D-Wave Quantum (NASDAQ: QBTS) suffered a sharp weekly decline of 16.6% by market close on Friday, August 28, 2026, sharply underperforming the broader market.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both posted gains during the same period, rising 1.1% and 1.8% respectively, making D-Wave’s drop all the more striking.
The sell-off was triggered by the company’s announcement that Chief Financial Officer John Markovich would be retiring, effective September 2, 2026.
Markovich will be succeeded by Greg Golkov, D-Wave’s senior vice president of finance, who steps into the role at a particularly sensitive moment for the quantum computing company.
CEO Alan Baratz acknowledged Markovich’s “significant contributions” to the company, including the “pivotal role” he played in helping take D-Wave public in 2022.
D-Wave was quick to clarify that the CFO’s departure was not related to any disagreements “on any matter related to the Company’s business, operations, accounting policies, practices, financial statements, disclosure controls and procedures or internal control over financial reporting.”
Despite that disclaimer, the abrupt nature of the announcement and the unusually tight timeline of Markovich’s exit unsettled investors already on edge.
The resignation arrived in the wake of a disappointing second-quarter earnings report that had already cast a shadow over the stock’s near-term outlook.
While D-Wave reported a notable jump in bookings, reaching $35.5 million in the first half of 2026, it missed consensus analyst estimates on both revenue and bottom-line metrics by a wide margin.
The company’s Q2 2026 operating loss more than doubled year over year, widening from $26.5 million to $54.7 million, even as quarterly sales held flat near $3 million.
That combination of surging losses and stagnant revenues has intensified scrutiny of D-Wave’s path to profitability in an already speculative sector.
Unexpected executive departures at loss-making companies in high-risk industries rarely go unnoticed, and this situation proved no different for nervous shareholders.
D-Wave now faces the considerable challenge of rebuilding investor confidence as it heads into the second half of 2026 with a new CFO at the helm.
