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QBTS Stock Climbs As U.S. Backs D-Wave Quantum Bet Thumbnail

QBTS Stock Climbs As U.S. Backs D-Wave Quantum Bet

JACK KELLOGGUPDATED SEP. 17, 2026, 12:32 PM ET
Reviewed by Ellis Hobbsand Fact-checked by Matt Monaco

D-Wave Quantum Inc. stocks have been trading up by 7.68 percent following bullish news on its quantum computing advancements.

Key Takeaways For QBTS Traders

  • U.S. Department of Commerce signed a definitive deal granting D-Wave access to up to $100M in CHIPS Act funding in exchange for a minority, non-controlling equity stake.
  • NTT DOCOMO launched a second production app on D-Wave tech, slashing key mobile network signals by 65.3% and 7.0%, proving real-world value.
  • BMO Capital started coverage on QBTS with an Outperform rating and a $35 price target; shares jumped about 7% after the call.
  • D-Wave will headline Quantum World Congress 2026 and host Qubits Asia 2026 in Seoul, underscoring global enterprise and APAC demand.
  • Long-time CFO John Markovich is retiring on 2026/09/02; senior finance executive Greg Golkov steps in as acting CFO, with no reported disputes.

Candlestick Chart

Live Update At 12:31:57 EDT: On Thursday, September 17, 2026 D-Wave Quantum Inc. stock [NASDAQ: QBTS] is trending up by 7.68%! Discover the key drivers behind this movement as well as our expert analysis in the detailed breakdown below.

Quick Financial Overview

QBTS is trading like a volatile growth story, not a sleepy tech name. Over the last few weeks, D-Wave Quantum Inc. has bounced between roughly $16.00 and $19.50, with the latest daily close near $17.52. That puts QBTS below recent highs, but well above its early range, a classic consolidation after a strong news-driven move.

Intraday, the 5‑minute tape shows a steady grind higher from the mid‑$16s into the high‑$17s, with tight candles and controlled pullbacks. That tells traders there’s demand on dips and no panic selling, even as the stock pauses.

Fundamentals are early-stage, high-burn. D-Wave reported about $24.6M in trailing revenue with a strong 64.2% gross margin, but operating losses are heavy, with EBITDA around -$42.7M and free cash flow near -$33.1M in the latest quarter. The balance sheet, however, is a key support: roughly $296.6M in cash and minimal debt, with a current ratio near 20.6. For QBTS traders, that cash runway lowers near-term financing fear and keeps the focus on catalysts, not survival.

In short, QBTS is a high-risk, high-upside quantum play where price action reacts sharply to news and narrative shifts.

Why Traders Are Watching QBTS Right Now

QBTS is back on radar screens because the U.S. government is not just talking about quantum – it is writing big checks. D-Wave Quantum finalized a definitive agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce granting access to up to $100M in CHIPS and Science Act funding. In return, Commerce takes a minority, non‑controlling equity stake. For traders, that’s crucial: D-Wave Quantum Inc. gets scale-up capital without giving Washington a steering wheel.

This CHIPS Act money is earmarked to push a 100,000‑qubit annealer and a 10,000‑qubit gate‑model machine. That directly underpins QBTS’s long-term roadmap. The premarket jump of about 4.5% on the funding news showed how sensitive the stock is to de‑risking headlines. When the market sees government validation and extended runway, it tends to price in bigger future optionality.

Wall Street is starting to lean in as well. BMO Capital initiated coverage on QBTS with an Outperform rating and a $35 price target, well above recent trading levels. The stock ripped about 7% after that call, even on below‑average volume, signaling that not many traders were willing to sell into fresh bullish coverage.

On the commercial side, the NTT DOCOMO deployment matters more than any slide deck. QBTS technology is now powering a second production application at the Japanese giant, cutting peak location registration signals by 65.3% and paging signals by 7.0%. That is real network cost savings, not theory. It tells traders that D-Wave’s annealing systems are already in production, with repeat business from a tier‑one telco – a rare feat in quantum.

Layer on top D-Wave Quantum’s platinum sponsorship at Quantum World Congress 2026 and the Qubits Asia 2026 conference in Seoul, and QBTS is positioning itself as a global thought leader. Those stages in Washington and APAC give the company a pipeline of enterprise leads across telecom, manufacturing, AI, semiconductors, and port logistics. For active traders, that’s a steady drip of potential catalysts, partnerships, and headline flow.

