New York, August 26, 2026, 19:59 (EDT)
- D-Wave ended the session at $17.51, falling 9.51%, before bouncing back 2.11% in after-hours trading.
- The drop wiped out about $679 million, calculated with 369.26 million shares in circulation.
- Chief Financial Officer John Markovich is set to retire on September 2, with Greg Golkov appointed as acting CFO.
D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NASDAQ:QBTS) shares dropped 9.51% on Wednesday following news of the chief financial officer’s retirement. The stock ended the session at $17.51, before climbing 2.11% to $17.88 in after-hours trade at 19:59 EDT.
The regular session’s $1.84 drop wiped out an estimated $679 million in value, based on MarketWatch’s count of 369.26 million shares outstanding. The $0.37 gain in after-hours trading recouped about $137 million, meaning $543 million remained lost.
John Markovich is set to retire and step down as of September 2. Greg Golkov, Senior Vice President of Finance, will take over as acting CFO, as well as principal financial and accounting officer. Markovich gave notice to D-Wave on August 19.
D-Wave stated that the resignation was not due to any disagreement regarding operations, accounting, disclosures, or internal controls. Since May 2023, Golkov has been responsible for accounting, SEC reporting, planning, treasury, and tax.
The succession follows a second quarter with mixed results. Revenue stood at $3.1 million, staying flat compared to a year ago. GAAP operating expenses jumped 93% to $55.0 million, and adjusted EBITDA loss increased 85% to $37.1 million.
Bookings provide a clearer measure of demand. In the first half, bookings totaled $35.5 million, rising 1,120%. Yet, $20 million of this figure resulted from a single system sale, with its revenue to be booked at a later date.
The $543 million decline in equity value is approximately 15.3 times the bookings recorded in the first half. It also represents nearly 175 times the revenue of the most recent quarter. Such ratios highlight investor focus on financial management as contracts are turned into reported sales.
| Quantum stock | Aug. 26 close | Daily move | Market value |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-Wave (NASDAQ:QBTS) | $17.51 | fell 9.51% | $6.52 billion |
| IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) | $40.03 | dropped 4.83% | $14.72 billion |
| Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) | $15.94 | lost 5.87% | $5.31 billion |
| Quantum Computing Inc. (NASDAQ:QUBT) | $8.35 | slipped 1.24% | $1.88 billion |
D-Wave lagged behind three other publicly traded quantum companies on Wednesday. Trading volume hit 26.53 million shares, representing 109% of the 65-day average. The share price closed 62.5% lower than its 52-week high of $46.75.
Investor sentiment on Wall Street is upbeat. Seventeen analysts assign an average Buy rating with a consensus price target of $35.24. This figure is 101% higher than the closing price on Wednesday, while the lowest target, at $22, suggests a potential gain of 25.6%.
D-Wave reported $546.2 million in cash and marketable securities as of June 30, marking a decrease of $273.1 million compared to the same period last year. Over 90% of this reduction was attributable to cash spent on acquiring Quantum Circuits.
Risks are still significant. Revenue recognition may fluctuate as major system contracts are secured at irregular intervals. Delays in booking conversion, increased development costs, or further finance-management adjustments could weigh on the valuation even with a strong cash reserve.
The next scheduled governance event falls on September 2, as Golkov steps into the acting positions. Investors are expected to monitor the company’s ability to sustain uninterrupted reporting and reflect its $40.7 million in outstanding performance obligations.
