D-Wave Quantum: A Network Metric That Cuts Through the Noise

Sometimes the most telling data point in a quantum computing company’s story isn’t found in its income statement — it’s buried in the signalling traffic of a Japanese mobile network. When NTT DOCOMO switched on its second production application built on D-Wave technology in mid-August, location registration signals during peak hours fell by 65.3 percent and paging signals dropped 7.0 percent. That is not marketing collateral; that is real network load disappearing in a live commercial environment.

The contrast between that operational milestone and the company’s market performance could hardly be starker. D-Wave Quantum shares closed Friday at €14.30, roughly 20 percent below their level 30 days earlier and down 37 percent since the start of the year. The stock now sits about 65 percent beneath its 52-week high of €40.41, reached in October.

A Backlog That Grows While Revenue Stands Still

Second-quarter results illustrate the disconnect between D-Wave’s commercial traction and its financial reality. Revenue came in at $3.1 million, essentially flat year over year, while gross margin contracted from 63.8 percent to 55.4 percent on higher personnel costs. The market had expected a loss of $0.08 per share on revenue of $4.03 million; the company delivered a loss of $0.10 per share on $3.08 million — a miss on both counts that disappointed investors.

Yet bookings — the forward-looking indicator of future revenue — climbed 59 percent to $2.1 million, with average order size surging more than 87 percent. The commercial customer share of revenue jumped from 45.1 percent to 62.4 percent, while Forbes Global 2000 corporations now account for 47.7 percent of revenue, up from 20.4 percent.

That shift in customer composition, rather than quarterly revenue figures that remain hostage to lumpy system sales, is arguably the metric that matters most at this stage of the company’s evolution. Management has guided for two annealing system deliveries in the fourth quarter, though revenue recognition may slip partially into 2027. With each system priced between $20 million and $40 million and only two to three sales expected annually, the model remains granular and inherently volatile.

Legal Scrutiny and a Finance Chief’s Exit

The departure of CFO John Markovich, effective September 2 after five years during which he oversaw more than $900 million in capital raises, has landed at an awkward moment. Greg Golkov, a longtime finance executive from within the company, has stepped in as interim CFO — a move that preserves continuity but does little to soften the optics of a finance chief exiting mid-transformation.

Two law firms have taken notice. Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check and Pomerantz LLP have both opened investigations into potential U.S. securities law violations, explicitly citing the August 6 earnings report and Markovich’s resignation. Kessler Topaz has tied its probe directly to the missed second-quarter revenue guidance. Whether these investigations produce actionable claims remains an open question — such inquiries frequently conclude without litigation — but the announcement alone has added a layer of uncertainty to the stock’s narrative.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying D-Wave Quantum?

Insider activity has done little to reassure. Over the past twelve months, executives and insiders have sold a net $108 million more than they purchased. June alone saw five reported transactions totaling $5.8 million, including three share sales. This may reflect routine option exercises from a company that went public in 2022 rather than a vote of no confidence, but it compounds the perception issues.

A Contrarian Institutional Bet

Not everyone is heading for the exits. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired roughly 204,727 shares during the second quarter of 2026, valued at about $4.9 million, according to an SEC filing. An institutional insurer building a position of that size is rarely acting on pure speculation, and the purchase offers a counterpoint to the prevailing bearish sentiment.

Still, the technical picture remains fragile. The relative strength index sits at 39.4 — not flashing oversold panic, but hardly indicating momentum — and annualized 30-day volatility of 89 percent makes this a holding for investors with strong stomachs and long time horizons.

Two Timelines, One Stock

What emerges is a company operating on two different clocks. The first is the pace of genuine customer deployment, where the DOCOMO project demonstrates that quantum annealing is moving from laboratory curiosity to production reality. The second is the speed of capital markets, which judge quarterly and punish mercilessly.

The next earnings report, scheduled for November 5, will reveal whether the promised fourth-quarter system deliveries translate into recognized revenue or whether the slippage toward 2027 continues while market patience wears thin. Between now and then, the legal investigations will cast their shadow, and the interim CFO will carry the finance function through a period when every communication is scrutinized for signs of instability.

The events of recent weeks — disappointing results, a CFO departure, and now attorney investigations — signal a warning about near-term leadership and communication stability. They do not, on the evidence available, prove deeper balance-sheet problems. For investors, the distinction matters, and the coming months will determine which interpretation holds.