D-Wave Quantum stock slides despite 1,120% surge in bookings

D-Wave Quantum saw its stock drop between 7% and 13% after reporting second-quarter earnings on August 6, despite unveiling a first-half bookings number that would make most early-stage tech companies weep with envy. The company posted a 1,120% year-over-year increase in bookings, reaching $35.5 million. Wall Street, characteristically, focused on the parts that didn’t look as pretty. Q2 revenue came in at $3.1 million, essentially flat compared to the prior year and well below analyst estimates of roughly $4 million. The adjusted loss landed at $0.13 per share, wider than the $0.09 consensus. In English: D-Wave is signing a lot of future deals but hasn’t figured out how to turn them into revenue fast enough for investors’ taste. The bookings story vs. the revenue story D-Wave’s first-half bookings surged from $2.9 million in H1 2025 to $35.5 million in H1 2026, a jaw-dropping increase driven in large part by a single $20 million system sale. Remaining performance obligations, which represent contracted revenue that hasn’t been recognized yet, hit $40.7 million. That’s a 668% increase year-over-year. Meanwhile, D-Wave’s customer mix is shifting in a promising direction. Forbes Glob...