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A stock that reports revenue growth in the thousands of percent sounds like it invented something new.
Quantum Computing Inc. (QUBT) reported second-quarter revenue of $5.6 million, more than 9,000% higher than the $61,000 it posted a year earlier, according to the company's earning release filed with the SEC.
That number is real. The business behind it is still small enough to fit inside a single university research grant.
QUBT shares traded near $9 on Friday, Aug. 21, part of a rally that lifted seven quantum computing stocks at once, according to a Seeking Alpha report.
D-Wave Quantum (QBTS), Rigetti Computing (RGTI), IonQ (IONQ), Infleqtion (INFQ), IQM Quantum Computers (IQMX), and IBM (IBM) all moved higher the same morning. That is to say, when one stock rallies in a particular industry, it pulls its peers along with it.
Quantum Computing's 9,000% headline, despite a still-tiny business
The revenue jump came from photonics product sales across QCi's government, educational, and commercial customers, the company said in its earnings release. Revenue also grew 51% from the first quarter's $3.7 million, a smaller but still meaningful gain.
Most of the improvement in QCi's bottom line, though, came from a shrinking paper loss on warrant derivatives rather than the core business turning profitable, according to a breakdown of the filing.
Net loss narrowed to $11.8 million from $36.5 million a year earlier. QCi ended the quarter with a $42.5 million order backlog and $1.3 billion in cash, giving it years of runway, even as it keeps losing money on operations.
The quarter also included QCi's acquisition of NHanced Semiconductors, which launched a second chip fabrication facility and expanded the company's U.S. manufacturing footprint, according to the earnings release.
The deal added complexity to the numbers: Operating expenses rose 114% year over year to $21.8 million, partly from acquisition-related costs.
D-Wave gained as much as 7%, Rigetti climbed 9.6%, IonQ rose 7.5%, Infleqtion added 9%, and IQM popped 7%. None of them moved for the same reason.
A new Outperform rating and $35 price target from BMO Capital Markets, implying roughly 85% upside, sent D-Wave (QBTS) shares higher, according to a BMO note covered by The Motley Fool.
A new Outperform rating and $35 price target from BMO Capital Markets, implying roughly 85% upside, sent D-Wave (QBTS) shares higher, according to a BMO note covered by The Motley Fool.
Rigetti (RGTI) shares rose even more than D-Wave's that same morning, even though BMO's note never mentioned the company, The Motley Fool reported.
Rigetti (RGTI) shares rose even more than D-Wave's that same morning, even though BMO's note never mentioned the company, The Motley Fool reported.
IBM (IBM) advanced 2% two days after saying it had successfully cooled and linked two cryogenic modules, a step toward the fault-tolerant quantum computer it has targeted for 2029, an IBM press release confirmed.
IBM (IBM) advanced 2% two days after saying it had successfully cooled and linked two cryogenic modules, a step toward the fault-tolerant quantum computer it has targeted for 2029, an IBM press release confirmed.
IonQ (IONQ) signed a non-binding agreement to become a listed cloud provider on a Canadian government quantum platform, a deal that carries no guarantee of revenue, according to TipRanks.
IonQ (IONQ) signed a non-binding agreement to become a listed cloud provider on a Canadian government quantum platform, a deal that carries no guarantee of revenue, according to TipRanks.
The common thread isn't fundamentals. Quantum stocks increasingly trade as a single basket, correlated more with sector sentiment than with any one company's earnings.
When one name gets a bullish headline, the rest of the group tends to move with it, whether or not the news applies to them specifically.
Percentages, not profits, drove quantum stocks' rally
The percentages doing the talking this week say more about how small these companies still are than about how close quantum computing is to arriving. Infleqtion (INFQ) is the clearest example.
The company originally reported second-quarter revenue up 116% to $12.6 million on Aug. 12, then quietly raised that figure to $13.5 million, a 157% increase, in an amended SEC filing five days later. Most of the coverage that moved Infleqtion's stock this week never caught the revision.
IBM CEO sends blunt message on quantum computing
IBM CEO sends blunt message on quantum computing
Pentagon may see one of quantum computing's first practical winners
Pentagon may see one of quantum computing's first practical winners
IBM quietly cleared a quantum computing hurdle experts doubted
IBM quietly cleared a quantum computing hurdle experts doubted
None of this means quantum computing isn't real progress. It means a headline reading "9,000% growth" or "157% growth" is only useful once an investor knows the prior-year number.
A rounding error looks like a moonshot when the starting point is close to zero. Investors who buy on the percentage alone are betting on a narrative, not a balance sheet.
That's not necessarily wrong, but it's a different kind of bet than the quantum revolution framing on trading platforms suggests this week.
Watch backlog conversion, not quarterly percentages
This pattern isn't unique to quantum computing. Early-stage solar, biotech, and electric-vehicle stocks went through the same phase, when triple and quadruple digit growth headlines outran the dollar figures behind them.
The percentages shrink as the denominator grows, and so does the market's appetite for celebrating them.
The more useful numbers to watch are backlog conversion and repeat orders. IQM Quantum Computers (IQMX) has told investors to expect most of its 2026 revenue in the fourth quarter, tied to system deliveries already inside its EUR 102 million order backlog.
D-Wave has guided to two to three full system sales a year starting in 2027. Those figures will look smaller than this week's percentages. They will say more about whether quantum computing is becoming a real business.
Related: IBM CEO sends blunt message on quantum computing
This story was originally published by TheStreet on Aug 22, 2026, where it first appeared in the Investing section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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