D-Wave Q2 2026 earnings: Flat revenue and a wider adjusted EBITDA loss

D-Wave Quantum (NASDAQ: QBTS) reported Q2 2026 revenue of $3.1 million, essentially flat from $3.1 million a year earlier, while its GAAP loss per share narrowed to $0.13 from $0.55. The smaller GAAP loss mainly reflected lower warrant-related charges rather than improved core profitability: adjusted EBITDA loss widened 85% as product-development and go-to-market spending increased. Quarterly bookings rose 59%, providing a stronger demand signal than recognized revenue.

Core earnings data

Revenue was unchanged year over year, while higher personnel costs reduced GAAP gross profit and pushed gross margin down by 8.4 percentage points. Operating expenses nearly doubled as D-Wave invested in its product roadmap and commercial expansion.

The sharp reduction in GAAP net loss was largely an accounting effect. Non-cash, non-operating charges from warrant-liability remeasurement fell by $142.0 million after the company redeemed its remaining publicly traded warrants in November 2025; meanwhile, the adjusted EBITDA loss widened by $17.1 million.

Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure that excludes items including warrant remeasurement, stock-based compensation, depreciation and amortization, and certain non-operating or non-recurring expenses.

Customer mix and commercial activity

Commercial customers generated 62.4% of quarterly revenue, up from 45.1% a year earlier. Forbes Global 2000 customers contributed 47.7% of revenue, compared with 20.4% in Q2 2025, indicating a shift toward larger commercial organizations even though total quarterly revenue did not grow.

Quarterly bookings increased to $2.1 million, and average booking size rose by more than 87%. D-Wave also disclosed new or renewed engagements with organizations including AT&T, Nasdaq Verafin, Oki Electric, Shionogi, and Unisys, but it did not provide contract values for those individual relationships.

For the first half of 2026, QCaaS production applications generated $1.3 million, or 37.3% of total QCaaS revenue. That compares with $0.3 million and 9.8%, respectively, in the first half of 2025.

Profitability, liquidity, and spending

The $26.5 million increase in quarterly GAAP operating expenses included $9.7 million of additional personnel costs, $4.5 million of stock-based compensation, $4.4 million of depreciation and amortization, $1.8 million of third-party professional services, and $1.0 million of marketing expenses. Non-GAAP adjusted operating expenses also rose 76% to $39.1 million, showing that the increase was not limited to non-cash charges.

Cash and marketable investment securities totaled $546.2 million at June 30, 2026, down $273.1 million from a year earlier. More than 90% of that decline was attributable to the cash consideration paid for the January 2026 acquisition of Quantum Circuits rather than being identified as operating cash use.

Orders are building, but revenue conversion has not caught up with spending

D-Wave’s order indicators grew much faster than recognized revenue. First-half bookings reached $35.5 million, up 1,120% from $2.9 million, but that figure included a $20 million system sale whose revenue will be recognized in subsequent quarters. It also included $2.3 million of Quantum Circuits bookings closed immediately before that acquisition was completed.

Remaining performance obligations totaled $40.7 million at June 30, up 668% year over year. D-Wave expects approximately 57% to be recognized as revenue within the next 12 months and 72% within two years. These contracted obligations provide visibility into potential future revenue, but the timing of system delivery and service performance remains important.

The comparison also illustrates the lumpiness of D-Wave’s revenue model. First-half 2026 revenue fell 67% to $5.9 million because the prior-year period included $13.7 million from the company’s first annealing quantum computing system sale. Investors therefore need to distinguish bookings and contracted obligations from revenue already recognized.

Management priorities and technology roadmap

Management attributed the higher expense base to accelerated product development and go-to-market initiatives. D-Wave is pursuing both annealing and gate-model systems, with announced milestones including a 17-physical-qubit gate-model system in 2026, a 20,000-qubit annealing system in 2029, and longer-term targets extending through 2032.

CEO Alan Baratz characterized the quarter as progress in translating technical development into commercial activity. The financial results show that commercialization indicators are improving, but the associated investment is currently increasing D-Wave’s underlying operating losses.

Recent insider transactions

Over the reported six-month period, insiders purchased 1,854,530 shares across 10 transactions and sold 1,439,601 shares across 16 transactions, resulting in net purchases of 414,929 shares. The latest individual records were concentrated in sales, an exercise or conversion, and director stock awards; these transactions do not by themselves establish insiders’ views of the company’s prospects.

Risks investors need to watch

• Revenue timing and concentration: About 56% of first-half bookings came from one $20 million system order, and the related revenue had not yet been recognized. Delivery and performance timing can produce substantial period-to-period volatility.
• Widening underlying losses: Adjusted EBITDA loss increased 85%, while non-GAAP adjusted operating expenses rose 76%. Continued investment without corresponding revenue growth would keep pressure on operating results.
• Gross-margin pressure: GAAP gross margin fell by 8.4 percentage points, primarily because of increased personnel costs. The timing and mix of higher-margin system sales can also materially affect comparisons.
• Roadmap and capital execution: D-Wave is funding multiple technology milestones while integrating Quantum Circuits. The acquisition accounted for most of the year-over-year reduction in cash and marketable securities, making execution against the commercial and technical roadmaps important.

Summary

D-Wave’s Q2 2026 results showed stronger bookings and a more commercial customer mix, but neither translated into quarterly revenue growth. Core profitability moved in the opposite direction as higher development and go-to-market spending widened the adjusted EBITDA loss, while the narrower GAAP loss mainly resulted from lower warrant-related charges. The central issue for coming periods is whether the larger bookings and $40.7 million of remaining performance obligations convert into revenue quickly enough to support the expanded cost base.