Investors are paying a steep premium for a company generating just $3.1 million in quarterly revenue, a disconnect that is drawing growing scrutiny as D-Wave Quantum (NYSE: QBTS) heads into its November earnings report.
The stock’s trailing 12-month price-to-sales ratio stands at 58.68X, dwarfing the broader market’s 5.47X multiple and sitting well above rival Quantum Computing’s (QUBT) 29.58X, though slightly below Rigetti Computing’s (RGTI) 61.26X.
That elevated valuation has done nothing to cushion shareholders during a brutal six-month stretch that has erased nearly 38% of the stock’s value.
Over the 30-day window starting September 28, 2026, QBTS shed 30.5%, a steeper drop than both Rigetti’s 27.8% decline and Quantum Computing’s 23.5% fall over the same period.
The broader computer and technology market, by contrast, retreated only 5.9% during that stretch, underscoring just how much QBTS has underperformed its sector.
Technical signals offer little reassurance, with the stock trading below both its 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages as of October 23, 2026, a configuration that typically reflects sustained selling pressure.
Adding to the bearish picture, the 50-day moving average has crossed below the 200-day average, a pattern chart watchers often read as confirmation of a deteriorating price trend.
The financial results for the second quarter did little to justify the premium valuation, with revenues of $3.1 million coming in essentially flat compared to the prior year while adjusted EBITDA losses ballooned 85% to $37.1 million.
One bright spot buried in the numbers is a dramatic acceleration in bookings, which surged 1,120% to $35.5 million in the first half of the year, though analysts and investors are waiting for evidence that those orders will translate into actual revenue.
On the operational side, the company delivered Italy’s first annealing quantum computer in October, extended its manufacturing partnership with SkyWater Technology, and launched a gate-model simulator beta program.
D-Wave also finalized an agreement in September providing access to as much as $100 million in funding under the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act, a potential lifeline for future development spending.
Macro headwinds are compounding the company-specific pressures, with Reuters reporting on October 23 that investors are increasingly questioning the durability of AI-driven technology spending ahead of an anticipated Federal Reserve policy decision.
November’s third-quarter earnings release will be a critical test of whether the bookings surge is beginning to feed through into revenues and whether management can offer a credible path toward narrowing its losses.
For investors with the risk appetite to stay the course, the combination of growing bookings, CHIPS Act access, and progress in gate-model quantum computing provides reasons to watch rather than exit.
The stock currently holds a Zacks Rank of 3, equivalent to a Hold, a neutral signal that reflects the tension between long-term technological promise and the near-term realities of widening losses and a valuation that leaves almost no margin for error.
