Why D-Wave Quantum Computing Stock Crashed Today

Quantum dreams hit a classical reality check.

D-Wave's stock just took a nosedive—and the quantum computing hype machine might need a recalibration. While quantum promises to revolutionize everything from drug discovery to financial modeling, today's market reaction suggests investors are losing patience with timelines that stretch into the next decade.

The Cold Hard Numbers

Today's drop reflects a market that's finally pricing in the brutal physics challenges of commercial quantum computing. Building stable qubits that maintain coherence long enough for practical applications remains the industry's trillion-dollar problem—and D-Wave's specialized quantum annealing approach faces particularly steep hurdles in achieving quantum advantage over classical computers.

Wall Street's Quantum Winter

Analysts note the selloff mirrors a broader pattern: quantum stocks tend to surge on theoretical breakthroughs before crashing back to earth when commercialization timelines get pushed back—again. The sector's volatility makes crypto look like a stablecoin by comparison, with investors learning the hard way that quantum supremacy doesn't translate to quarterly earnings supremacy.

Quantum's long-term potential remains undeniable, but today's price action serves as a reminder that even the most transformative technologies still answer to classical market forces—at least until someone builds a quantum computer that can manipulate stock prices across multiple timelines simultaneously.

Image source: Getty Images.

B. Riley loves D-Wave Quantum stock

That's the question we need to consider after investment bank B. Riley raised its price target on D-Wave Quantum stock by an aggressive 50%, to $33 per share.

According to the bank's analyst, quantum "technology and commercial progress is outpacing B. Riley's prior positive views." As TheFly.com reports, the Department of Energy's National Labs in particular are pushing companies to develop commercial quantum computing products, and as a result, the "former frontier technology is rapidly advancing toward integrated capability and commerciality."

Is D-Wave stock a sell?

So the government wants commercial quantum computing. Great. That does not mean it will get it. What's (still) missing from B. Riley's positive write-up are hard numbers suggesting D-Wave Quantum will enjoy significant revenue or any profits in the NEAR future.

D-Wave stock now trades at an insane 412 times trailing revenue. And even valued on optimistic analyst estimates from S&P Global Market Intelligence, the stock trades at 28 times the revenue it might (or might not) collect way out in 2030 -- and 1,701 times its projected 2030 earnings.

Even momentum traders should be scared of numbers like these.