Key points
- Three companies, three kinds of quantum computer
- IonQ's Q2 revenue was nearly 10 times its two rivals combined
- IonQ now owns the fab that made D-Wave's Advantage2 prototype
- All three trade far below their 2025 peaks
IonQ (IONQ), Rigetti Computing (RGTI), and D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) give investors three different ways into quantum computing. Their machines use different technologies, and their businesses differ sharply in size. IonQ's second-quarter revenue was $80.1 million, nearly 10 times Rigetti and D-Wave's combined $8.2 million.
Recent announcements have put IonQ in the spotlight. Its shares rose about 12.5% at Wednesday's open after it announced a real-time quantum error decoder tested on simulated circuits. A day earlier, Korea's SDT agreed to buy an IonQ system and announced plans to assemble IonQ machines in Gumi.
Manufacturing is another distinction. Rigetti makes its own chips in California. IonQ now owns SkyWater, the foundry that fabricated D-Wave's Advantage2 prototype.
The tables compare the companies' systems, manufacturing arrangements, and finances. Financial results cover the quarter ended June 30, 2026; stock prices are September 23 closes.
| Company | Type of quantum computer | System and availability | Where chips are made | CHIPS award (Commerce stake) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IonQ (IONQ) | Trapped-ion gate model | Superion 256, first deliveries expected in 2027 | Not disclosed; owns SkyWater since July 31 | None |
| Rigetti (RGTI) | Superconducting gate model | Cepheus-1-108Q, available since April | Own Fab-1, Fremont, Calif. | Up to $100M (about 2.3%) |
| D-Wave (QBTS) | Superconducting annealing, plus a gate-model program | Advantage2, its sixth-generation annealer | SkyWater, Minnesota, fabricated the Advantage2 prototype | Up to $100M (about 1.9%) |
| Company | Q2 revenue | Q2 operating loss | Cash and investments, June 30 | Sept. 23 close | Below peak close |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IonQ (IONQ) | $80.1M | $337.2M | $2.96B | $42.54 | 48% |
| Rigetti (RGTI) | $5.1M | $28.1M | $541.3M | $16.01 | 72% |
| D-Wave (QBTS) | $3.1M | $53.3M | $546.2M | $16.81 | 62% |
Financial figures come from each company's second-quarter 10-Q and cover the whole business. Operating losses exclude non-operating items such as warrant revaluations and interest income. IonQ's cash balance predates its July 31 cash payment for SkyWater.
Peak closes were $82.09 for IonQ on October 13, 2025; $56.34 for Rigetti on October 15, 2025; and $44.78 for D-Wave on October 15, 2025. Commerce ownership percentages and declines from peak prices are calculated from the reported figures.
What kind of quantum computer does each company build?
A qubit is the basic unit of quantum information. The companies differ in both how they build qubits and how they use them.
IonQ uses trapped ions. Its qubits are individual charged atoms held in place by electromagnetic fields and controlled with lasers.
Rigetti uses superconducting circuits. These tiny circuits sit on chips cooled to temperatures near absolute zero. Its Novera and Cepheus systems range from 9 to 108 qubits. Like IonQ, Rigetti builds gate-model computers, which are designed to perform a broad range of quantum calculations.
D-Wave built its business on quantum annealing, which is aimed at optimization problems. It is also developing gate-model systems following its January 20 acquisition of Quantum Circuits, a superconducting quantum-computing company. D-Wave's filing values the acquisition consideration at $538.5 million.
Qubit counts alone do not establish which machine is more capable. The technologies perform calculations differently, and physical qubits are not the same as logical qubits. A logical qubit uses multiple physical qubits to protect quantum information from errors.
IonQ: most of the revenue and a $1.87 billion net loss
IonQ's second-quarter revenue rose 287% from a year earlier to $80.1 million, according to its quarterly filing. Hardware sales brought in $46.5 million. Platform, consulting, and support services brought in $33.6 million. On September 8, IonQ raised its 2026 revenue forecast to $450 million to $460 million, including SkyWater's results from July 31. Its August forecast, made before the acquisition closed, was $280 million to $290 million.
