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How to Compare Quantum Computing Stocks Using Revenue, Cash Burn, and Backlog

A practical framework for comparing quantum-computing companies without confusing recognized revenue, operating cash use, liquidity, bookings or RPO.
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Compare quantum-computing stocks using the same reporting period and currency, and keep three different signals separate: recognized revenue, cash used in operations, and demand indicators such as bookings or remaining performance obligations (RPO). These measures answer different questions. Revenue records sales already recognized; operating cash flow shows cash consumed by running the business; bookings and RPO indicate orders or contracted work that may become revenue later.

Recent company disclosures illustrate why a simple ranking can mislead: IonQ and Rigetti reported Q2 2026 revenue, while the figures available for D-Wave pair FY 2025 revenue with first-half 2026 bookings and RPO. That is not a matched three-company comparison.

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What the three measures tell you

Revenue: what the company recognized

Revenue is the amount recognized under accounting rules during a defined period. Compare both the dollar amount and growth rate, but keep the base in view: rapid growth from a small starting point can still mean modest sales. Also check what the company sells. IonQ’s 2025 10-K describes revenue from quantum-system design, development and sales, support, cloud access, consulting and other quantum services, as well as satellite imagery and data following its business expansion. Consolidated revenue should therefore not automatically be treated as quantum-computing revenue alone. See IonQ’s 2025 Form 10-K for its business and revenue disclosures.

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Cash burn: what operations consume

For operating cash use, start with “net cash used in operating activities” in the cash-flow statement, specifying whether the figure covers a quarter, half-year or trailing 12 months. Review capital expenditure separately, then assess the cash, equivalents and investments the issuer actually includes in its liquidity figure.

Net loss is not the same as cash burn. Non-cash expenses and working-capital changes can make them diverge. D-Wave attributed much of the difference between its FY 2025 GAAP and adjusted losses to non-cash warrant-liability remeasurement; that is the company’s explanation, not a substitute for examining the cash-flow statement. D-Wave’s FY 2025 results provide the company’s explanation and adjusted figures.

Backlog, bookings and RPO: future work, not current sales

Bookings and RPO are not interchangeable with revenue, and they are not automatically interchangeable with each other. D-Wave defines bookings as customer orders received that are expected to generate net revenue in the future. RPO is an accounting disclosure for unsatisfied or partially unsatisfied performance obligations. Record the issuer’s exact label, measurement date, definition, disclosed delivery or cancellation terms, and expected recognition period. Then check subsequent reports to see how much converts into revenue. Do not assume all bookings convert, or that conversion follows a fixed schedule.

If a company does not provide a comparable measure, mark it “not disclosed in the reviewed source,” not zero. Comparing one company’s bookings with another’s RPO as if they were the same statistic creates a false ranking.

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What recent disclosures show—and do not show

The following snapshot uses issuer-reported figures, but the periods and disclosed measures differ. Dollar figures are reported in U.S. dollars in the cited materials.

Company Revenue Liquidity and cash use Demand indicator
IonQ Q2 2026 revenue: $80.1 million; reported year-over-year growth: 287%. At June 30, 2026, cash, cash equivalents and investments totaled $3.0 billion. Q2 adjusted EBITDA loss was $120.3 million; this non-GAAP figure is not operating cash flow. A comparable current backlog or RPO figure was not verified in the cited Q2 release.
Rigetti Q2 2026 revenue: $5.138 million. At June 30, 2026, cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale investments totaled $541.3 million. Net cash used in operating activities in H1 2026 was $31.993 million. A comparable backlog or RPO figure was not verified in the cited Q2 release.
D-Wave FY 2025 revenue: $24.6 million. FY 2025 adjusted EBITDA loss: $71.8 million. This adjusted measure is not a same-period operating cash-flow figure; use the relevant quarterly filing for a matched cash-flow comparison. H1 2026 bookings: $35.5 million; H1 2026 RPO: $40.7 million.

Sources: IonQ Q2 2026 results, Rigetti Q2 2026 results, D-Wave Q2 2026 results and D-Wave FY 2025 results.

This is not a direct three-way ranking: D-Wave’s revenue shown here is for FY 2025, not Q2 2026, and the available disclosures do not establish comparable current backlog or RPO figures for IonQ and Rigetti. The revenue figures alone also do not establish comparable business mix or organic growth. A fair peer table needs the same period for each company and the latest filings for all three measures.

Build a fair comparison in five checks

  1. Match the period and currency. Compare quarter with quarter or trailing 12 months with trailing 12 months, and make the reporting dates explicit. Do not line up one company’s full-year revenue against another’s quarterly sales as if they were peers.
  2. Separate reported sales from growth. Record revenue, year-over-year change and revenue mix. Check segment disclosures, acquisitions and whether growth is organic or acquired before interpreting a percentage as evidence of demand.
  3. Use operating cash flow for cash burn. Record net cash used in operating activities for the exact period. Keep capital expenditure separate, and do not substitute net loss or adjusted EBITDA. If you estimate runway, state the burn measure and period, disclose assumptions about spending, and treat the result as an estimate that can change with financing, acquisitions, capital spending and investment movements.
  4. Label liquidity precisely. Preserve the issuer’s categories. IonQ reported $3.0 billion in cash, cash equivalents and investments at June 30, 2026. Its Q2 release also presented $2.0 billion pro forma after subtracting cash consumed in the SkyWater acquisition. Those are distinct figures, and the pro-forma adjustment must accompany the latter. Rigetti’s $541.3 million liquidity figure includes available-for-sale investments, not just cash equivalents.
  5. Track order indicators on their own terms. For bookings, RPO or another metric, note the issuer’s definition, period, conversion expectations and any disclosed contract conditions. Compare conversion into recognized revenue across later reports rather than treating the headline amount as guaranteed sales.
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Check accounting, capital needs and financing

Start with GAAP, then evaluate adjusted metrics

Use GAAP results as the common starting point. Adjusted EBITDA and other non-GAAP measures may add context, but definitions vary by company and may exclude different items. Rigetti says its non-GAAP measures supplement rather than replace or outrank GAAP measures, and may not be comparable with similarly titled measures at other companies. Read the reconciliation before using an adjusted figure in a peer ranking. Rigetti’s Q2 2026 non-GAAP disclosure states this limitation.

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Consider what investment demands of the business

Cash needs can reflect fabrication capacity, refrigeration, hardware development, research and collaborations, not simply day-to-day overhead. Rigetti’s Q1 2026 filing describes cash needs associated with quantum-computing refrigerators, chip-fabrication capacity, R&D and planned collaborations. Such investment may support capacity, but it also matters when judging how long existing liquidity can support operations. Rigetti’s SEC filings discuss these needs.

Include dilution and customer concentration

Liquidity today does not settle the question of future financing. Review share issuance and financing needs alongside customer concentration and contract timing. A company can report strong cash reserves while still consuming substantial cash, and a large order indicator can depend on a small number of customers or future delivery milestones.

What a useful conclusion can support

A disciplined comparison can show which company currently recognizes more revenue, how much cash its operations consume, what liquidity categories it reports, and whether it discloses orders or obligations that may convert later. It cannot, from these headline measures alone, establish that one stock is the better investment: periods, business mix, metric definitions and disclosure coverage must first be made comparable. The available company-specific figures do not supply a neutral industry benchmark or a complete sector-wide ranking.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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