New York, January 21, 2026, 10:35 EST — Regular session
- D-Wave shares ticked up about 0.5% in early trading after wrapping up its Quantum Circuits acquisition
- A new prospectus lets former Quantum Circuits shareholders sell up to 10.43 million D-Wave shares. D-Wave won’t get any of the sales proceeds.
- Investors brace for potential selling pressure and updates on product roadmaps at D-Wave’s Qubits conference next week
D-Wave Quantum’s stock inched higher Wednesday after wrapping up its acquisition of Quantum Circuits. The company filed paperwork revealing plans to resell shares tied to the transaction. Shares ticked up about 0.5%, hitting $27.17 during morning trading.
These filings carry weight—they lay out a short-term supply risk. A resale registration won’t bring in cash right away, but it can spark selling if those holding the deal shares decide to exit quickly.
D-Wave finds itself at a sensitive moment, serving as a volatile gauge of investor appetite for early-stage quantum computing. The company is trying to reassure investors it can evolve beyond its core “annealing” systems by acquiring gate-model technology.
In a prospectus supplement dated Jan. 20, D-Wave revealed that selling stockholders could put up to 10,430,444 shares of common stock on the market. The company emphasized it “will not receive any proceeds” from these sales. The filing highlighted uncertainty about if or when, or how many shares might actually be sold. It also confirmed the shares were issued as part of the Quantum Circuits acquisition. 1
But the deal isn’t without its risks. According to an 8-K filing, D-Wave disclosed the closing consideration includes 10,430,444 shares plus $250 million in cash, though those figures are subject to adjustments. The companies have also agreed on a registration rights agreement linked to the stock component. D-Wave cautioned that integrating the businesses could prove difficult and warned the share price might drop if the anticipated “synergies” between annealing and gate-model technologies don’t pan out as expected. 2
D-Wave maintained an upbeat outlook. CEO Alan Baratz called the Quantum Circuits acquisition “a watershed moment.” At the same time, Quantum Circuits co-founder Rob Schoelkopf said the deal “gives us a decisive advantage” in gate-model quantum computing. 3
For anyone not following the tech split: annealing machines focus on particular optimization tasks, whereas gate-model systems aim broader, appealing to firms looking to run a wider variety of algorithms. D-Wave is betting on both, confident the two methods can share engineering efforts and customer relationships.
The market’s key concern isn’t abstract. It boils down to one thing: what portion of the newly registered stock will trade, and on what timeline.
Traders are fixated on any news about when D-Wave will roll out its first gate-model system and whether there’s early demand from customers. They’re watching closely to see if the company stays on track with execution while merging a new team and technology stack.
D-Wave’s Qubits 2026 conference will take place Jan. 27–28 in Boca Raton, Florida, marking the next key event on the calendar. The company is expected to reveal its updated product roadmap during the gathering. 4
