A signed order is good news, but it is not revenue yet. Bookings, backlog and revenue track the same deal at three different moments, and the time between them is where much of the risk lies.
Three numbers, three moments
When a customer signs an order, the company can count it in bookingsThe value of new orders signed during a period.. Until the company delivers, the order sits in backlogSigned orders that have not yet turned into revenue.. Only when the customer actually receives what it paid for does the order become revenue.
For a service delivered month by month, revenue follows the order step by step. For a company selling a few large machines a year, the three numbers can be far apart.
Why the gap can be long
Under US accounting rules, revenue is recorded when the customer obtains control of what was promised.1 Signs of control include physical possession, legal title, the risks and rewards of ownership, and the customer’s formal acceptance.1 A machine that must be built, shipped, installed and tested may count as revenue only at the end of that chain. Services delivered over time are generally recorded as they are performed.1 So a slip in delivery or acceptance moves revenue into a later quarter, even when nothing about the order itself has changed.
A real case shows how uneven this can be. One listed quantum computer maker reported $13.7 million of system sales in the first half of 2025 and $0.3 million in the first half of 2026.4 At the end of June 2026 it also reported $40.7 million of contracted revenue not yet recognized, of which it expected about 57% within 12 months and 72% within two years.4 Revenue for that quarter itself was $3.1 million.4
The audited number and the company’s number
Bookings and backlog are mostly a company’s own measures, defined as it chooses. The audited cousin is remaining performance obligationsContracted revenue not yet recognized, which audited statements must disclose with an explanation of when it is expected to arrive.. It counts only enforceable contracts: if both sides can cancel an untouched contract without paying the other, there is no contract to count.1 Contracts of a year or less may be left out.1
Figure 1: Orders are not revenue. System sales at one listed quantum computer maker swung from $13.7 million in the first half of 2025 to $0.3 million a year later. At the end of June 2026 it had $40.7 million of contracted revenue still to recognize, against $3.1 million of revenue in the quarter. Source: company 10-Q, quarter ended June 30, 2026 (Source 4).
So a company’s backlog can be larger or smaller than this audited figure. The definition tells you which. Since 2020, US disclosure rules no longer list backlog as a required item; companies disclose it when it is material, and the regulator noted that this may make companies harder to compare.2 Its 2020 guidance says that when a company reports a metric, it should generally give a clear definition, explain how it is calculated, and say why it is useful and how management uses it.3
That matters because the number can be informative. A 2003 study, cited by the regulator, found that order backlog helps predict future earnings.2 A backlog figure with a clear definition is worth reading; one without a definition is hard to compare.
How to read a bookings or backlog number
How is it defined? Is it signed contracts only, or does it include options, renewals or letters of intent? Did the definition change this quarter?
Can the customer walk away? Compare it with the audited remaining performance obligations.
When does it turn into revenue? Look for the expected timing, often given in time bands.
What must happen first? Delivery, installation, an acceptance test?
How concentrated is it? One large order can make a whole year.
Financial Accounting Standards Board, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09 (May 2014), Section A (accessed October 20, 2026). (606-10-25-23: revenue recognized when the customer obtains control; 606-10-25-30: indicators include physical possession, legal title, risks and rewards, and customer acceptance; 606-10-25-4: no contract if each party can terminate a wholly unperformed contract without compensating the other; 606-10-50-13: disclose the transaction price allocated to remaining performance obligations and when it is expected to be recognized, in time bands or qualitatively; 606-10-50-14: contracts with an original expected duration of one year or less may be excluded.) ↩
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, “Modernization of Regulation S-K Items 101, 103, and 105,” final rule, Release No. 33-10825 (August 26, 2020; effective November 9, 2020). (Item 101(c) no longer explicitly references the dollar amount of backlog orders believed to be firm; disclosure still required if material; eliminating such topics “may diminish comparability across firms”; cites S. Rajgopal et al., Review of Accounting Studies 8, 461 (2003), that backlog orders can predict future earnings.) ↩
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, “Commission Guidance on Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” interpretive release, Release No. 33-10751 (January 30, 2020). (Metrics should generally be accompanied by a clear definition and how it is calculated, why it is useful to investors, and how management uses it.) ↩
D-Wave Quantum Inc., Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 (filed August 6, 2026), Note on revenue: disaggregation table (system sales $255K and $1,025K for Q2 2026 and Q2 2025; $341K and $13,672K for the six months; total revenue $3,076K for Q2 2026) and remaining performance obligations ($40.7 million; about 57% in the next 12 months, 72% in the next two years). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1907982/000190798226000129/qbts-20260630.htm↩
