- D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) shares climbed 16.75% to $6.80 as CEO Alan Baratz touted achieving “quantum supremacy” this week, countering Nvidia’s Jensen Huang by showcasing a practical problem solved on its Advantage system, boosting a ULEC sale and interest from research labs.
- With a $300 million cash reserve, D-Wave projects Q1 2025 revenue exceeding $10 million – far above the $2.55 million estimate – driven by strong demand, while Q4 bookings soared 502% to $18.3 million, despite a -$0.08 EPS loss against $2.3 million in revenue.
- Baratz emphasized D-Wave’s commercial maturity, distinguishing it from slower-maturing quantum approaches, with FY 2024 bookings up 128% and a robust pipeline, positioning the company as a near-term quantum leader against Huang’s decades-away critique.
D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) has ignited market enthusiasm, with shares surging 16.75% to $6.80 in midday trading on Thursday, following its claim of achieving “quantum supremacy” earlier this week—a feat CEO Alan Baratz touts as proof that the company’s technology is “mature today” and refutes Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang’s assertion that quantum computing’s practical relevance is decades off. Baratz, in a Yahoo Finance Morning Brief interview, underscored that D-Wave’s system tackled a real-world problem beyond classical computers’ reach, a breakthrough driving a sale to the ULEC supercomputing center and spurring interest from research institutions and government labs, while the company forecasts Q1 2025 revenue exceeding $10 million, dwarfing Wall Street’s $2.55 million estimate. This optimism is bolstered by robust financials, including a cash position over $300 million, FY 2024 bookings up 128% year-over-year, and a staggering 502% Q4 bookings jump to $18.3 million, fueled by demand for its Advantage annealing quantum computer.
Baratz’s rebuttal to Huang hinges on D-Wave’s distinct approach, which he says delivers commercial value now – evidenced by customers integrating its systems into operations – unlike other quantum methods that may lag, a nuance he argues Huang overlooks in his broad skepticism. The supremacy milestone not only strengthens D-Wave’s pipeline, as Baratz noted its role as “a significant driver” in the ULEC deal, but also aligns with Q4 results of $2.3 million in revenue (slightly above estimates) and a Non-GAAP EPS loss of -$0.08 (a minor miss), reinforcing its competitive stance in a sector often dismissed as speculative. The 16.75% stock spike to $6.80 reflects investor confidence in this trajectory, amplified by projections that Q1 revenue will quadruple consensus forecasts, a testament to the tangible demand Baratz champions.
Based on industry dynamics, it seems D-Wave is carving a niche where others falter, with its annealing technology targeting optimization problems that yield immediate utility—unlike the universal quantum models Huang likely critiques. The $300 million cash reserve provides runway to scale, while bookings growth (128% FY 2024, 502% Q4 to $18.3 million) signals accelerating adoption, though the -$0.08 EPS loss suggests profitability remains a work in progress. Baratz’s assertion that “we are able to solve a problem on our quantum computer that cannot be solved classically” carries weight, yet quantum supremacy’s practical impact hinges on broader validation beyond a single use case. For now, D-Wave’s $10 million Q1 outlook and 17% intraday price jump mark it as a contender defying the skeptics, with its financial stability and client traction challenging the narrative of quantum computing as a distant dream.
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