QuantumScape Corporation, along with its subsidiaries, develops solid-state lithium-metal battery technology for electric vehicles and other applications in the United States. The company was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.
QuantumScape's Honda Deal and AI Data Center Pivot Clash with Cash Burn and Licensing Shift
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Honda R&D Partnership Honda's R&D arm partnered with QuantumScape to advance solid-state batteries, sending shares up 12.9%. A major automaker's validation boosts confidence in the technology and its commercial potential, supporting the stock price.
This is a new, concrete partnership that validates the technology and directly lifted the stock.
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AI Data Center Pivot QuantumScape is now targeting AI data centers for energy storage, a market with premium pricing. This pivot, along with first customer billings of $11 million, opens a new revenue path and re-rated the stock higher.
It reveals a new strategic direction that expands the addressable market and explains recent stock strength.
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Production Scale-Up Doubts Despite process upgrades, QuantumScape has not scaled from small sample cells to commercial production. Short interest is high at 15.36%, and the stock fell 37% this year as investors question if mass manufacturing is achievable.
It highlights a major risk that has pressured the stock and remains unresolved.
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Licensing Shift and Cash Burn QuantumScape abandoned plans to manufacture batteries itself and will license its technology instead. Wall Street was disappointed, sending shares down 31% in July. The company burns nearly $300 million annually and has no revenue, raising concerns about funding.
This is a new strategic shift that disappointed investors and directly caused a sharp stock decline.
Q3 2026
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QuantumScape's Honda Deal and AI Data Center Pivot Clash with Cash Burn and Licensing Shift
▲
Honda R&D Partnership Honda's R&D arm partnered with QuantumScape to advance solid-state batteries, sending shares up 12.9%. A major automaker's validation boosts confidence in the technology and its commercial potential, supporting the stock price.
This is a new, concrete partnership that validates the technology and directly lifted the stock.
▲
AI Data Center Pivot QuantumScape is now targeting AI data centers for energy storage, a market with premium pricing. This pivot, along with first customer billings of $11 million, opens a new revenue path and re-rated the stock higher.
It reveals a new strategic direction that expands the addressable market and explains recent stock strength.
▼
Production Scale-Up Doubts Despite process upgrades, QuantumScape has not scaled from small sample cells to commercial production. Short interest is high at 15.36%, and the stock fell 37% this year as investors question if mass manufacturing is achievable.
It highlights a major risk that has pressured the stock and remains unresolved.
▼
Licensing Shift and Cash Burn QuantumScape abandoned plans to manufacture batteries itself and will license its technology instead. Wall Street was disappointed, sending shares down 31% in July. The company burns nearly $300 million annually and has no revenue, raising concerns about funding.
This is a new strategic shift that disappointed investors and directly caused a sharp stock decline.
News & notes movingQS
United States
Electrification & Mobility▼
SoundHound AI and QuantumScape Report Divergent Q2 Results
SoundHound AI and QuantumScape both reported second-quarter 2026 results, but only SoundHound has paying customers. QuantumScape posted zero GAAP revenue and a $98.2 million net loss, while SoundHound delivered $61.9 million in revenue, up 45% year-over-year, with GAAP gross margin expanding from 39.0% to 45.1%. SoundHound raised its fiscal 2026 revenue outlook to a range of $230 million to $260 million, while QuantumScape's battery commercialization window with Volkswagen PowerCo remains targeted for 2029. Both stocks carry betas above 2.6 and are down between 30% and 45% year to date.
QuantumScape CFO Sells 31,095 Shares in Automatic Tax Withholding
QuantumScape CFO Kevin Hettrich disposed of 31,095 shares of Class A Common Stock on August 18 in a non-discretionary sale-to-cover to satisfy tax withholding upon vesting of equity awards. The transaction was valued at $179,000 based on a weighted average sale price of $5.74, and Hettrich continues to hold 1.8 million shares directly plus restricted and performance stock units. QuantumScape reported a trailing twelve-month net loss of $405.0 million and reiterated full-year adjusted EBITDA loss guidance of $250 million to $275 million, while customer billings reached $21.8 million through midyear. The company ended the quarter with $859 million in liquidity to fund its Eagle Line ramp.
