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Rigetti's Technology Progress Strengthens Long-Term Growth Outlook
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Key Takeaways
RGTI's Cepheus-1-108Q achieved 99.5% gate fidelity, with a 1,000-plus-qubit system targeted in three years.
RGTI secured up to $100M in government funding, while its cash reserves reached $497.1M with no debt.
Rigetti's Q3 revenues fell to $1.4M, while operating losses widened to $33.2M amid higher R&D spending.
Rigetti Computing (RGTI - Free Report) reported significant technological progress in the third quarter of 2026, with the Cepheus-1-108Q system achieving 99.5% median two-qubit gate fidelity. The system also demonstrated 99.7% fidelity on a 50-qubit sublattice, highlighting improvements in the company's chiplet-based architecture. Rigetti is targeting a 300-plus-qubit system with approximately 99.7% median two-qubit gate fidelity by mid-2028, followed by a 1,000-plus-qubit system with 99.9% fidelity and integrated error correction in approximately three years.
The company also signed a definitive agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce for up to $100 million in funding to accelerate research in miniaturized readout electronics, cryogenic capacity and high-connectivity chip architectures. These developments strengthen Rigetti's technology roadmap and provide additional resources to advance its superconducting quantum computing platform.
However, commercialization remains a key challenge as quantum computing is still largely in the research and development stage. Management believes meaningful commercial adoption will depend on demonstrating a return on investment over classical computing, which could take approximately three years. Financially, third-quarter revenues declined to $1.4 million from $1.9 million a year ago, although nine-month revenues increased 110% year over year to $10.9 million. Operating expenses rose to $34 million from $21 million, primarily due to higher research and development investments, resulting in an operating loss of $33.2 million.
Rigetti ended the quarter with $497.1 million in cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale investments and no debt. Management expects full-year 2026 revenues of approximately $20 million, assuming acceptance of its C-DAC system in the fourth quarter. While its strong liquidity position and government funding support continued investments, execution on technology milestones, revenue growth and cost management will remain critical to its long-term prospects.
Peers Updates
Quantum Computing Inc. (QUBT - Free Report) , or QCi, announced the launch of Dirac-3S, the next-generation version of its Dirac-3 quantum optimization machine. The upgraded platform focuses on three key areas — Speed, Scale and Solutions — offering faster performance, improved solution quality, greater computing capacity and a modular architecture that can accommodate expanding customer requirements. The launch marks an important step toward commercializing QCi's quantum optimization technology, with the first customer shipment of Dirac-3S expected in November 2026.
IonQ (IONQ - Free Report) signed an $8.18 million commercial agreement with Congruity360 to integrate its post-quantum cryptography and quantum key distribution appliances into the latter's enterprise data management platform, strengthening its foothold in the enterprise cybersecurity market. The company also advanced its hardware roadmap by launching Superion 256, its sixth-generation quantum computing platform, after fabricating its first integrated 256-qubit quantum processing units with SkyWater and successfully trapping ions in prototype systems across multiple U.S. facilities.
Rigetti’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Shares of RGTI have lost 48% in the year-to-date period compared with the industry’s decline of 3%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, Rigetti trades at a price-to-book ratio of 7.55, above the industry average. RGTI carries a Value Score of F.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Rigetti’s 2026 earnings implies a significant 70.3% improvement from the year-ago period.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Bigstock
Rigetti's Technology Progress Strengthens Long-Term Growth Outlook
Key Takeaways
Rigetti Computing (RGTI - Free Report) reported significant technological progress in the third quarter of 2026, with the Cepheus-1-108Q system achieving 99.5% median two-qubit gate fidelity. The system also demonstrated 99.7% fidelity on a 50-qubit sublattice, highlighting improvements in the company's chiplet-based architecture. Rigetti is targeting a 300-plus-qubit system with approximately 99.7% median two-qubit gate fidelity by mid-2028, followed by a 1,000-plus-qubit system with 99.9% fidelity and integrated error correction in approximately three years.
The company also signed a definitive agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce for up to $100 million in funding to accelerate research in miniaturized readout electronics, cryogenic capacity and high-connectivity chip architectures. These developments strengthen Rigetti's technology roadmap and provide additional resources to advance its superconducting quantum computing platform.
However, commercialization remains a key challenge as quantum computing is still largely in the research and development stage. Management believes meaningful commercial adoption will depend on demonstrating a return on investment over classical computing, which could take approximately three years. Financially, third-quarter revenues declined to $1.4 million from $1.9 million a year ago, although nine-month revenues increased 110% year over year to $10.9 million. Operating expenses rose to $34 million from $21 million, primarily due to higher research and development investments, resulting in an operating loss of $33.2 million.
Rigetti ended the quarter with $497.1 million in cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale investments and no debt. Management expects full-year 2026 revenues of approximately $20 million, assuming acceptance of its C-DAC system in the fourth quarter. While its strong liquidity position and government funding support continued investments, execution on technology milestones, revenue growth and cost management will remain critical to its long-term prospects.
Peers Updates
Quantum Computing Inc. (QUBT - Free Report) , or QCi, announced the launch of Dirac-3S, the next-generation version of its Dirac-3 quantum optimization machine. The upgraded platform focuses on three key areas — Speed, Scale and Solutions — offering faster performance, improved solution quality, greater computing capacity and a modular architecture that can accommodate expanding customer requirements. The launch marks an important step toward commercializing QCi's quantum optimization technology, with the first customer shipment of Dirac-3S expected in November 2026.
IonQ (IONQ - Free Report) signed an $8.18 million commercial agreement with Congruity360 to integrate its post-quantum cryptography and quantum key distribution appliances into the latter's enterprise data management platform, strengthening its foothold in the enterprise cybersecurity market. The company also advanced its hardware roadmap by launching Superion 256, its sixth-generation quantum computing platform, after fabricating its first integrated 256-qubit quantum processing units with SkyWater and successfully trapping ions in prototype systems across multiple U.S. facilities.
Rigetti’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Shares of RGTI have lost 48% in the year-to-date period compared with the industry’s decline of 3%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, Rigetti trades at a price-to-book ratio of 7.55, above the industry average. RGTI carries a Value Score of F.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Rigetti’s 2026 earnings implies a significant 70.3% improvement from the year-ago period.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The company currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.