Quantinuum (QNT) Q2 FY26 earnings call: guidance and Q&A

Is the Oracle deal a third Helios deployment, and how will it be monetized (revenue sharing or outright purchase)?

Confirmed it's a Helios platform deployed on-prem at an OCI data center in the U.S., making it the first outside their factory data center in the U.S. Oracle is purchasing the Helios in a multi-year deal, with initial revenue this year and more when the system is delivered.

“The transaction that we mentioned in the press release is one where Oracle is purchasing a Helios. And this would be the first Helios on outside the -- our factory data center, if you will, in the United States.”

asked by Harlan Sur · answered by Rajeeb Hazra

What is driving the upside in 2026/2027 sales guidance, and what is the RPO number corresponding to the $120 million expected year-end bookings?

Upside is driven by Helios's performance, capacity, and accuracy enabling early applications in optimization, material science, chemistry, and its flexible deployment. RPO as of Q2 FY26 was roughly $74 million, with a meaningful increase expected with $120 million bookings, but no explicit year-end RPO guidance.

“What we are seeing is what we've been seeing over the last six to eight months. As Helios has introduced -- was introduced in November 2025, the performance capacity and more importantly, the accuracy of that machine is enabling applications, early applications in optimization, in material science, chemistry, some of which we've talked about.”

asked by Vivek Arya · answered by Rajeeb Hazra

Discuss the pervasiveness of U.S. government interest in quantum and any new benefits.

Noted bipartisan interest in quantum as critical for national security and industrial competitiveness, citing two executive orders and the CHIPS R&D program's $2 billion+ investment. The LOI with CHIPS R&D provides tailwinds for investment and market opportunities, such as the U.S. government's call for a fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2028.

“It was the two executive orders, one focused on post-quantum cryptography, the other on actually quantum for AI and science. And even before that, as you saw the CHIPS R&D program create a particular investment of more than $2 billion into the quantum sector.”

asked by Joseph Moore · answered by Rajeeb Hazra

How does the Sol architecture (2D traps) derisk the engineering of Apollo?

Explained that each system generation derisks the next. Sol, as the first 2D QCCD trap, is essentially a smaller version of Apollo, addressing critical technology risks. Apollo is a larger Sol, and Lumos (beyond Apollo) uses Apollo as a building block with advanced packaging, with demonstrated qubit movement between tiles to avoid quantum networking.

“Sol represents the first 2-dimensional QCCD trap. So think of where the qubits live in two dimensions. Apollo then is just a bigger sol using standard semiconductor technology to actually increase the size of the chip to hold more qubits.”

asked by John McPeake · answered by Rajeeb Hazra

Details on next steps for Sol delivery and production, and if the 99.999% fidelity improvement is available in current gen Helios.

Sol is in production build and validation. Apollo prototyping is underway for subsystems like novel laser delivery. Lumos is being derisked with critical ingredient technologies. The 99.999% fidelity was demonstrated on Helios using a new code family, which will be detailed in a technical paper, providing a scalable path for Sol and Apollo to achieve even lower error rates with more logical qubits.

“What we've done is on Helios, using our high-fidelity qubits and architectural features like mid-circuit measurement and all-to-all connectivity, we've actually proven out even on Helios with this code family, we can get to 10 -- near 10 to the power minus 5.”

asked by Mark Moerdler · answered by Rajeeb Hazra

Bookings are ahead of revenue; what are the biggest constraints to converting other bookings into revenue faster?

Revenue recognition follows deal characteristics, with system sales being lumpy and cloud contracts ratable. The company structures deals based on customer needs. Over time, the business mix is expected to shift towards more software and services, leading to more ratable revenue and higher margins.

“I mean, I guess I'd start with our whole process, revenue recognition is sort of the tail, I suppose, on a process that starts with what does the customer want. And we have the sort of aperture to serve them in system sales on-prem or in the cloud.”

asked by Kevin Garrigan · answered by Nitesh Sharan

Expand on the pipeline for additional Helios systems on-prem. Are you seeing demand for Sol systems on-prem, or will they remain cloud-only?

Growing on-prem demand for Helios is observed, similar to the Singapore model, including regional ecosystems in the U.S. Demand is broad across platform generations. The company is actively considering decisions on Sol system builds due to demand, but no announcements have been made yet regarding on-prem Sol deployments.

“We are seeing on-prem demand continue to grow, very -- in some similar to the Singapore model of setting up sovereign ecosystems, some regional ecosystems even in the U.S. So we're seeing demand for that grow.”

asked by Quinn Bolton · answered by Rajeeb Hazra