D-Wave Rises 12% in 1 Day, Beating Rivals: What Caused the Spike?

Key Points

• D-Wave Quantum's share price spiked again in mid-July, climbing by about a quarter in one week.
• There appeared to be no specific catalyst for the rally. 
• As promising as D-Wave is, the company continues to face profitability challenges that have plagued the quantum industry; investors should be cautious of speculative hype.

Despite tripling in value in the last six months, shares of D-Wave Quantum Inc. NYSE: QBTS seemed to be rallying once again with an increase of nearly 26% over a five-day period in mid-July 2025. This surge comes after D-Wave shares traded mostly horizontally for about two months starting in mid-May. Rivals including Quantum Computing Inc. NASDAQ: QUBT and IonQ Inc. NYSE: IONQ rose as well, but only by about 10% each over the same period. D-Wave managed to log a 12% increase in share price in just a single day.

What's behind the latest spike, and, perhaps more importantly, could it signal a push toward new record highs?

The Hunt for Profitability

Many quantum computing stocks have risen in recent weeks as investors have tracked noteworthy technological achievements. D-Wave had its own milestone earlier this year when it achieved a feat known as quantum supremacy for the first time, while rival Rigetti Computing Inc. NASDAQ: RGTI announced in July that it had successfully halved its median two-qubit gate error rate, sending RGTI shares skyrocketing by about 40% in a week.

These achievements are undoubtedly important for firms like D-Wave, as they signal crucial technological advances that presumably bring these companies closer to bringing mass quantum computing to market. They can also help fuel investor speculation (indeed, some portion of the gains D-Wave and other quantum firms saw in mid-July may be attributable to investor optimism inspired by Rigetti). However, technical advances do not necessarily have a direct impact on top-line performance.

Like its competitors, D-Wave has found profitability to be elusive so far. Although the company's revenue, just $15 million in the latest quarter, was well above analyst predictions, it is still reliant on major quantum rig purchases from large institutions and governments.

However, the company posted its smallest quarterly losses since going public for the same quarter. Further, D-Wave has a key leg up as it works toward sustained profitability: its strong balance sheet. The company's recent $400-million ATM offering, which brings reserves close to $1 billion, was especially important in the building of that balance sheet.

Market Sentiment Is Strong

While profitability is challenging for the entire quantum computing industry, building investor hype is not. There seems to be a feeling across the investment world that quantum firms are approaching a point where technology will become widespread. NVIDIA Corp. NASDAQ: NVDA CEO Jensen Huang was one of the latest significant tech figures to fuel that fire when he remarked that quantum computing as a field may be on the verge of an "inflection point" in comments made in June.

For this reason, it's also possible that D-Wave's recent surge has resulted from further speculation. In the midst of the mid-July spike, investors purchased more than 201,000 call options for QBTS shares in a single day, a full two-thirds higher than daily averages. 

Because other investors often interpret the purchase of call options as a signal of bullishness, the fact that options trading was up may have helped to spur a new round of speculation.

Analyst Bullishness Remains, But Beware the Hype

Analysts are uniformly optimistic about D-Wave's potential, as the company has garnered eight Buy ratings against zero Holds or Sells. In June, a wave of analysts either reiterated Buy ratings, increased price targets for QBTS shares, or both. In early July, Cantor Fitzgerald analysts initiated coverage of QBTS with an Overweight rating and a $20 price target. This is good news for D-Wave, although the company is trading some 24% above the consensus price target.

However, investors would be wise to remember that even strong bullishness from analysts across Wall Street is likely based on D-Wave's presumed potential. Considering real earnings and sales figures, D-Wave trades at sky-high valuations, like many of its quantum computing peers.

For example, the company has a price/sales ratio of more than 624 and a price/book ratio of 82.0. Could D-Wave shares priced below $20 each one day seem like an unbelievable bargain? Absolutely, but in the meantime, investors will have to bide their time, and of course, there is no guarantee that will ever be the case.

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