QuantumScape Chief Technology Officer Timothy Holme sold 75,962 shares of Class A Common Stock on August 18 and 19, according to an SEC Form 4 filing. The transaction was valued at approximately $437,000 based on a weighted average sale price of $5.75 per share. Of the total, 34,086 shares were withheld to cover tax obligations following the release of restricted stock units, while the remaining sales were executed under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted on June 5, 2025. Holme still directly holds 1,658,075 shares worth $9.75 million at the August 19 closing price of $5.88, and he also holds 1.2 million indirect derivative securities. The sale came in the same quarter that Honda agreed to partner with QuantumScape on its solid-state battery technology, which CEO Siva Sivaram described as the result of one of the most rigorous assessments of the technology to date.
QuantumScape Shares Rise 11.4% Since Narrower-Than-Expected Q2 Loss
QuantumScape Corporation shares have gained about 11.4% since the company reported a narrower-than-expected second-quarter 2026 loss of 16 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 18 cents. GAAP net loss narrowed 14.4% year over year to $98.24 million, while total operating expenses fell 14.1% to $106.13 million. The company announced a multi-year partnership with Honda and updated its collaboration with Volkswagen Group's PowerCo, and it created three business verticals targeting electric vehicles, AI data centers, and aerospace and defense. QuantumScape lowered its full-year 2026 capital expenditure guidance to $27-$37 million from $40-$60 million and ended June with $859 million in liquidity. Analysts have revised estimates upward since the report, and the stock carries a Zacks Rank #3, or Hold.
QuantumScape Pushes Battery Commercialization Target to 2029
QuantumScape has delayed the commercial readiness of its solid-state automotive batteries to 2029, abandoning its earlier 2024 target. The company disclosed the new timeline in its second-quarter report on July 22, stating that its batteries will not be ready for commercial use until 2029, which means investors should disregard Wall Street estimates projecting revenue in 2027 and 2028. QuantumScape, which went public via a SPAC merger in November 2020, has yet to generate meaningful revenue and now plans to license its technology to partners like Volkswagen's PowerCo subsidiary rather than manufacture batteries itself. The company's stock, which opened at $24.80 on its first trading day, currently trades around $6.
QuantumScape Expands Into AI Data Centers and Defense, Reports $98.24 Million Loss
QuantumScape Corporation reported a net loss of US$98.24 million, or US$0.16 per share, in the second quarter of 2026 while advancing its solid-state battery programs and reaffirming full-year adjusted EBITDA loss guidance alongside reduced capital expenditure plans. The company broadened its scope beyond electric vehicles through new agreements with Honda and Volkswagen's PowerCo and initial shipments into AI data centers, aerospace, and defense applications, including to a major U.S. defense contractor. This expansion signals a wider range of potential commercial uses for its technology and could become an important short-term proof point as the company works to convert evaluations into paid development work and eventual licensing streams.
QS · Demand · Positive Expansion into AI data centers, aerospace, and defense with initial shipments to a major U.S. defense contractor signals new revenue streams.
7267.JP · Technology · Positive New agreement with QuantumScape for solid-state battery technology could benefit Honda's EV plans.
QuantumScape Q2 progress clashes with 54% annual share decline
QuantumScape reported second quarter 2026 results featuring a narrower loss, new partnerships with Honda and Volkswagen's PowerCo, and early product shipments to a U.S. defense contractor, yet its share price has fallen 22.86% over the past 30 days and 54.25% over the past year. According to the most followed narrative on Simply Wall St, the company's fair value is estimated at $85 per share, far above the last close of $5.87, implying a 93.1% undervaluation based on milestones such as OEM-validated A samples, multi-layer performance at scale, B sample production and shipments, pilot line infrastructure, and a Corning partnership to solve separator yield. However, QuantumScape currently generates zero revenue and posted an annual net loss of $421.426 million, while the market is paying a price-to-book ratio of 3.3 times compared to 2.3 times for peers and 1.5 times for the wider U.S. Auto Components industry, raising questions about whether future success is already priced in.
