QBTS Stock Is Rising, but This Investor Thinks Its Prospects Are Dim

Looks like Monday will be quite a day for D-Wave Quantum (NASDAQ:QBTS). Shares are up by 7% in premarket trading after the company unveiled a new agreement with AT&T aimed at broadening the telecom giant’s use of D-Wave’s quantum computing technology for network optimization.

Claim 55% Off TipRanks

High conviction QBTS bulls now have this Tradr ETF

The financial terms and duration of the agreement were not disclosed.

AT&T initially plans to incorporate D-Wave’s quantum annealing technology into the tools supporting its agentic AI systems. Those systems helped the company reduce customer downtime by 12 million hours in 2025 through more effective outage detection and network management.

During an initial deployment, D-Wave reduced the time required to process a network optimization workload from approximately one hour to less than 15 seconds. AT&T now plans to assess the technology for additional applications, including outage detection and response, technician routing, network construction planning, and traffic management. The addition of new quantum capabilities could further enhance the role of AI agents in AT&T’s network operations.

Meanwhile, the stock also kicks off its trading on Nasdaq today (July 27) after voluntarily transferring its listing from the NYSE, while retaining its QBTS ticker. Ahead of the change, D-Wave CEO Dr. Alan Baratz said the exchange was a good fit as Nasdaq is the “marketplace for companies shaping the future of technology.”

Additionally, D-Wave got a favorable review from Benchmark, which initiated coverage of the stock with a Buy rating.

All of that, however, will probably make little of an impression on investor Melissa Tucker, who believes D-Wave remains “overvalued, with revenue lagging peers and a delayed technology roadmap.”

Tucker also believes Wall Street’s forecasts are overly bullish.

Excluding quarters in which D-Wave sells a quantum computer, the company’s quarterly revenue has seldom exceeded $3 million. Analysts are forecasting $4 million in Q2 revenue. Tucker would be “pleasantly surprised” if D-Wave reaches that figure, although her own estimate is closer to $3.5 million.

Tucker also believes the full-year projections are too ambitious. Her estimate is for ~$35 million in revenue in 2026, even after factoring in the expected $20 million sale of an Advantage2TM annealing quantum computer to Florida Atlantic University by the end of the year. The investor does not expect any additional sale agreements to be completed before year-end.

Based on those revenue projections, D-Wave’s valuation implies a price-to-sales multiple of approximately 171x, considerably exceeding the multiples assigned to IonQ and Infleqtion, the two names Tucker sees as the “best-positioned companies in the sector.”

D-Wave also faces additional potential pressure from IonQ’s announcement in January that it had agreed to acquire SkyWater. The deal could create complications for D-Wave’s annealing roadmap because the company depends on SkyWater as its foundry partner. “While I expect SkyWater to continue working with D-Wave, D-Wave may no longer be SkyWater’s highest strategic priority,” Tucker said.

To this end, Tucker rates QBTS stock a Sell. (To watch Tucker’s track record, click here)

However, none of the Street’s analysts agree with Tucker’s stance. In fact, based on 12 Buys and 1 Hold, the analyst consensus rates the stock a Strong Buy. Meanwhile, the $38.27 average price target implies shares will climb 136% higher in the months ahead. (See QBTS stock forecast)