D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) continues to see growing interest in its Advantage2 annealing quantum computer system across both commercial and academic markets.
During its May 2026 earnings call, management raised its annual outlook for system sales, now expecting to close 2 or 3 system deals per year.
The company also confirmed that at least 2 system deliveries are anticipated for the current year, reflecting a stronger-than-expected pipeline.
The improved outlook follows record first-quarter bookings of $33.4 million, representing a 1,994% increase from the year-ago quarter and a 149% jump from the fourth quarter of 2025.
More than two dozen commercial customers accounted for more than 31% of quarterly bookings, while educational and research organizations made up the remainder.
The largest single transaction was a $20 million annealing quantum computer system sale to Florida Atlantic University in January, which D-Wave views as a key collaboration to advance quantum computing experimentation and innovation.
During the first quarter of 2026, the dollar value of D-Wave’s sales opportunity pipeline more than doubled from the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, while the average potential deal size also more than doubled over the same period.
Management noted that system sales typically involve multiple stages, including site preparation, delivery, installation, and calibration, before customers begin actively using the systems.
While a significant portion of revenues is recognized upon system delivery, additional revenues are recognized over time as installation and calibration activities continue to progress.
D-Wave also expects most system transactions to include multiyear revenue components such as service and maintenance contracts, as well as access to its cloud service.
On the competitive landscape, Arista Networks (ANET) announced a new portfolio of 1.6T networking platforms designed as the foundation for rack-scale AI infrastructure, with the 7060XE7 Series marking a transition toward comprehensive rack-scale systems.
Astera Labs (ALAB) also announced a significant expansion of its Taiwan operations and Cloud-Scale Interop Lab, deepening its engineering footprint and strategic coordination with customers and ecosystem partners.
Year to date, QBTS shares have declined 30.1%, compared with the broader industry’s 4.5% fall over the same period.
D-Wave is currently trading at a forward five-year Price/Sales ratio of 103.29X, significantly above its 16.25X median and the industry average of 4.06X.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for D-Wave’s 2026 and 2027 loss per share has remained constant over the past 60 days, and the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