QS · Capital · Neutral Narrower loss, partnerships, shipments, and analyst valuation imply potential upside, but zero revenue, large net loss, and high price-to-book ratio raise concerns about overvaluation.
QuantumScape Stock Plunges 37% Amid Heavy Short Interest and Production Scale-Up Questions
QuantumScape Corp has seen its stock fall 37% this year, with short interest at 15.36% as investors debate whether the solid-state battery developer can transition from small sample cells to commercial-scale production. The company has been producing 5 amp-hour B and B1 sample cells for years without scaling to larger formats needed for electric vehicles, though it says reliability improvements are the key milestone. QuantumScape upgraded its manufacturing process from Raptor to Cobra, improving separator quality and reducing defects, and built a pilot Eagle Line to demonstrate scalability. Volkswagen’s battery subsidiary PowerCo has a deal to manufacture QuantumScape’s cells at commercial scale, with QuantumScape receiving royalties on each cell sold.
Littelfuse vs. QuantumScape: Which Industrials Stock Is a Better Buy in 2026?
The Motley Fool compares Littelfuse and QuantumScape to determine which industrials stock is a better buy in 2026. Littelfuse, a diversified manufacturer of circuit protection and power semiconductors, reported fiscal 2025 revenue of nearly $2.4 billion, an 8.9% increase, but posted a net loss of roughly $71.7 million. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.4x, a current ratio of 2.7x, and free cash flow of $366.1 million. QuantumScape, a pre-revenue developer of solid-state batteries, recorded zero revenue and a net loss of approximately $435.1 million in fiscal 2025, with a current ratio of nearly 15.9x, a debt-to-equity ratio of about 0.1x, and negative free cash flow of roughly $278.8 million. The analysis notes Littelfuse faces risks from customer concentration and geopolitical exposure in China, while QuantumScape must overcome technical scaling challenges and heavy reliance on partnerships with Volkswagen and Honda. The author concludes Littelfuse is the better buy due to its current execution, earnings beat, raised outlook, and growing free cash flow, versus QuantumScape's years-away commercialization and ongoing cash burn.
QuantumScape Stock Surge Fueled by AI Data Center Pivot, Not Cars
QuantumScape stock surged 87.4% over the past year, but the real catalyst was a strategic pivot toward AI data centers rather than automotive milestones. The company inaugurated its Eagle Line pilot production line and began shipping QSE-5 cells to an automotive partner, yet management’s emphasis on solid-state batteries for AI data center energy storage re-rated the stock. QuantumScape reported its first customer billings of $11 million in the first quarter and held $904.7 million in liquidity. The company now engages four of the top ten global automakers while pursuing a new market where premium pricing may accelerate commercialization.
Motley Fool Analysts Question Whether Rivian’s R2 Launch Can Revive Beaten-Down EV Stocks
Motley Fool contributors Travis Hoium, Lou Whiteman, and Rachel Warren discussed the outlook for electric vehicle stocks on the Hidden Gems Investing podcast, focusing on Rivian’s R2 launch and the broader market. They noted that U.S. new EV sales fell to 216,000 units after the $7,500 federal point-of-sale credit ended, while a flood of off-lease used EVs is pushing secondary-market prices toward parity with gas cars. Whiteman expressed caution on Rivian, saying the R2 targets a crowded $40,000–$50,000 SUV niche and that the company needs the vehicle to be a margin driver, not just a volume play. Warren argued that autonomous-driving software faces a severe 99% problem and will not be a near-term profit differentiator for cash-burning startups. Among potential hidden gems, Whiteman highlighted solid-state battery developer QuantumScape, Warren pointed to NXP Semiconductors for its automotive processing dominance, and Hoium noted that General Motors—the number-two U.S. EV maker—has returned 124% over three years while trading at just six times forward earnings.
QuantumScape stock surged after Honda Motor's research and development arm announced a partnership to advance solid-state battery technology for electric vehicles and other applications. Shares were up 12.9% as of 11:21 after paring an earlier 16% gain. Honda R&D COO praised QuantumScape, stating the technology could add value across automotive and other products. The collaboration is seen as a major vote of confidence from a global automaker, highlighting the massive potential market for solid-state batteries.
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