D-Wave Quantum: A $38.3 Million Backlog, a 19% Bookings Slide and Two Brokers Splitting the Verdict
Published on 11/13/2026 at 20:41 | Editorial boerse-global.de
D-Wave Quantum's latest quarterly report hands investors a puzzle rather than a verdict. Revenue is climbing, the pipeline of signed commitments is substantial, and yet fresh orders fell sharply — a combination that has left the analyst community trimming its targets without abandoning its enthusiasm.
The stock slipped 4.1% as quantum-computing names broadly lost ground, with IonQ, Rigetti Computing and Quantum Computing Inc. all retreating alongside it. D-Wave shares were quoted at 8.55 EUR.
What the quarter actually delivered
For the third quarter of 2026, the company booked revenue of $4.5 million, a 21% increase year over year. The top line therefore points to progress in converting work into recognized sales.
New bookings told the opposite story. They came in at $1.9 million for the quarter, down 19% from the prior-year period.
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The longer view complicates the picture further. Across the first nine months of the year, bookings totaled $37.4 million — an increase of 611% over the same stretch a year earlier. The quarterly dip, in other words, sits inside a year that has seen an extraordinary surge in signed business.
Remaining performance obligations, the contracted work not yet recognized as revenue, stood at $38.3 million as of September 30. That figure is the single most important lever for anyone betting on the next leg of growth, provided it actually converts into sales.
Two brokers, two different targets
StoneX cut its price target to $20.00 on Wednesday while keeping its buy rating, according to media reports. Canaccord Genuity took a similar route the same day, lowering its target from $35 to $31 and likewise maintaining its buy call.
Both moves follow the same logic: a lower valuation yardstick, an unchanged positive stance. That combination only holds up for investors if operating progress follows — rising revenue, a rebound in bookings and a narrower loss would make the case far more convincing than the size of the backlog on its own.
The loss line is the counterweight
Against the growth story sits a heavy cost base. D-Wave reported a net loss of $48.2 million and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $37.7 million.
Future growth therefore has to be judged on quality as much as quantity. Additional revenue that arrives without an improvement in profitability leaves the loss burden as a major objection. The bear case writes itself: continued weakness in bookings paired with persistently high losses, forcing the existing backlog to carry more and more of the growth thesis. The longer new contracts lag expectations, the harder that argument becomes to sustain.
What to watch next
The bullish path requires two things at once — D-Wave must work through its existing obligations and convert them into revenue, while simultaneously replenishing the pipeline with new orders. Only that combination would broaden the case for growth beyond what has already been signed.
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The scale of the commitments supports this view, offering visibility that extends past the most recent quarter's revenue. Fresh contracts would reinforce it and take the sting out of the recent bookings decline.
The next operational update on bookings, revenue recognition and earnings will serve as the real test. A recovery in orders would strengthen the optimistic reading, provided execution on existing obligations keeps pace. Should the bookings slump persist while losses stay elevated, the more cautious interpretation gains the upper hand.
For investors, the weighting is clear enough: the backlog supplies the opportunity, new orders must secure its continuation, and the trajectory of losses will determine how convincing that growth looks in economic terms.
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