D Wave Quantum Inc (QBTS)

Investing.com -- D-Wave Quantum stock is sliding 5.5% in morning trading after the company released its third-quarter 2026 financial results before the opening bell, producing a mixed report that weighed on investor sentiment. Revenue of $4.51 million came in above the $4.36 million analyst consensus and represented 21% year-over-year growth, but the adjusted loss per share of $0.13 missed the expected $0.10 loss by a meaningful margin. More concerning to traders was the 19% year-over-year decline in quarterly bookings to just $1.9 million, which raised doubts about the pace of near-term demand even as the company's nine-month bookings figure remained robust.

Compounding the earnings-driven pressure, B. Riley Financial trimmed its price target on the stock from $27 to $22 the day before the report — while keeping its Buy rating intact — a move that had already signaled tempered expectations heading into the print. Inside the quarter, operating expenses jumped 84% to $55.9 million, driven by higher personnel costs, stock-based compensation, and depreciation, while the GAAP gross margin compressed to 52.9% from 71.4% a year earlier, reflecting a greater mix of lower-margin professional services revenue.

The broader market provided little relief on the day. A hotter-than-expected October inflation report released before the bell sent technology futures lower, adding a risk-off backdrop that disproportionately affected high-multiple, pre-profitability names like D-Wave. Quantum computing peers, which had surged the prior Friday following strong results from sector bellwether IonQ, were also giving back a portion of those gains in a sector-wide recalibration, removing any sympathy tailwind that might otherwise have cushioned the move.

Taken together, the EPS miss, the sharp quarterly bookings decline, rising operating costs, a freshly lowered analyst price target, and a macro environment rattled by sticky inflation combined to push QBTS to a session low of $10.38 before a partial recovery, with the stock trading at $10.835 — still well off its 52-week high of $32.39 but above its 52-week low of $8.48 — as investors weighed the company's strong cash position of $503.4 million and a conditional $100 million CHIPS Act funding agreement against the near-term financial headwinds.