Forget D-Wave Quantum: This Massive Cloud Leader Is Quietly Monetizing Quantum While Others Try to Sell a Dream

D-Wave Quantum (NYSE: QBTS) has been one of the most visible names in commercial quantum computing and is already a revenue-generating business. The company is seeing increasing adoption of its quantum annealing systems for solving real-world optimization problems across industries.

However, despite customer wins and expanding commercial deployments, revenues remain relatively small while profitability still appears distant, and valuation risks remain elevated.

Image source: Getty Images.

Investors who want exposure to quantum innovation without taking excessive risks can instead consider picking a stake in Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN). The largest cloud infrastructure provider globally, the company has already embedded quantum services into its broader ecosystem, giving researchers and enterprises access to quantum computers and simulators through the cloud. The company also has a very profitable core business to support long-term investments in quantum computing.

Monetized quantum business

Amazon is already monetizing quantum computing through Amazon Braket. This fully managed, pay-as-you-go service gives customers on-demand and reserved access to multiple quantum processors, simulators, and hybrid quantum-classical workflows directly within its AWS cloud. Customers are paying only for the traditional and quantum services they use, just like any other cloud service.

Amazon Braket is also hardware-agnostic. Hence, through AWS, users can access quantum computing systems from various companies such as IonQ, Rigetti Computing, and IQM. Subsequently, the success of Amazon's quantum computing initiative does not depend on which quantum computing technology eventually prevails. Instead, Amazon is positioning itself as a cloud-based distribution layer, effectively earning revenue as a platform partner.

Braket is also designed to support hybrid workloads, where classical computing handles routine tasks and quantum computing handles relatively complex ones. A real-world example of this hybrid model was seen in June 2025, when IonQ, AstraZeneca, Nvidia, and Amazon collaborated on drug-discovery workflow. IonQ's Forte quantum processor was accessed through Amazon Braket, while Nvidia's CUDA-Q software platform and H200 GPUs running on AWS performed classical computing. The companies reported a 20 times improvement in time-to-solution compared to earlier methods.

Hence, even when quantum computing is involved, many real-world problems are likely to require a hybrid approach. These hybrid workloads conducted through Braket will also drive AWS's usage and revenues.

Beyond infrastructure, Amazon also offers quantum computing-related advisory through initiatives such as Quantum Embark and Amazon Quantum Solutions Lab. These consulting services are further helping create a sticky client base and deepen enterprise relationships early in the adoption cycle.

Cash-generating businesses

The most significant competitive advantage for Amazon is that the company doesn't need quantum computing to be a major cash-generating business anytime soon.

In the fourth quarter (ending Dec. 31, 2025), Amazon reported $213.4 billion in net sales, $25 billion in operating income, and $11.2 billion in trailing 12-month free cash flow. AWS continues to be a prominent growth engine and is now a $142 billion annualized run-rate business. AWS also enjoys strong revenue visibility as the business exited fiscal 2025 with a backlog of $244 billion, up 40% year over year. Hence, while the core business is growing rapidly, the company also has sufficient financial flexibility to fund quantum research.

Management has also highlighted that the company is monetizing new AI-related AWS capacity "as fast as it can install it." AWS is highly profitable and generated $12.5 billion in operating income in the fourth quarter. Amazon is also planning to invest $200 billion in capex in fiscal 2026, predominantly to expand AWS infrastructure.

Amazon's digital advertising business is also gaining traction, with revenue growing 22% year over year to $21.3 billion. The high-margin, capital-light ads business is helping reduce overreliance on the capex-heavy AWS business.

Valuation

Amazon currently trades at 21.7 times forward earnings (as of Feb 23, 2026), which is not cheap. However, it is not as expensive as pure-play quantum computing stocks, which are priced for perfect execution (elevated price-to-sales multiples) despite being loss-making and generating negative cash flows.

Amazon investors may not get the explosive upside potential of a pure-play quantum computing company in the long term, but it also carries far less downside risk.

Hence, for investors who want exposure to quantum computing without betting on any one company's technology, buying a stake in Amazon could prove to be a smart move in 2026.

Manali Pradhan, CFA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, AstraZeneca Plc, IonQ, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.