Shares of D-Wave Quantum (QBTS 13.75%) jumped on Thursday, finishing up 14%. The spike comes as the S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.06%) was flat and the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 0.39%) gained 0.4%.
The quantum computing stock is moving along with the rest of the quantum market after Rigetti Computing announced it sold two of its Novera quantum computing systems. The news is a big win for the company, as the combined $5.7 million value of the orders represents more than half of the company's entire top line in 2024. It was taken as a bullish sign for quantum in general, helping to lift D-Wave stock as well.
D-Wave's own announcement earlier this week is also driving shares higher. The company said it worked with the North Wales Police Department "to optimize placement of police vehicles for emergency response" in a joint test of its technology. D-Wave says that it was able to reduce average response times by 50%, demonstrating the "real-world potential across private and public sectors" of its technology.
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Remain cautious
The potential of quantum is enormous, but the technology is earlier in its development than investors believe it to be, and what I think many of these companies are hoping for. D-Wave's press release is noticeably light on critical details like how much of its "hybrid-quantum solver" is quantum and how much is classical.
D-Wave's $10 billion market cap is hard to justify, with sales last year of just $8.8 million. I would look to Alphabet (GOOG 0.20%) (GOOGL 0.22%) for a better quantum play.
