QuantumScape二季度电话会披露Honda合作、Eagle Line下半年拟再翻倍及2026年亏损指引维持

Earnings Call Insights: QuantumScape (QS) Q2 2026
Management View
- “This quarter, we announced a partnership with Honda. This is a multi-year agreement aimed at advancing our solid-state lithium metal battery technology for automotive and other applications in the Honda product portfolio,” said (President, CEO & Director Siva Sivaram).
- “In order to serve our diverse and growing customer base, we are establishing three business verticals: QSEV for electric vehicles, QSDC for AI data centers, and QSAS for advanced solutions for applications including aerospace and defense,” said (President, CEO & Director Sivaram). He added, “QSAS has shipped QSE-5 cells to a major American defense prime.”
- On pilot manufacturing, (President, CEO & Director Sivaram) said, “Core tools are showing uptime greater than 90%,” and added, “we aim to further double cell output in the second half of 2026 and anticipate customer sample shipments accelerating across all three verticals.”
- On safety and scaling to larger cells, (President, CEO & Director Sivaram) said, “We are pleased to report that larger scale testing continues to show that QSE-5 is a significantly safer cell design compared to both conventional and next generation lithium-ion cells,” and added, “we have demonstrated that our Cobra process can produce larger area separators for higher capacity cell designs.”
- “For full year 2026, we reiterate our Adjusted EBITDA loss guidance of between $250 million and $275 million,” said (Chief Financial Officer Kevin Hettrich).
Outlook
- “For full year 2026, we reiterate our Adjusted EBITDA loss guidance of between $250 million and $275 million,” said (Chief Financial Officer Hettrich).
- “For full year 2026, we lower our guidance for CapEx to be between $27 million and $37 million, reflecting capital discipline and cost savings on specific capital projects,” said (Chief Financial Officer Hettrich).
- On manufacturing trajectory as a key operational proof point, (President, CEO & Director Sivaram) said the Eagle Line is “one of our 4 key annual goals,” and added, “we plan to double in the second half of the year,” describing the output ramp as the basis for broader customer shipments.
Financial Results
- “GAAP operating expenses and GAAP net loss in Q2 were $106.1 million and $98.2 million respectively,” said (Chief Financial Officer Hettrich), adding, “Adjusted EBITDA loss was $64.2 million in Q2, in line with expectations.”
- “Capital expenditures in the second quarter were $4.6 million,” said (Chief Financial Officer Hettrich).
- “Customer billings in Q2 were $10.8 million,” said (Chief Financial Officer Hettrich), adding, “Total customer billings through Q2 '26 are $21.8 million, exceeding fiscal year 2025 customer billings of $19.5 million.”
- “We ended Q2 with $859 million in liquidity,” said (Chief Financial Officer Hettrich).
Q&A
- Gabriel Gonzales, UBS Investment Bank: Asked if the updated PowerCo milestones imply changed timing/achievability; (President, CEO & Director Sivaram) answered, “The Volkswagen PowerCo agreements, we update them every year… There is not anything philosophically different about the objectives of the joint program.”
- Gabriel Gonzales, UBS Investment Bank: Asked about the $130 million royalty prepayment timing; (Chief Financial Officer Hettrich) answered, “The $130 million prepay is unchanged here and is released by technical milestones and alignment on the form factor.”
- Justin Barell, TD Cowen: Asked whether QSAS shipments reflected Eagle Line ramp vs. milestone deferrals and requested color on ramp; (President, CEO & Director Sivaram) answered, “The Eagle Line obviously is improving in productivity,” and added, “This naturally allowed us to be able to ship this out of the Eagle Line for a customer demand in the U.S. defense frame.”
- Justin Barell, TD Cowen: Asked timeline for QSDC samples; (President, CEO & Director Sivaram) answered, “QSDC… is a very fast-moving business,” and added, “We have a new General Manager for the business. Shahar Noy is getting ramped up on this very rapidly.”
- Justin Barell, TD Cowen: Asked how much of $10.8 million Q2 billings was PowerCo; (Chief Financial Officer Hettrich) answered, “We don't, as practice, break out the billings into finer detail.”
