubit gate-model system during 2026. The stated performance objective was a logical error rate twice as low as the physical error rate, making delivery and demonstrated error performance separate tests of that target.

The Nov. 10 release also reports delivery of an annealing system with more than 4,400 qubits for installation in Como, Italy. It describes user access as following installation, keeping shipment separate from operational availability.

The November release identifies a gate-model simulator beta program as a development milestone. A simulator gives participants a way to develop applications in preparation for forthcoming systems; the beta announcement itself establishes no customer hardware delivery.

The dated hardware test is the 2026 system-delivery target at year-end. The commercial test extends through September 2027, the end of the first 12-month recognition window for the obligations reported at Sept. 30.