On May 21, quantum computing company D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) announced that it had received a letter of intent from the U.S. Department of Commerce under the CHIPS and Science Act for $100 million in funding, in exchange for which the company will sell an equivalent amount of stock to the Department. Following the news, the stock closed the trading session up 33.4%, with market cap close to $9.5 bilion.
Drivers of the rally: government backing and business breakthroughs
The strength behind D-Wave’s move is not based on a single piece of news but a series of positive signals. First, the CHIPS Act funding represents a critical “vote of confidence.” The U.S. government’s decision to inject $100 million into D-Wave not only provides direct capital but also serves as powerful policy endorsement. In the highly uncertain frontier field of quantum computing, official support implies that the company’s technological path and commercial prospects have received national-level recognition.
Second, there have been tangible business developments. In the first quarter of 2026, D-Wave’s bookings reached a record $33.4million, surpassing the company′s total bookings for fiscal 2024 and 2025 combined. At the same time, the company acquired Quantum Circuits Inc. for $550 million, making D-Wave the only dual-platform quantum company — one that has both annealing and gate-model quantum computers. Additionally, D-Wave announced a collaboration with two defense companies, Davidson Technologies and Anduril, to work together on quantum applications for U.S. air and missile defense. These factors together support the market’s growth expectations for D-Wave.
Risks that cannot be ignored: widening losses and lofty valuation
However, behind the impressive gains, significant risks remain. On the financial front, losses are mounting. D-Wave posted a net loss of $355.1 million in fiscal 2025, a sharp increase from $143.9 million in 2024. In the first quarter of 2026, the net loss was $18.4million. Although quantum computing companies are generally in an investment-heavy phase, the fact that losses are growing faster than revenue remains a sword hanging over the company.
On the competitive front, rival IonQ has a clear lead. IonQ reported $130 million in revenue for 2025, compared to D−Wave′s just $24.6 million. While IonQ is also loss-making, its larger revenue scale suggests it is closer to commercial viability. The quantum computing space is crowded, with tech giants like Google and IBM also eyeing the market.
On the valuation front, bubble concerns are hard to ignore. Based on a $9.5 billion market cap and last year′s revenue of $24.6 million, the price-to-sales ratio stands at roughly 386 times (still over 249 times after adjusting for the latest data). This means the market has already priced in an extremely high premium for future success. Any development that falls short of expectations could trigger a sharp pullback.
Conclusion: Is it too late to buy?
For D-Wave, the answer depends on the investor’s risk tolerance and investment horizon. For short-term speculators, the stock is extremely volatile – daily moves of more than 30% are not uncommon – and the risks of chasing highs are self-evident. For long-term investors, quantum computing is still at a very early stage, and the path to commercial viability remains unclear. D-Wave’s technological strength and government backing are advantages, but in a context where profitability is still far off, competition is intensifying, and valuations are already expensive, making a heavy bet is nothing short of a high-stakes gamble.
A more rational strategy would be: if you are bullish on the quantum computing sector over the long term, consider diversifying single-company risk by investing in a quantum computing ETF, or only hold D-Wave as a small “satellite allocation” within a broader portfolio. After all, the 3,310% gain is now history – the future story still needs to be written with tangible results.
