D-Wave Quantum Inc. (QBTS) shares are soaring 31.92% in intraday trading on Thursday, following the company's impressive first-quarter earnings report that significantly exceeded analyst expectations. The quantum computing firm demonstrated robust growth and narrowed losses, signaling potential strength in the emerging quantum technology sector.

D-Wave reported quarterly revenue of $15 million, representing a staggering 509% increase from $2.5 million in the same period last year. This figure handily surpassed the analyst consensus estimate of $10.6 million. The company also posted a narrower net loss of $0.02 per share, beating the expected loss of $0.05 per share and improving from a $0.11 loss in the previous year.

CEO Alan Baratz described the quarter as "arguably the most significant in D-Wave's history." Key highlights included the sale of an Advantage quantum machine to the Jülich Supercomputing Centre in Germany, which significantly boosted revenue. The company also published a controversial peer-reviewed paper in the journal Science, claiming its Advantage2 system solved a problem in 20 minutes that would have taken one of the world's most powerful supercomputers nearly 1 million years. While these claims were contested by some scientists, others supported D-Wave's overall argument of beyond-classical performance. The strong results from D-Wave, coupled with positive earnings from peer company IonQ, have sparked a broader rally in quantum computing stocks, suggesting growing investor confidence in the sector's potential.