Stocks can be a lot like surfers. Sometimes, they both catch a big wave and ride it for as long as they can. That's what's happening with D-Wave Quantum (QBTS -4.28%) right now. The company even has "wave" in its name.
The wave D-Wave Quantum is riding is the rapidly growing interest in quantum computing. Shares of this quantum computing pioneer have more than doubled in 2025. But is D-Wave Quantum stock a buy now?
The case for buying D-Wave Quantum
One compelling argument for buying D-Wave Quantum stock is that its technology is already useful. A lot of people talk about the promise of quantum computing, but D-Wave is already helping fulfill that promise.
For example, Ford Otosan, a joint venture between Ford Motor (F 1.11%) and Koç Holding in Turkey, is using D-Wave's technology to streamline its manufacturing processes. The company has reduced the scheduling time by 6 times for its Ford Transit vehicles.
D-Wave Quantum also has other big customers. Accenture (ACN 0.76%), BASF (BASFY 0.22%), Lockheed Martin (LMT 1.10%), Mastercard (MA 1.06%), and Pattison Food Group are just a few of the large customers using its quantum computing technology.
The company's growth story speaks for itself. D-Wave's revenue skyrocketed 509% year over year in the first quarter of 2025. This momentum could continue as sales of the new Advantage systems pick up and D-Wave identifies more use cases for its quantum computing technology.
That leads to another key reason to buy the stock: the overall opportunity for quantum computers. Highly respected consulting firm McKinsey projects that the quantum computing market could reach $198 billion by 2040.
D-Wave Quantum appears to be in a solid financial position. The company's cash balance totaled $304.3 billion at the end of Q1. Management believes this cash stockpile will be enough to fund operations until D-Wave achieves profitability.
Image source: Getty Images.
The case against buying D-Wave Quantum
It's not too difficult to make a case against buying D-Wave Quantum stock, though. We can start where we left off on the reasons to consider buying the stock: D-Wave remains unprofitable. Although management thinks the company has sufficient cash to last until it's profitable, D-Wave could be forced to raise more cash through dilutive stock offerings.
Furthermore, the lack of profits makes earnings-based valuation metrics useless in assessing D-Wave Quantum. That leaves us with the company's price-to-sales ratio of over 192 as arguably the best valuation metric. That steep multiple can only be justified if D-Wave's growth continues at a breakneck pace.
Maybe D-Wave will be able to keep growing rapidly, but maybe not. One key reason for uncertainty is that the company faces stiff competition. Other smaller players, including IonQ (IONQ -1.02%), Quantum Computing Inc. (QUBT -2.30%), and Rigetti Computing (RGTI -3.35%), market quantum computers also. Deep-pocketed tech giants present competitive threats as well, including Google parent Alphabet (GOOG 0.52%) (GOOGL 0.55%), Amazon (AMZN -0.20%), IBM (IBM -0.15%), and Microsoft (MSFT 1.27%).
As promising as quantum computing seems to be, there's no guarantee that it will live up to the hype. Technological hurdles could prove to be more daunting than expected, pushing the timeline for useful, large-scale quantum computers out enough to zap the current momentum for quantum computing stocks.
Final verdict
What's the final verdict on whether to buy D-Wave Quantum stock? I think we have a hung jury.
If you're a risk-averse investor, D-Wave probably won't be a great pick. There are simply too many unknowns for the stock. Value investors won't like this stock with its sky-high price-to-sales multiple. Income investors don't need to waste their time with D-Wave since it doesn't pay a dividend and isn't likely to do so anytime soon.
However, I think aggressive growth investors might consider taking a small position in D-Wave Quantum. Although it's admittedly a speculative bet, it could pay off in a huge way over time.
