Do QuantumScape's Q3 Billings Mark the Start of Monetization?

QuantumScape Corp. QS recorded customer billings of $12.8 million in Q3. That number might be small, but it marks a turning point for the company. For years, investors watched development milestones. Now they can see early commercial activity. Management defines customer billings as the total value of invoices issued in the period.

In Q3, those invoices came to life as QuantumScape billed Volkswagen’s PowerCo for joint development work — a sign that its technology is moving closer to monetization. Customer billings give investors a clear view of how actively partners are engaging with QuantumScape. They show real-world progress in programs tied to its solid-state battery technology. Notably, the company is not considering the billings as revenues.

For investors, this new metric matters. It confirms that automakers are paying for QuantumScape’s development work. It also demonstrates that the company’s capital-light licensing model is beginning to generate early inflows. They serve as a valuable indicator of progress between R&D and future royalty revenues.

Combined with the company’s expanding partnerships and solid liquidity, Q3’s results suggest QuantumScape is gradually shifting from a research story to a commercial one. And this is a transition worth investors’ attention.

Competitors Check

While QuantumScape is making solid progress, it remains a pre-revenue company. Its peers, Solid Power SLDP and SES AI SES have started generating revenues.

Solid Power reported $7.5 million in revenues for Q2 2025, up from $6 million in Q1, showing steady growth. For full-year 2024, it delivered $20.1 million in revenues, mostly from technology transfer agreements and milestone payments with partners like SK On and BMW.

SES AI also earns revenues, mainly from development services and partnerships focused on lithium-metal batteries and AI-driven battery software. It reported $9.3 million in revenues in the first half of 2025, largely from contracts with major automakers, and expects $15-$25 million in revenues for the full year.

The Zacks Rundown on QuantumScape

Shares of QS have jumped more than 211% over the past year, breezing past the industry. But QS stock has underperformed SES AI and Solid Power, which rocketed 421% and 435%, respectively, over the same timeframe.

QuantumScape currently has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 3.44 on a scale of 1 to 5 (Strong Buy to Strong Sell), calculated based on the actual recommendations (Buy, Hold, Sell, etc.) made by nine brokerage firms. 

See how the Zacks Consensus Estimate for QS’ earnings has been revised over the past 90 days.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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