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QuantumScape (QS +0.63%) stock is on a tear. After logging a 55% gain in the month of September, shares of the solid-state lithium metal battery cell maker soared another 49.7% in October to a new 52-week high of $19.07 per share, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. QuantumScape stock is up 90% in just three months, as of this writing. It's not a fluke. In just the past few weeks, QuantumScape signed a game-changing deal with Corning (GLW 3.95%), achieved a major product milestone with the shipment of its advanced B1 QSE-5 solid-state battery cell samples, reduced its losses, and announced its first-ever customer billings, marking a clear transition toward monetization. QuantumScape's numbers sent the stock surging Let's start with QuantumScape's third-quarter earnings report, as that truly reveals where the company is headed. QuantumScape is still a pre-revenue, loss-making company, but its net loss shrank by 11.6% year over year to $105.8 million in Q3 as the company cut down on costs. QuantumScape exited the quarter with $1 billion in liquidity. With its cash burn improving as well, QuantumScape extended its cash runway guidance by a full year and projects its cash reserves to last through 2030. The biggest takeaway from the earnings report is $12.8 million in customer billings. Having started deliveries of samples of QSE-5 cells based on its Cobra technology in Q3, QuantumScape will now provide regular updates about customer billings. Customer billings confirm the commercialization of QuantumScape's battery technology and paves the way for the first revenues for the company. That explains why shares of QuantumScape rocketed after the earnings report. QuantumScape stock could skyrocket if this happens The delivery of QSE-5 cells in October paves the way for commercial production. QuantumScape's recent partnership with glass and ceramics giant Corning is a major step in that direction, as the two companies will develop ceramic separators for commercial use. Solid ceramic separators are the biggest differentiators for QuantumScape as they replace the traditionally used polymers in electric vehicle batteries and boost energy density, charging capacity, and life of batteries. So to ramp cell production, QuantumScape must first produce separators at scale -- something it can now do with Corning. QuantumScape has found its first customer in PowerCo, a subsidiary of automotive giant Volkswagen Group (VWAGY +1.47%). QuantumScape has a long-standing partner and investor relationship with Volkswagen. In September, Volkswagen displayed its all-electric Ducati V21L race motorcycle equipped with QuantumScape's QSE-5 cells for the first time ever. Ducati is expected to go into field testing in 2026. I next see two major catalysts for QuantumScape stock: The generation of its first revenue and agreements with other automotive partners. While the first could just be around the corner, the other is a possibility.