South Korea accounted for $17.8 million of IonQ's second-quarter revenue, up from $556,000 a year earlier, according to the filing's revenue breakdown by country. The SDT agreement adds a manufacturing role in the region. SDT becomes IonQ's preferred manufacturing partner for Asia-Pacific and Japan and plans a Gumi site to assemble IonQ systems and package its quantum memory modules. The companies disclosed no purchase price or investment amount.
IonQ's operating loss was $337.2 million. Its net loss attributable to shareholders was $1.87 billion, mostly because of a $1.65 billion non-cash loss from revaluing its warrants. Warrants give holders the right to buy shares at a set price, so the liability IonQ records for them grows when its stock rises.
IonQ held $2.96 billion of cash and investments on June 30, by our arithmetic from its balance sheet. That was before the SkyWater purchase closed on July 31, when IonQ paid $15 in cash plus 0.4883 IonQ shares for each SkyWater share.
The decoder IonQ announced on September 22 is software that processes error-correction data on one standard CPU. The tests used simulated circuits of up to 408 logical qubits, and IonQ's release does not describe a run on its own hardware. IonQ also said a Superion 256 will be installed at Nvidia's (NVDA) quantum research center in 2027. IonQ was not among the nine companies offered CHIPS Act awards in May, and the Commerce Department has not said why.
Rigetti: its own fab and a 108-qubit system
Rigetti designs and manufactures its chips at its own plant, Fab-1, in Fremont, California. Its Cepheus-1-108Q system became generally available in April and tiles together 12 nine-qubit chiplets. Customers can reach it through Rigetti's own cloud service, Amazon Braket, and Microsoft Azure.
Rigetti reports a 99.1% median two-qubit gate fidelity for the system, based on internal testing, according to its quarterly filing. Fidelity measures how often an operation between two qubits comes out right.
Second-quarter revenue was $5.1 million, up from $1.8 million a year earlier. Rigetti's operating loss was $28.1 million. Its net loss was larger, at $52.6 million, because of a $29.6 million loss from revaluing its warrants. Rigetti held $541.3 million of cash and investments on June 30.
Rigetti signed a CHIPS award of up to $100 million with the Commerce Department on September 4. The department is getting 7,739,938 Rigetti shares at $12.92 each, about 2.3% of the company by our arithmetic. The money arrives in three tranches, and one of the three projects it funds is fabrication capability for chips with more connections between qubits.
D-Wave: annealing first, with a gate-model program
D-Wave's business model centers on selling access to its systems over the cloud, according to its quarterly filing. Second-quarter revenue was $3.1 million, about the same as a year earlier. D-Wave's operating loss was $53.3 million, up from $26.5 million. Its net loss was $48.0 million, and it held $546.2 million of cash and short-term investments on June 30.
SkyWater Technology and D-Wave said in a joint March 2025 release that SkyWater fabricated D-Wave's Advantage2 prototype, in a partnership that began a decade earlier at its Minnesota fab. IonQ closed its purchase of SkyWater on July 31, so that fab now belongs to a competitor. D-Wave's 10-Q does not name SkyWater, and D-Wave has not said where its next chips will be made. Our look at where each quantum company gets its chips covers the other options, including IBM's new foundry.
D-Wave signed its own CHIPS award of up to $100 million on September 4. The award funds work toward a 100,000-qubit annealing system and a 10,000-qubit gate-model system capable of 100 logical qubits. The department is getting 7,095,721 D-Wave shares at $14.093 each, about 1.9% of the company.
How far have the three stocks fallen from their peaks?
All three stocks peaked in mid-October 2025 and hit their 2026 closing lows on the same day, March 30. At the September 23 close, IonQ was 48% below its peak, D-Wave 62%, and Rigetti 72%, by our arithmetic.
IonQ has risen 60% from its March 30 close of $26.59. D-Wave is up 30% from $12.98, and Rigetti is up 24% from $12.90.
IonQ has the largest revenue base and cash balance in this comparison. Rigetti manufactures its own superconducting chips, while D-Wave combines an established annealing business with a newer gate-model program. All three reported operating losses. Their different technologies, delivery schedules, and spending needs matter more than a simple comparison of qubit counts.