Conclusion

For active traders, QBTS sits at the intersection of story, funding, and early traction. D-Wave Quantum just locked in access to up to $100M in CHIPS Act support while keeping that stake non‑controlling, which stabilizes the long-term R&D push without handing over control. At the same time, real‑world deployments like NTT DOCOMO’s second production app show that QBTS is more than hype – large customers are running live workloads and seeing measurable gains.

The backdrop is still high burn and negative margins, and the CFO transition adds a governance watchpoint. Long-time finance chief John Markovich is stepping down on 2026/09/02, with seasoned internal executive Greg Golkov stepping in as acting CFO. The company says there are no disagreements on accounting or operations, but traders should still track upcoming earnings and any permanent CFO hire for confirmation of stability.

Meanwhile, the chart tells its own story. QBTS is holding higher lows, with intraday action showing buyers stepping in around the mid‑$16s and pushing toward the upper‑$17s. That pattern, combined with BMO’s $35 target, the government funding deal, and global conference visibility, keeps QBTS front and center for momentum and swing setups.

As Tim Sykes likes to hammer home, “Patterns repeat, but only if you’re prepared.” As millionaire penny stock trader and teacher Tim Sykes, says, “Consistency is key in trading; don’t let emotions dictate your trades.”. For QBTS, the pattern right now is clear: strong news, sharp reactions, and tight consolidations. Traders who study the catalysts, respect the risk, stay disciplined, and cut losses fast will be best positioned to navigate the quantum noise and focus on the actionable moves. This analysis is for educational and research purposes only, and every trader must make independent decisions based on their own homework.

This is stock news, not investment advice. Timothy Sykes News delivers real-time stock market news focused on key catalysts driving short-term price movements. Our content is tailored for active traders and investors seeking to capitalize on rapid price fluctuations, particularly in volatile sectors like penny stocks. Readers come to us for detailed coverage on earnings reports, mergers, FDA approvals, new contracts, and unusual trading volumes that can trigger significant short-term price action. Some users utilize our news to explain sudden stock movements, while others rely on it for diligent research into potential investment opportunities.

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The available research on day trading suggests that most active traders lose money. Fees and overtrading are major contributors to these losses.

A 2000 study called “Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors” evaluated 66,465 U.S. households that held stocks from 1991 to 1996. The households that traded most averaged an 11.4% annual return during a period where the overall market gained 17.9%. These lower returns were attributed to overconfidence.

A 2014 paper (revised 2019) titled “Learning Fast or Slow?” analyzed the complete transaction history of the Taiwan Stock Exchange between 1992 and 2006. It looked at the ongoing performance of day traders in this sample, and found that 97% of day traders can expect to lose money from trading, and more than 90% of all day trading volume can be traced to investors who predictably lose money. Additionally, it tied the behavior of gamblers and drivers who get more speeding tickets to overtrading, and cited studies showing that legalized gambling has an inverse effect on trading volume.

A 2019 research study (revised 2020) called “Day Trading for a Living?” observed 19,646 Brazilian futures contract traders who started day trading from 2013 to 2015, and recorded two years of their trading activity. The study authors found that 97% of traders with more than 300 days actively trading lost money, and only 1.1% earned more than the Brazilian minimum wage ($16 USD per day). They hypothesized that the greater returns shown in previous studies did not differentiate between frequent day traders and those who traded rarely, and that more frequent trading activity decreases the chance of profitability.

These studies show the wide variance of the available data on day trading profitability. One thing that seems clear from the research is that most day traders lose money .

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Citations for Disclaimer

Barber, Brad M. and Odean, Terrance, Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors. Available at SSRN: “Day Trading for a Living?”

Barber, Brad M. and Lee, Yi-Tsung and Liu, Yu-Jane and Odean, Terrance and Zhang, Ke, Learning Fast or Slow? (May 28, 2019). Forthcoming: Review of Asset Pricing Studies, Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=2535636”

Chague, Fernando and De-Losso, Rodrigo and Giovannetti, Bruno, Day Trading for a Living? (June 11, 2020). Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=3423101”