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Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check said Sept. 18 it is investigating whether D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NASDAQ: QBTS) violated federal securities laws, soliciting shareholders who bought the stock and lost money. The Radnor, Pennsylvania firm, which says it has recovered more than $25 billion for clients, is asking affected QBTS holders to submit their information through its case page. No complaint has been filed by the firm, and no class period has been defined. "Investors who purchased D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NASDAQ: QBTS) securities and experienced losses may have legal rights under the federal securities laws," the firm said in the release. The solicitation follows two events that erased roughly 19 percent of D-Wave's market value in three weeks. On Aug. 6, the company reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of $3.08 million, flat against $3.1 million a year earlier and below analyst estimates of $4.03 million to $4.08 million. QBTS fell $1.99, or 9.28 percent, to close at $19.41 that day. On Aug. 25, D-Wave disclosed that Chief Financial Officer John Markovich would retire and resign effective Sept. 2. The stock fell another $1.84, or 9.51 percent, to $17.51 on Aug. 26. The company named Golkov as acting chief financial officer. Kessler Topaz is the second firm to circle the same set of disclosures. Pomerantz LLP opened its own investigation into potential securities fraud claims tied to the revenue miss and the CFO exit, and is directing investors to attorney Danielle Peyton. Multiple firms running parallel probes of identical facts typically precede a consolidated class action, in which a court appoints a lead plaintiff from among the largest-loss shareholders. The financial picture behind the losses is a company with ample cash and a stalled top line. D-Wave reported a second-quarter net loss of $48.03 million, or about $0.13 per share, on operating expenses of $54.98 million against a 64.2 percent gross margin. The balance sheet showed $296.64 million in cash and $546.21 million in cash plus short-term investments, with a current ratio above 20 and minimal debt. QBTS traded down 5.23 percent at $16.765 on Sept. 18, below its 20-day simple moving average of $18.81 and its 200-day average of $21.52. A death cross formed in March when the 50-day average fell below the 200-day. The stock sits roughly 56 percent below the $38.78 average analyst price target, with Rosenblatt maintaining a $43 forecast and Wedbush an Outperform rating and $40 target. The legal overhang now competes with a fundamental catalyst. D-Wave finalized a definitive agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce for up to $100 million in CHIPS and Science Act funding, covering a 100,000-qubit annealing system and a 10,000-qubit gate-model system, with the government taking a minority, non-controlling equity stake. Shares rose 2.29 percent to $16.96 in premarket trading on that news. For holders, the near-term signal is that headline risk now runs alongside execution risk: the cash position of $546.21 million in cash and short-term investments removes immediate solvency pressure, but a securities action would add legal costs and discovery exposure to a company already missing revenue targets. The next markers are any lead-plaintiff deadline if a complaint is filed, the appointment of a permanent CFO, and D-Wave's third-quarter results, which will test whether the $3.08 million quarter was an anomaly or a trend. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
Washington channeled $2 billion into quantum manufacturing under the CHIPS framework on September 9, a disbursement that positions five publicly traded companies to capture the funding fallout even as their identities remain undisclosed. The allocation extends the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which authorized $52.7 billion for domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research, according to the Commerce Department's CHIPS Program Office. The quantum tranche marks one of the largest single disbursements targeting next-generation computing since the program began distributing awards in 2023. The funding targets quantum manufacturing infrastructure — fabrication of quantum processors, cryogenic control systems, and related hardware — rather than software or algorithm development. Washington has designated quantum computing a strategic emerging sector, placing it alongside artificial intelligence and advanced semiconductors as a national priority for government funding. The designation carries practical weight: federal procurement preferences, research grants, and manufacturing incentives all flow more readily to sectors with strategic status. For investors, the $2 billion allocation signals sustained federal commitment to quantum technology at a moment when the sector's commercial viability remains years away. Pure-play quantum names have historically traded on government funding announcements and research milestones rather than revenue, making policy disbursements a primary driver of share price moves. The last major federal quantum funding event — the National Quantum Initiative Act of 2018, which authorized $1.2 billion over five years — preceded a period of elevated valuations across quantum-related equities as investors priced in the potential for commercial breakthroughs. The five beneficiary companies have not been publicly identified by the Commerce Department. Quantum hardware developers that could qualify include IBM, which operates a fleet of quantum processors through its IBM Quantum network; Alphabet's Google Quantum AI division, which demonstrated quantum error correction in 2023; and pure-play firms IonQ, Rigetti Computing, and D-Wave Quantum, based on their public disclosures of quantum manufacturing activities. Microsoft also maintains a quantum program through its Azure Quantum platform, though its focus has leaned toward software and cloud services rather than hardware fabrication. The $2 billion manufacturing allocation exceeds the total authorized