D-Wave Posts 2,000% Bookings Jump as Revenue Drops, Showing Quantum’s Uneven Growth Curve
D-Wave Quantum reported $33.4 million in first-quarter bookings, a nearly 2,000% year-over-year increase, whereas revenue fell 81% to $2.9 million due to the absence of a large prior-year system sale. The gap between surging bookings and shrinking revenue captures the irregular commercial rhythm of quantum computing, where a single contract can reshape a quarter’s financials in either direction.
Big Deals Drive the Numbers
According to the company’s Q1 2026 results reported on May 12, two contracts accounted for most of the bookings spike. Florida Atlantic University agreed to buy an Advantage2 annealing quantum computer for $20 million, with installation expected before the end of 2026. A Fortune 100 company, which D-Wave did not name, signed a $10 million quantum-computing-as-a-service agreement, the largest cloud deal in the company’s history.
Remaining performance obligations, essentially contracted revenue that has not yet been recognized, reached $42.4 million. That figure is up 563% from a year ago and more than triple the level at the end of 2025. D-Wave expects about 54% of those obligations to turn into revenue within the next 12 months.
Gate-Model Expansion Through Acquisition
D-Wave also closed its acquisition of Quantum Circuits during the quarter. The deal gives D-Wave access to dual-rail superconducting qubit technology aimed at improving error correction, a critical bottleneck across the quantum industry. The company published a roadmap targeting 175 physical qubits by 2028, 1,000 by 2030, and systems supporting 100 logical qubits by 2032.
Logical qubits, which are error-corrected and capable of sustained reliable computation, remain the industry’s clearest benchmark for practical quantum advantage. Most machines today run on physical qubits that lose coherence quickly.
Costs Rising Fast
The acquisition and broader hiring push drove operating expenses to $56.5 million, more than double the prior year. Net loss widened to $18.4 million from $5.4 million. Adjusted EBITDA loss hit $32.8 million, compared with $6.1 million a year earlier.
D-Wave also pointed to early commercial results from partnerships. A drug discovery collaboration with Japan’s Shionogi reportedly produced a tenfold increase in viable molecular candidates compared to classical machine-learning methods. Separately, a quantum-classical blockchain test network with Postquant Labs ran over 1,600 nodes, with D-Wave’s quantum processor outperforming classical nodes in mining operations.
The company plans to share more details at an investor day on June 1 at the New York Stock Exchange.