- Laisha Zaack Carrillo, HSBC: Asked whether QS will expand beyond the three verticals; (President, CEO & Director Sivaram) answered, “Yes is the answer to that question,” and added that advanced solutions includes “aerospace, defense, medical devices, and consumer electronics.”
- Laisha Zaack Carrillo, HSBC: Asked if QSDC could scale faster than automotive given hyperscaler power constraints; (President, CEO & Director Sivaram) answered, “We will be giving data center with its 800 volt transition coming up, all the attention to make sure we capture that market as quickly as possible.”
- John Saager, Evercore ISI: Asked about the 2029 production target and tracking milestones; (President, CEO & Director Sivaram) answered, “That is correct. We have not announced any change from our original plans.”
- Ayush Ghose, Goldman Sachs: Asked about second-half billings outlook; (Chief Financial Officer Hettrich) answered, “you should expect customer billings to be a metric that has some variability into it.”
- Yan Dong, Deutsche Bank: Asked next steps with Honda toward a PowerCo-like structure; (President, CEO & Director Sivaram) answered, “Immediate job is to move this joint development into the next level of development and move it along the same template that we have developed with PowerCo Volkswagen.”
Sentiment Analysis
- Analysts were neutral to slightly negative, pressing on milestone changes, timing, and disclosure granularity, including “Should we view the absence of the earlier milestones as a change in expectations regarding their timing or achievability?” (Gabriel Gonzales, UBS Investment Bank).
- Management was slightly positive and execution-focused, emphasizing continuity and operational progress, including “we are making strong operational progress and remain on track” (President, CEO & Director Sivaram) and “remain disciplined stewards of capital” (Chief Financial Officer Hettrich).
- Versus Q1, the tone shifted from early ramp setup to more specific execution markers and portfolio expansion, with Q2 adding a disclosed OEM partnership and formal vertical structure alongside continued emphasis on Eagle Line output.
Quarter-over-Quarter Comparison
- Q2 introduced “a partnership with Honda” (President, CEO & Director Sivaram), whereas Q1 described completing a “technology evaluation with another top 10 global automotive OEM customer” and moving into “joint development activities.”
- Q2 formalized market expansion into “three business verticals” (President, CEO & Director Sivaram); Q1 discussed AI data centers and defense as new markets but without the vertical operating structure.
- Q2 changed financial planning by lowering CapEx guidance to “between $27 million and $37 million” (Chief Financial Officer Hettrich) from Q1’s full-year CapEx guidance of “between $40 million and $60 million” (Chief Financial Officer Hettrich).
- Q2 updated PowerCo economics and scope, including “total possible payments… reduced from approximately $131 million to approximately $75 million” and “we forecast a net neutral financial impact in terms of cash” (Chief Financial Officer Hettrich); Q1 emphasized ecosystem billings as a new milestone.
Risks and Concerns
- (President, CEO & Director Sivaram) framed scaling risk around first-of-a-kind automation, saying, “Demonstrating scalable production of a unique technology on a first-of-a-kind automated line is a significant challenge,” and described mitigation through iterative improvements in “process stability and control” and targeted output increases in H2 2026.
- (Chief Financial Officer Hettrich) highlighted quarterly variability risk in commercial activity, saying, “customer billings may vary from quarter to quarter due to fluctuations in activity.”
- Analysts repeatedly focused on PowerCo milestone structure and timing, billings composition, and the practical path to manufacturing capacity beyond Eagle Line.
Final Takeaway
QuantumScape’s management emphasized that Q2 centered on expanding the customer and market footprint while tightening capital spending: a disclosed multi-year Honda partnership, a re-scoped Volkswagen PowerCo framework with reduced “up to” payments but “net neutral” cash expectations, and an operating reorganization into QSEV, QSDC, and QSAS. Leadership tied near-term proof points to Eagle Line execution—“uptime greater than 90%” and an intent to “double cell output in the second half of 2026”—while reiterating full-year Adjusted EBITDA loss guidance of $250 million to $275 million and lowering 2026 CapEx guidance to $27 million to $37 million.
Read the full Earnings Call Transcript