After skyrocketing 300% over the past 12 months, D-Wave Quantum Inc. (QBTS 7.32%) stock has fallen 6% thus far in 2026 as of Jan. 26. Is the stock going to $0 or will it rebound again? Let's have a look at what's going on with the quantum computing company.
NYSE: QBTS
Key Data Points
As with any speculative tech investment, questions and doubts are constant noise that innovative companies have to combat and prove wrong. In the case of D-Wave Quantum, the business has real revenue growth, commercial traction, and solid cash reserves. It's a respected player in the quantum industry, and for all these reasons, no, I do not think it will continue to fall to $0, but continued volatility is highly likely.
Commercial traction is growing
In D-Wave's latest quarterly earnings report, the quantum business demonstrated serious growth with 100% third-quarter revenue growth. Year to date revenue grew 235% from 2024. D-Wave also reported its highest-ever cash balance of $836 million. This amount of runway should ease many investor concerns.
A scientist looks at results on a computer screen. She is presumably in a life sciences lab.
In early December 2025, D-Wave announced the formation of its governmental business unit, which will focus on winning contracts within government agencies. If the company can continue to close commercial deals and add governmental business, this will certainly validate the use cases of quantum even further and strengthen D-Wave's competitive position.
Even if the government unit fails to recognize substantial revenue in the intermediate term, D-Wave still has plenty of diversified commercial offerings. The quantum computing company claims its technology has applications in pharmaceutical drug development, manufacturing, and even retail to name a few.
D-Wave announced on Jan. 20 that the company successfully acquired Quantum Circuits for $550 million, with $300 million coming in the form of common stock and $250 million in cash. This acquisition further pushes D-Wave to the forefront of the industry as Quantum Circuits will significantly help deliver commercially viable gate-model quantum computers.
Quantum computing is still in the early stages of adoption
The field of quantum computing is still young. While D-Wave is building meaningful revenue, there's still a long way to go before the technology is widely adopted and the total addressable market is fully realized and understood.
D-Wave is also competing against larger non-pure-play competitors, including IBM, Alphabet's Google, and Microsoft. However, D-Wave does have a first-mover advantage and is the only company offering annealing quantum computing. Quantum annealing is a specialized form of quantum computing that uses quantum physics to find low-energy states of a problem and therefore the optimal or near-optimal combination of elements, as explained by D-Wave on its website.
True widespread commercial adoption of quantum computing is still at least a few years away. D-Wave won't go to $0, but it will remain volatile for the foreseeable future. It's most appropriate for growth investors with a higher risk tolerance and a longer time horizon.
