D-Wave Quantum's Liquidity Strength Supports Its 2026 OpEx Strategy

D-Wave Quantum QBTS or D-Wave is working toward sustained profitability with a significantly lower funding base than other independent publicly held quantum computing companies. As of Dec. 31, 2025, it reported $884.5 million in consolidated cash and marketable securities, an increase of 397% from the prior-year levels. Following the year-end, the company invested $250 million in cash tied to the Quantum Circuits acquisition. Management said that the remaining liquidity should be enough to support “a fully funded plan to profitability”.

D-Wave’s sales opportunity pipeline expanded nearly 1,500% in the beginning of 2026 compared to early 2025, with total prospective sales transactions rising 700%. Interest continues to build for both the company’s Advantage2 annealing system and dual rail gate-model quantum systems, although the system sales process is typically complex and involves longer sales cycles.

When it comes to operating expenses, D-Wave expects quarterly costs to rise nearly 15% sequentially throughout fiscal 2026. The reason lies in its strategy to aggressively invest in both annealing and gate-model technology development initiatives, mostly tied to research and development (R&D) headcount, fabrication expenses and some capital expenditures.

About 65 R&D professionals joined via the Quantum Circuits acquisition, with plans to expand the New Haven, CT-based gate-model team by at least 50% this year. Further, D-Wave is also deploying significant headcount and capital investments toward its new U.S. R&D facility in Boca Raton, FL, to scale its annealing team and support its Leap cloud service offering.

Meanwhile, the company established a U.S. Government Solutions business unit to address growing government demand for its annealing and gate-model technologies, focusing on real mission-critical problems. Given the magnitude of opportunities, D-Wave plans to further invest in this area.

What QBTS’ Peers Are Up To?

Quantum Computing Inc. QUBT or QCi announced the placement of a QCi Dirac-3 quantum optimization machine on the Quantum Corridor network. The collaboration supports secure and scalable access to the company’s quantum computing capabilities and marks a significant step forward in its commercial deployment strategy. In March, QCi also completed the acquisition of NuCrypt, LLC, helping establish quantum communications as an important commercialization vertical within its broader quantum technology strategy.

At the NVIDIA GTC, IonQ IONQ has announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information. The MOU outlines a shared vision to explore the advancement of quantum-high-performance computing hybrid technologies and support the development of a robust ecosystem within South Korea. In addition, IonQ partnered with the University of Cambridge to establish the IonQ Quantum Innovation Centre.

QBTS Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Year to date, QBTS shares have plunged 45.3% compared with the industry’s 17.4% decline.

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In terms of valuation, D-Wave is trading at a forward 12-month Price/Sales (P/S) of 95.22X, significantly above its median and industry average.

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Take a look at D-Wave’s earnings, which are shaping up.

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D-Wave currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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