Reviewing D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS) and Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) and D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Risk and Volatility

Upwork has a beta of 1.54, meaning that its stock price is 54% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, D-Wave Quantum has a beta of 0.98, meaning that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

77.7% of Upwork shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.5% of D-Wave Quantum shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.6% of Upwork shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.2% of D-Wave Quantum shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Upwork and D-Wave Quantum”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Upwork	$689.14 million	2.00	$46.89 million	$0.35	29.83
D-Wave Quantum	$8.76 million	22.20	-$82.71 million	($0.53)	-1.82

Upwork has higher revenue and earnings than D-Wave Quantum. D-Wave Quantum is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Upwork, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Upwork and D-Wave Quantum’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Upwork	10.00%	20.75%	7.42%
D-Wave Quantum	-661.66%	N/A	-111.58%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Upwork and D-Wave Quantum, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Upwork	0	2	8	0	2.80
D-Wave Quantum	0	0	7	0	3.00

Upwork presently has a consensus price target of $15.70, indicating a potential upside of 50.38%. D-Wave Quantum has a consensus price target of $2.54, indicating a potential upside of 162.61%. Given D-Wave Quantum’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe D-Wave Quantum is more favorable than Upwork.

Summary

Upwork beats D-Wave Quantum on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Upwork

Upwork Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates a work marketplace that connects businesses with various independent professionals and agencies in the United States, India, the Philippines, and internationally. The company’s work marketplace provides access to talent with various skills across a range of categories, including administrative support, sales and marketing, design and creative, and customer service, as well as web, mobile, and software development. Its work marketplace also enables clients to streamline workflows, such as talent sourcing, outreach, and contracting. The company’s work marketplace offers access to various functionalities for remote engagements with talent, including communication and collaboration, ability to receive talent invoices through their work marketplace, and payment protection. Its marketplace offerings include Upwork Payroll and Upwork Enterprise, as well as managed and escrow services. The company was formerly known as Elance-oDesk, Inc. and changed its name to Upwork Inc. in May 2015. Upwork Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

About D-Wave Quantum

D-Wave Quantum Inc. develops and delivers quantum computing systems, software, and services worldwide. The company offers Advantage, a fifth-generation quantum computer; Ocean, a suite of open-source python tools; and Leap, a cloud-based service that provides real-time access to a live quantum computer, as well as access to Advantage, hybrid solvers, the Ocean software development kit, live code, demos, learning resources, and a vibrant developer community. It also provides D-Wave Launch, a quantum professional service that guides enterprises from problem discovery through production implementation. The company's quantum solutions are used in logistics, financial services, drug discovery, materials sciences, scheduling, fault detection, mobility, and supply chain management. It serves financial services, manufacturing/logistics, mobility, and life sciences/pharmaceuticals industries. D-Wave Quantum Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Burnaby, Canada.