NEW YORK, April 29, 2026, 05:02 EDT
- IonQ, Rigetti, and D-Wave step into May with earnings reports that could rattle investor expectations.
- The list of public quantum companies is growing, as a wave of IPOs and SPAC deals hits the market.
- Contracts, cash burn, and the real test—turning lab milestones into revenue. That’s still what it all hinges on.
Three quantum computing players have landed on public markets in recent months, and another five are eyeing listings before year-end. That’s turned up the heat on a slim roster of quantum stocks familiar to traders. Looking toward 2026, the main pure-play public names stayed the same: D-Wave Quantum, Rigetti Computing, IonQ, and Quantum Computing Inc. “There was so much appetite for quantum assets,” said Antoine Legault, VP of equity research at Wedbush Securities, in comments to the Wall Street Journal.
May is crammed: IonQ drops Q1 results after the bell on May 6, Rigetti goes next on May 11, also after close. D-Wave takes its turn before the market opens May 12. All three drop numbers—revenues, bookings, cash—just as the sector braces for a fresh wave of investor conferences.
Before the bell on Wednesday, IonQ changed hands at $43.08, Rigetti at $16.39, D-Wave hit $18.11, and Quantum Computing Inc. was seen at $8.57. All four still post negative price-to-earnings ratios, the latest numbers show, underscoring that investors are betting on future growth rather than current profits.
This isn’t the standard growth narrative. Reuters Breakingviews points out that while quantum hardware creeps toward real-world usefulness, the profit picture remains murky. Reuters tallies roughly $500 million in combined operating cash burn from IonQ, D-Wave, Rigetti, and Xanadu in their latest financial years. Qubits—the building blocks of quantum computing, able to exist in several states—still suffer from fragility and frequent errors. IBM and Google (through Alphabet) keep pushing the field forward, but fundamental obstacles remain.
IonQ is back in the spotlight, striking a deal with Florida LambdaRail to roll out a quantum-safe network across the state. The initial phase targets a nearly 100-mile stretch, running from Palm Beach County to Miami-Dade. They’re leaning on quantum key distribution, or QKD, which uses quantum physics to detect any snooping. “Another major milestone,” said IonQ’s Chairman and CEO Niccolo de Masi. investors.ionq.com
IonQ posted the biggest revenue figures in the pure-play quantum space. In February, the company said 2025 revenue soared 202% to $130.0 million. Cash, cash equivalents, and investments piled up to $3.3 billion by the end of the year. For 2026, IonQ is targeting $235 million in revenue at the midpoint of its outlook. CFO and COO Inder Singh pointed out that commercial customers drove more than 60% of the 2025 top line.
Rigetti is sticking to its hardware-first playbook. Earlier this month, the company rolled out its 108-qubit Cepheus-1-108Q machine—now generally available through both Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services and Amazon Braket. Two-qubit gate fidelity landed at a median 99.1%. Gates clock in at around 60 nanoseconds. CEO Subodh Kulkarni called the launch a “milestone that validates” Rigetti’s scaling approach. Rigetti Co, LLC
D-Wave is doubling down on annealing, the quantum approach to optimization, though gate-model systems remain in the pipeline. This week, the company rolled out plans for a busy investor roadshow: management will hit six conferences from May 14 through June 10, with stops slated at Needham, J.P. Morgan, Canaccord Genuity, TD Cowen, Baird, and Rosenblatt events.
At D-Wave, bookings are taking center stage alongside revenue these days. In February, the company posted a 179% surge in 2025 revenue, hitting $24.6 million. Bookings jumped even higher, topping $32.8 million as of Feb. 25—these figures run through the end of the year. Unlike revenue, bookings reflect fresh customer orders, which the company expects to recognize further out. D-Wave closed the period with a record $884.5 million in cash and securities.
Quantum Computing Inc. is the outlier among the group, leaning into photonics but still much smaller than the rest. On April 23, it rolled out NeuraWave, a photonic reservoir computing platform aimed at real-time AI inference at the edge—and said it’s now ready for deployment, with customer orders open. Here, edge computing means handling data on-site rather than sending it to the cloud. CTO Yong Meng Sua called the launch a move that brings photonic computing “out of the laboratory.” Quantum Computing Inc.
Another name might soon join the quantum roster. Honeywell said on April 22 that Quantinuum—its majority-owned quantum computing unit—secretly submitted a draft S-1 to the SEC back on Feb. 17. No word yet on share numbers or price targets. If Quantinuum does go public, investors will have another quantum play to watch.
Growth looks unbalanced. IonQ is banking on scale and a security-network pitch. Rigetti crossed the 108-qubit milestone. D-Wave flags up bookings, stressing its commercial annealing play. QUBT is leaning into photonic AI hardware. Simple risk: if May fails to deliver actual revenue, quantum stocks may keep trading more like speculative bets than reliable businesses.
