New York, January 26, 2026, 16:36 EST — After-hours
- QBTS dropped roughly 7% in late trading, following an intraday move that pushed the stock above $26.
- Quantum-computing stocks took a hit, despite Wall Street’s major indexes closing with gains.
- Traders are eyeing D-Wave’s Qubits conference this week, hoping for fresh roadmap details and customer news.
D-Wave Quantum shares fell sharply in after-hours trading Monday, dropping around 7.4% to $23.75. The stock swung between $23.45 and $26.02 during the session, with about 29 million shares changing hands.
The decline came as investors took another look at the quantum-computing sector, known for its volatile, sentiment-driven shifts. D-Wave ranks among the most actively traded stocks in this space, with its fluctuations often triggering ripple effects across the group.
Monday’s selling didn’t stop there. IonQ, Rigetti Computing, and Quantum Computing Inc also slipped in late trading, falling roughly 8.3%, 7.2%, and 5.4%, respectively.
There was fresh deal activity in the sector. IonQ announced plans to acquire chipmaker SkyWater Technology for around $1.8 billion, combining cash and stock. The move aims to bring manufacturing in-house and accelerate development of next-gen processors. A qubit remains the fundamental unit of quantum information. 1
D-Wave is gearing up for its Qubits 2026 user conference, set for Jan. 27-28 in Boca Raton, Florida. The company plans to use the event to share updates on its product roadmap and adoption progress. 2
Investors are eager for specifics: details on customer deployments, pricing, and timelines for both systems and cloud services. They’ll also watch closely to see how D-Wave sets itself apart from competitors using alternative hardware strategies.
D-Wave is primarily recognized for “quantum annealing,” a quantum approach usually applied to optimization tasks like scheduling and routing. In contrast, many competitors concentrate on gate-model machines, which are seen as more versatile but pose greater scaling challenges.
But the situation goes both ways. Conferences often produce headlines without delivering immediate revenue, and quantum stocks can tumble fast once the market refocuses on cash flow, funding demands, or basic profit-taking after rapid gains.
The broader market showed more stability. U.S. stocks closed up Monday, setting the stage for a packed week of major tech earnings and the Fed’s policy call. Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management, described investors as “cautiously optimistic.” 3
QBTS traders have their eyes set on two near-term triggers: Qubits will start rolling out headlines and product details Tuesday. Then, Wednesday’s Fed statement could shake up risk appetite, especially in the high-volatility tech space.
