New York, January 23, 2026, 21:18 ET — The market has closed.
- D-Wave Quantum shares dropped 6.5% Friday, closing at $25.63, lagging behind despite a modest rise in the Nasdaq.
- Loss-making, high-beta quantum stocks dropped across the board, with traders staying cautious ahead of a Fed meeting and a packed week of tech earnings.
- Investors continue to digest a registration enabling the resale of 10.43 million shares linked to the Quantum Circuits agreement.
D-Wave Quantum Inc shares slid 6.5% on Friday, closing at $25.63. The stock swung between $27.29 and $25.24 during the session, with volume hitting roughly 38.1 million shares.
The news came at the end of a tense week for U.S. markets, where investors swung between optimism over big tech gains and fresh geopolitical jitters rattling risk appetite. “We’re feeling pretty good, but mindful we might have some significant twists and turns,” said Jason Blackwell, chief investment strategist at Focus Partners Wealth. Reuters
Julian McManus, portfolio manager on Janus Henderson’s Global Alpha Equity team, described next week as a “show-me” period for pricey tech stocks, where revenue growth will have to back up recent gains. That cautious outlook often trickles down to smaller, more speculative market segments. Reuters
D-Wave faces added selling pressure thanks to a looming stock supply issue. A prospectus supplement filed Jan. 20 reveals that certain shareholders can resell up to 10,430,444 shares, with the company set to receive no proceeds from those transactions.
The filing links to D-Wave’s broader tech ambitions. This week, the company wrapped up its acquisition of Quantum Circuits, aiming to blend its annealing systems with gate-model hardware. The goal: an initial gate-model system by 2026. CEO Alan Baratz described the deal as a “watershed moment,” while Quantum Circuits co-founder Rob Schoelkopf said the merger gives D-Wave a “decisive advantage” in gate-model quantum computing. Business Wire
Shares of other U.S.-listed quantum companies also slipped on Friday. Rigetti Computing declined around 5.9%, IonQ slid about 4.3%, and Quantum Computing Inc dropped close to 4.4%, per market data.
Simply put, the resale prospectus doesn’t indicate D-Wave is raising fresh capital at the moment. Still, it can hang over the stock: investors must factor in that those allowed to sell might do so, particularly following big price jumps.
The risk swings both ways. If registered holders hold firm or traders judge the share supply manageable, the stock could rebound sharply. This sector has a history of rewarding momentum just as harshly as it punishes hesitation.
Markets are closed until Monday, leaving investors eager for clues on whether the broader risk appetite has stabilized. The key question: was this week’s selloff in smaller tech stocks just a temporary dip or something deeper.
Traders have a key date ahead: D-Wave will host its Qubits 2026 conference on Jan. 27-28 in Boca Raton, Florida. The company intends to reveal further details about its dual-platform strategy there.
