GET DAILY SIGNALSWhy Is D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) Stock Down -6.97% Today?
Key Takeaways
- QBTS shares fell 6.97% to $10.67, reversing a two-session rally ahead of the company's third-quarter earnings report.
- The primary catalyst was a wider-than-expected Q3 loss of $0.13 per share, missing the $0.10 consensus, despite a modest revenue beat.
- Investors focused on an 84% surge in operating expenses, compressed gross margins, and a 19% year-over-year decline in quarterly bookings.
- The selloff spilled into quantum-computing peers, with RGTI and IONQ also trading lower on sector sympathy.
- Traders are now watching fourth-quarter system deliveries and CHIPS Act milestone payments as the next potential catalysts.
- For more detail on this stock, explore its Price Targets, Earnings, and Forecast.
- Curious which strategies are performing best right now? Browse Tickeron's Trending AI Robots.
Opening Summary
D-Wave Quantum Inc. (QBTS), a commercial quantum-computing company offering both annealing and gate-model systems, software, and cloud services, saw its shares slide sharply on Tuesday. The stock dropped 6.97% to $10.67, down $0.80 from the prior session's closing price of $11.47. The decline followed the company's third-quarter 2026 earnings release, where a wider-than-expected loss and rising costs overshadowed an otherwise solid revenue beat and strong year-to-date bookings growth.
Earnings Miss on the Bottom Line
The immediate trigger for the decline was D-Wave's third-quarter results. The company reported an adjusted loss of $0.13 per share, wider than the $0.10 loss Wall Street had anticipated. While revenue rose 20.7% year over year to $4.51 million, edging past the roughly $4.33 million consensus, investors zeroed in on profitability. GAAP operating expenses jumped 84% to $55.9 million, driven by higher personnel costs, stock-based compensation, and depreciation tied to the company's January acquisition of Quantum Circuits. Adjusted EBITDA losses widened to $37.7 million from $20.6 million a year earlier.
Margin Compression and Cost Concerns
Beyond the headline miss, the earnings-driven move reflected growing concern about the company's cost trajectory. GAAP gross margin narrowed to 52.9% from 71.4% a year earlier, as a shift toward lower-margin professional services diluted profitability. With operating expenses running roughly twelve times quarterly revenue, the report reinforced worries that D-Wave's spending is outpacing its top-line growth, even as management pointed to a robust long-term pipeline.
Weak Quarterly Bookings
Another bearish signal was the drop in quarterly bookings. Q3 bookings came in at just $1.9 million, down 19% year over year, even as nine-month bookings surged 611% to $37.4 million. The company cautioned that single-quarter bookings can be lumpy and heavily influenced by the timing of large transactions. Still, the sequential slowdown raised questions about near-term conversion of demand into revenue. Management offered no quantitative financial guidance, leaving investors to rely on fourth-quarter system deliveries—including a $20 million system sale to Florida Atlantic University—to gauge the company's trajectory.
Market Context and Trading Activity
The move in QBTS came with elevated trading interest and was amplified by sector-wide sentiment. The decline extended to quantum-computing peers, with Rigetti Computing (RGTI) and IonQ (IONQ) also trading lower on sympathy, though their losses were more modest. The selloff partially unwound a sharp two-day rally of roughly 26.7% into the print, as traders de-risked a stock that had already retreated significantly from its October 2025 record high. The pullback pushed shares back toward the lower end of their recent range, underscoring continued technical weakness in a high-beta, speculative segment.
What Comes Next for QBTS
Looking ahead, investors will be watching several factors for QBTS. The company's fourth quarter is expected to account for the bulk of 2026 revenue, hinging on timely delivery and installation of contracted quantum systems. Progress on the company's up-to-$100 million CHIPS and Science Act funding agreement—tied to specified milestones—remains a key catalyst, as does conversion of its $38.3 million remaining performance obligations into recognized revenue. Risks include continued lumpiness in quarterly bookings, rising operating expenses, and the broader volatility inherent to early-stage quantum-computing equities.
Trending AI Robots
Tickeron's Trending AI Robots page highlights a curated selection of AI-driven trading bots that have demonstrated the strongest performance under current market conditions. Tickeron offers hundreds of AI trading bots spanning thousands of tickers, with each bot varying by strategy, timeframe, performance metrics, and the symbols it trades. The featured bots are those currently outperforming, giving traders a way to explore automated strategies tailored to shifting market dynamics. Visit the page to see which AI-powered approaches are leading today.
