IQM Quantum Computers Q3 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• Q3 revenue was €8.9 million, while new orders totaled €42.2 million, including a €33 million contract for an error-correction system at Finland’s CSC Supercomputing Center. Backlog rose to €102.5 million from €69.1 million at the end of June.
• IQM reiterated full-year revenue guidance of €42 million to €47 million and order-intake guidance of €65 million to €75 million. Results depend in part on customers accepting its first two 150-qubit systems, which have shipped and are being installed.
• The company reported a €171 million Q3 operating loss, including substantial one-time listing-related expenses. It ended the quarter with €260 million in cash and said its cash runway extends into Q2 2028.

IQM Quantum Computers NASDAQ: IQMX reported €8.9 million in third-quarter revenue and €42.2 million in new orders, led by a €33 million contract for an error-correction system at Finland’s CSC Supercomputing Center.

The company reiterated its full-year revenue forecast of €42 million to €47 million, while cautioning that the timing of customer acceptance for its first 150-qubit systems will be critical to fourth-quarter results. Chief Financial Officer Jan Kuerschner said the two systems have left the factory and are being installed at customer sites.

“For standardized systems, we recognize revenue at the point when the customer accepts the system, not when it’s shipped or installed,” Kuerschner said. Acceptance can depend on customer-site readiness, infrastructure and public-sector procurement approvals, he added.

Backlog grows as listing costs weigh on results

IQM ended the quarter with an order backlog of €102.5 million, up from €69.1 million at the end of June. The company expects €59.5 million of the third-quarter backlog to be recognized as revenue within the following 12 months.

Revenue for the first nine months of 2026 rose 49% to €17.7 million from €11.9 million a year earlier. Hardware and services accounted for €8.7 million of third-quarter revenue, with the remainder coming from cloud usage and co-development projects. Gross margin was 47%, compared with 46% in the second quarter.

IQM posted an operating loss of €171 million for the quarter and €232 million for the first nine months. The quarterly loss included €13.5 million in one-time transaction costs associated with its listing and a €127 million noncash share-based listing expense related to its merger with RAAQ.

Kuerschner said the company had recorded all of its one-time listing-related costs and did not expect additional such costs in the fourth quarter. He attributed underlying cost growth to research and development, sales and delivery capacity, and public-company expenses.

Cash and cash equivalents stood at €260 million at quarter-end, down from €309 million immediately after the July 2 listing. Third-quarter operating cash outflow was €48.3 million, including €6.2 million associated with the listing. Kuerschner said the cash balance provides a runway into the second quarter of 2028.

Finland contract anchors new orders

The CSC contract is IQM’s first order for its Halocene error-correction platform. The system, called LUMI-IQ, will be integrated into the LUMI AI Factory in Kajaani, Finland. CEO and co-founder Jan Goetz said the contract was roughly equal in value to IQM’s entire 2025 revenue.

The system is scheduled for delivery in stages: a 150-physical-qubit Halocene H4 system in 2027, an upgrade in 2028 intended to enable real-time error correction, and a Halocene H5 system in 2029. Kuerschner confirmed that the upgrades are included in the €33 million contract value.

Goetz said the final system is designed to support computations with up to nine fault-tolerant logical qubits using specified error-correction codes. He also said Halocene systems will provide error-correction capabilities that customers using IQM’s existing Radiance and Spark systems would otherwise need to implement themselves.

IQM also announced an order from repeat customer TOYO in Japan and its first quantum computer deployment in South America, at Brazil’s Eldorado Research Institute. The company’s Radiance 20 system at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the United States is live and operational, Goetz said.

Goetz said IQM had cumulatively sold 31 full-stack quantum computers, including a Community of Madrid system announced after quarter-end, and had delivered 17. In response to an analyst’s question about the company’s statement that another 17 systems were in production, Kuerschner said all systems being built had customers tied to them.

Delivery timing and technology roadmap

IQM maintained its forecast for full-year order intake of €65 million to €75 million, with €52.9 million booked through the first nine months. Kuerschner said some orders in the third-quarter total involved systems that had not yet been announced; cloud bookings were not material to the total.

During the question-and-answer session, Kuerschner said a system for Spain’s CESGA had not yet been delivered and was facing a slight delay into the beginning of next year. He said the delay did not affect the company’s revenue guidance.

Goetz said IQM is targeting its first error-correction demonstrations in 2027, with customer deliveries typically following 12 to 18 months after each demonstration. The company plans to move toward its barbell codes while retaining surface codes as a potential fallback for some functions, he said.

Asked whether Halocene would primarily attract new customers or drive upgrades among existing ones, Goetz said IQM expects both. Some of the 31 systems sold were already upgrades, he said, while new geographic markets offer opportunities to add customers.

About IQM Quantum Computers (NASDAQ:IQMX)

IQM Quantum Computers is a Finnish quantum-computing company that develops full-stack quantum systems based on superconducting quantum processors. The company provides quantum hardware, control electronics, software and related integration services designed to help research institutions, businesses and public-sector organizations explore quantum applications.

Founded in 2018 by a group of quantum-technology researchers and entrepreneurs, including Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Jan Goetz, IQM has its headquarters in Espoo, Finland.

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