D-Wave vs. IonQ is not the only quantum battle – there is a real race

• D-Wave ( QBTS ) reported FY2025 revenue of $24.59M on Q4 revenue of $2.75M (missing consensus by 27.6%), up 179% year-over-year, while Q4 bookings increased to $13.4M respectively and January 2026 bookings exceeded $0M. IonQ (IONQ) posted Q4 revenue of $61.89M, beating consensus by 53.7%, with FY2025 revenue of $130.02M (up 202% year-over-year), becoming the first public quantum company to surpass $100M in annual GAAP revenue, and issuing guidance of $2025M-$2025M.

• D-Wave today monetizes near-term optimization solutions for enterprise customers while expanding into gate model computing, while IonQ pursues a full-stack platform strategy by acquiring SkyWater technology to control its chip foundry and build a national quantum network globally.

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D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS) and IonQ ( NYSE:IONQ ) both just reported earnings, indicating two very different bets on how quantum computing will reach commercial scale. D-Wave sells solutions today. IonQ is building the platform it believes will dominate tomorrow.

D-Wave’s Q4 headline numbers were soft. Revenue reached $2.75 million, a lack of consensus by -27.63%, and full-year 2025 revenue totaled $24.59 million, up 179% year-over-year. The growth is real, but the base is small. The booking story is more important: Q4 bookings reached $13.4 million, up 471% sequentially, and generated more than $30 million in January 2026 bookings alone. CEO Alan Baratz put it plainly:

“We’re entering 2026 with exceptional momentum: generating more than $30 million in bookings in January alone, expanding our market leadership through the acquisition of gate-module quantum computing company Quantum Circuits, Inc., and securing an eight-figure QCaaS enterprise contract that leverages our growing power to build our client’s technology.”

READ: The analyst named NVIDIA in 2010 Just naming his top 10 AI stocks

Alan Baratz, CEO, D-Wave Quantum

The IonQ quarter looks different on the scale. Q4 2025 revenue reached $61.89 million, beating consensus by 53.73% and growing 428.5% year over year. Full-year 2025 revenue reached $130.02 million, up 202%. IonQ became the first public quantum company to surpass $100 million in GAAP annual revenue, setting it apart from any sector peer.

D-Wave’s thesis is that annealing quantum computers are now solving real optimization problems for real paying customers. The company counts more than 135 clients, including 70+ commercial companies and two dozen Forbes Global 2000 companies. Ford Autosan is running a hybrid quantum car production scheduling application in production — not a pilot. D-Wave also acquired Quantum Circuits to add gate module capability, targeting a 17-qubit system in 2026, 49 qubit in 2027 and scaling to 181 in 2028.

IonQ makes a great game. CEO Niccolo De Masi put it straight: “We have now integrated our capabilities to create a strong operational momentum in 2026.” The company has deployed national quantum networks in Switzerland, Slovakia, and Romania, has deals with AstraZeneca, NVIDIA, CERN, and South Korea’s KISTI, and is acquiring SkyWater technology to control its chip foundry. 2026 guidance calls for revenue of $225 million to $245 million, with the SkyWater deal not yet included.

Both stocks have pulled back hard in 2026. QBTS is down 32.89% year-to-date while IONQ is down 26.5% over the same period. Neither are cheap compared to income. D-Wave trades at a market cap of about 260x its annual earnings. IonQ, despite its scale advantages, is still burning cash aggressively, with full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA losses expected between ($330 million) and ($310 million).

IonQ’s revenue path, customer list, and platform breadth reflect the company’s size toward commercial infrastructure. D-Wave’s optimization space, gateway model expansion, and booking growth reflect the company already generating revenue from Quantum. Both significantly reduce risk and pre-profit losses as the sector grows.

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