Disclaimer
The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full disclaimer.
Contributor
Sergey Savastiouk, Ph.D. has a degree in Applied Mathematics from Moscow University and has extensive experience as an entrepreneur, investor, manager, and mathematician. His professional expertise is in applied mathematics, mathematical modeling, system and pattern analysis, and software and hardware system integration. He has served as the CEO of several hi-tech start-up companies and nonprofit organizations, which has given him proven capabilities in business strategy for high-tech start-up companies, market assessment, company formation, team building, product development, marketing, and sales. He has published numerous articles in journals and magazines on related fields. As a retail investor, he spent 15 years developing his proprietary trading and quantitative algorithms (now Tickeron’s A.I.), which brought him significant returns in trading the stock market. His current work and goal in founding Tickeron is to bring professional, sophisticated stock market analysis capabilities to retail investors via an easy-to-use interface.
QBTS's RSI Indicator climbs out of oversold territory
The RSI Indicator for QBTS moved out of oversold territory on November 06, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is shifting from a downward trend to an upward trend. Traders may want to buy the stock or call options. The A.I.dvisor looked at 28 similar instances when the indicator left oversold territory. In 27 of the 28 cases the stock moved higher. This puts the odds of a move higher at 90%.
Technical Analysis (Indicators)
Bullish Trend Analysis
The Stochastic Oscillator suggests the stock price trend may be in a reversal from a downward trend to an upward trend. 56 of 61 cases where QBTS's Stochastic Oscillator exited the oversold zone resulted in an increase in price. Tickeron's analysis proposes that the odds of a continued upward trend are 90%.
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for QBTS just turned positive on November 06, 2026. Looking at past instances where QBTS's MACD turned positive, the stock continued to rise in 28 of 33 cases over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 85%.
Following a +26.74% 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where QBTS advanced for three days, in 167 of 198 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 84%.
QBTS may jump back above the lower band and head toward the middle band. Traders may consider buying the stock or exploring call options.
Bearish Trend Analysis
Following a 3-day decline, the stock is projected to fall further. Considering past instances where QBTS declined for three days, the price rose further in 50 of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are 87%.
The Aroon Indicator for QBTS entered a downward trend on November 10, 2026. This could indicate a strong downward move is ahead for the stock. Traders may want to consider selling the stock or buying put options.
Fundamental Analysis (Ratings)
The Tickeron PE Growth Rating for this company is 13 (best 1 - 100 worst), pointing to outstanding earnings growth. The PE Growth rating is based on a comparative analysis of stock PE ratio increase over the last 12 months compared against S&P 500 index constituents.
The Tickeron Valuation Rating of 85 (best 1 - 100 worst) indicates that the company is significantly overvalued in the industry. This rating compares market capitalization estimated by our proprietary formula with the current market capitalization. This rating is based on the following metrics, as compared to industry averages: P/B Ratio (3.743) is normal, around the industry mean (-6.197). P/E Ratio (-15.257) is within average values for comparable stocks, (-3.670). Projected Growth (PEG Ratio) (0.000) is also within normal values, averaging (23.994). Dividend Yield (0.000) settles around the average of (0.012) among similar stocks. QBTS's P/S Ratio (476.190) is very high in comparison to the industry average of (51.774).
The Tickeron Price Growth Rating for this company is 86 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating slightly worse than average price growth. QBTS’s price grows at a lower rate over the last 12 months as compared to S&P 500 index constituents.
The Tickeron SMR rating for this company is 96 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating weak sales and an unprofitable business model. SMR (Sales, Margin, Return on Equity) rating is based on comparative analysis of weighted Sales, Income Margin and Return on Equity values compared against S&P 500 index constituents. The weighted SMR value is a proprietary formula developed by Tickeron and represents an overall profitability measure for a stock.
The Tickeron Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for this company is 100 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating that the returns do not compensate for the risks. QBTS’s unstable profits reported over time resulted in significant Drawdowns within these last five years. A stable profit reduces stock drawdown and volatility. The average Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for the industry is 91, placing this stock worse than average.
Notable companies
Industry description
Market Cap
High and low price notable news
Volume
Fundamental Analysis Ratings
The average fundamental analysis ratings, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, are as follows
Advertisement
General Information
Industry ComputerProcessingHardware
Advertisement