Rigetti Computing Stock in 2025: Still Worth Buying?

Quantum computing's promise meets Wall Street's reality check.

Rigetti Computing continues pushing quantum boundaries while investors question the timeline.

The Quantum Race Heats Up

Competitors sprint toward quantum advantage as Rigetti refines its architecture. The company's latest processor iteration shows measurable improvements in qubit stability.

Financial Realities Bite

Quarterly results reveal the classic tech dilemma—burning cash while building tomorrow's infrastructure. Short sellers circle like sharks smelling blood in the quantum waters.

The Long Game

True quantum breakthroughs demand patience most Wall Street analysts lack—they can't see past next quarter's earnings. Meanwhile, Rigetti's team keeps solving physics problems that would make traditional financiers' heads spin.

Betting on quantum requires ignoring daily stock fluctuations and watching actual technical progress. Because let's be honest—most analysts still think qubits are something you find in a gourmet chocolate box.

Image source: Getty Images.

The technology breakthrough that changes everything (eventually)

Rigetti's Cepheus-1-36Q represents genuine scientific progress. The system achieves 99.5% median 2-qubit gate fidelity -- a 2x improvement from six months ago. That matters because error rates have been quantum computing's Achilles' heel. The modular 4-chiplet architecture suggests a path to scaling beyond today's limitations. The company targets a 100-qubit system by year-end, potentially reaching the threshold where quantum computers start solving problems classical computers can't touch.

The $5.8 million Air Force Research Laboratory contract validates the technology's strategic importance. Rigetti will work with Dutch start-up QphoX to develop superconducting quantum networking nodes over three years. Government backing matters in DEEP tech -- it provides both funding and credibility.

, another quantum pure play, has secured similar contracts worth $54.5 million. The entire industry is benefiting from renewed federal interest in maintaining quantum supremacy over China. But technical achievements don't pay the bills, and Rigetti's commercial traction remains minimal.

The financial reality check

Rigetti's Q2 numbers expose the gulf between potential and performance. Revenue of $1.8 million missed already modest expectations, down 42% from $3.1 million a year ago. The net loss reached $39.7 million, though $22.8 million came from noncash warrant and earn-out charges. Operating expenses of $20.4 million dwarf revenue by more than 10 to 1, resulting in an operating loss of $19.9 million.

The bright spot is liquidity. Rigetti raised $350 million through an at-the-market equity offering, ending Q2 with $571.6 million in cash and no debt. That runway should last several years at current burn rates. But dilution is the price -- the company has been selling shares into the rally, taking advantage of momentum to shore up its balance sheet.

At 990 times trailing sales and a $10.2 billion market cap, Rigetti trades at a valuation that WOULD make even high-flying software stocks blush. IonQ trades at 327 times sales with roughly 10 times Rigetti's revenue. The market is pricing in a quantum revolution, but the timeline remains frustratingly uncertain.

The verdict

Rigetti represents a pure-play bet on quantum computing's arrival. The technology is real -- the 36-qubit system proves that. The government contracts provide validation. The $571 million cash position offers time to execute. But at its current nosebleed valuation, perfection is priced in while commercial viability remains years away. Industry experts suggest meaningful quantum applications won't emerge until 2030.

For risk-tolerant investors, Rigetti offers lottery-ticket exposure to a potentially transformative technology. For everyone else, the combination of minimal revenue, heavy losses, and sky-high valuation suggests waiting for proof of commercial traction. The quantum revolution may be coming, but at 990 times sales, you're paying today for a tomorrow that might not arrive on schedule.