under the National Quantum Initiative Act of 2018 in a single tranche, signaling a shift from research funding toward production-scale investment. This mirrors the broader CHIPS Act strategy, which prioritized building domestic fabrication capacity over funding basic research. The Commerce Department has directed the majority of CHIPS funds toward advanced semiconductor fabrication plants, with the quantum allocation representing a deliberate expansion of the program's mandate into next-generation computing architectures. Quantum hardware manufacturers face significant fabrication costs. Superconducting qubit processors require dilution refrigerators operating near absolute zero, and error correction demands substantial overhead in physical qubits. Government funding can offset these capital expenditures and compress the timeline to commercially viable systems. The allocation could also accelerate supply chain development for quantum components, including cryogenic electronics, control systems, and specialized materials. The quantum computing sector has attracted growing investment from both government and private sources as the technology advances from laboratory experiments toward practical applications. Companies in the space are pursuing multiple hardware approaches — superconducting qubits, trapped ions, photonic systems, and neutral atoms — each with distinct manufacturing requirements. The CHIPS allocation could support multiple approaches or concentrate on a single architecture, depending on which companies receive the funding. The next milestone for the sector comes when the Commerce Department publishes the full list of quantum incentive recipients and detailed award terms. Investors in quantum-related equities will be watching for the names of the five beneficiary companies and the specific manufacturing projects they will fund. The disbursement also raises questions about follow-on funding: whether the $2 billion represents a one-time allocation or the first tranche of a larger quantum manufacturing program under the CHIPS framework. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check LLP opened a securities probe into D-Wave Quantum after Q2 revenue of $3.08 million missed estimates and its CFO resigned. "Investors who purchased D-Wave securities and experienced significant losses may have legal rights under the federal securities laws," the firm said in a statement. D-Wave reported Q2 revenue of $3.08 million on Aug. 6, missing analyst expectations of $4.03 million to $4.08 million. The stock fell more than 9 percent that day. On Aug. 25, the company announced CFO John Markovich's resignation, effective Sept. 2, and shares dropped another 9 percent the following day. Greg Golkov, previously senior vice president of finance, was named interim CFO. CEO Alan Baratz publicly thanked Markovich for his contributions, and the company said the departure was amicable and unrelated to accounting practices or financial disclosures. The investigation adds legal uncertainty to a stock already down roughly 64 percent from its 52-week high of $40.41 reached in October 2025. First-half revenue fell to $5.93 million from $18.10 million a year earlier, while operating cash burn reached $73.5 million. The quarterly operating loss widened to $54.7 million from $26.5 million year over year, even as quarterly sales remained roughly flat. D-Wave attributes the weak near-term revenue to a strategic shift toward larger system deliveries that take longer to recognize. Bookings for the first half surged more than 1,120 percent to $35.5 million, and commercial customers accounted for 67.7 percent of revenue, up from 16.0 percent a year earlier. The company maintains guidance of two system shipments this year, with most revenue expected in the fourth quarter. A recent milestone with NTT DOCOMO, announced roughly a week before the CFO transition, points to growing industrial adoption beyond the research community. The investigation follows similar notices around other high-growth names, including AST SpaceMobile and Rackspace Technology. Kessler Topaz, which has recovered more than $25 billion for clients, is a leading plaintiff-side securities firm with offices in Pennsylvania and California. The firm was recognized in Chambers & Partners USA 2026 as a Band 1 top firm in securities and class actions. Just over three weeks before Markovich's departure was announced, D-Wave added Kevan P. Krysler, the sitting CFO of Carbon Robotics, to its board of directors and audit committee. The probe raises questions about D-Wave's disclosures and governance as the company searches for a permanent CFO. Investors will watch for any class action filing and the company's next earnings report for evidence that the system-delivery strategy is translating into revenue. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
Shares of French quantum-computing company Pasqal surged about 60% in their Nasdaq debut Friday, drawing strong investor appetite for one of the sector's newest public companies. Pasqal, which builds neutral-atom quantum computers, is among a handful of pure-play quantum firms trading on U.S. exchanges alongside IonQ, Rigetti Computing and D-Wave Quantum. The company's listing adds a European name to a sector that has drawn billions in government and venture funding as researchers race to build machines capable of outperforming classical computers on select tasks. The debut follows a period of heavy capital-raising across quantum computing, with startups and listed players alike expanding roadmaps toward fault-tolerant machines. Pasqal's first-day surge reflects investor willingness to pay up for exposure to a technology many expect to reshape computing over the coming decade. The strong opening could lift sentiment across other quantum computing stocks and encourage more European deep-tech companies to pursue U.S. listings. Pasqal's debut also highlights the Nasdaq's pull as a destination for European technology listings, a trend that has accelerated as companies seek deeper pools of growth capital and higher valuations than their home exchanges offer. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.