If You’d Dropped $1,500 on Rigetti Computing Stock Last Year - Brace Yourself for This ROI

Quantum Leap or Quantum Loss? Rigetti's Rollercoaster Year Revealed

Portfolio whiplash alert—while traditional investors played it safe, quantum computing stocks danced to their own chaotic algorithm. Rigetti Computing became the ultimate high-risk, high-reward bet that either made geniuses out of gamblers or left them staring at red screens.

The $1,500 Test: From Hope to Hard Reality

Twelve months back, dropping a cool $1,500 on Rigetti seemed like a forward-thinking move—quantum's the future, right? Fast forward to today, and that investment's telling a story Wall Street analysts either cheer or choke on. No crystal balls here, just cold, hard data pulled straight from the market's volatile heartbeat.

Behind the Numbers: Volatility Isn't for the Faint-Hearted

Forget steady growth; Rigetti's chart looks more like a EKG during a panic attack. One day it’s mooning on quantum breakthrough hype, the next it’s cratering on delayed hardware launches—classic tech stock drama, amplified by a sector that’s equal parts promise and vaporware.

Finance Traders Still Don’t Get Tech—And It Shows

Let’s be real: most suits still think qubits are a snack food. While Rigetti pushed the boundaries of quantum mechanics, traditional investors were busy rebalancing bonds and missing the next big thing—or dodging a bullet, depending on where the needle landed. Either way, it’s another reminder that disruptive tech doesn’t care about your spreadsheet models.

Image source: Getty Images.

One company that has benefited from the quantum trade is(RGTI 10.19%). In July, the company announced that its 36-qubit system had achieved 99.5% median two-qubit gate fidelity, which is a measure of accuracy. Rigetti also hopes to achieve the same accuracy with its 100-plus-qubit system before year's end -- more qubits means a more powerful system.

If you'd invested $1,500 last year

If quantum computers can be commercialized and do what researchers believe is possible, then the sector has the same kind of unlimited potential as AI. The AI trade likely opened investors' eyes, which is why some quantum stocks like Rigetti have been over 20-baggers in the past year.

RGTI data by YCharts

As of this writing on September 16, if you'd invested $1,500 one year ago, you'd have a whopping $36,500 today! Returns over the past year have been phenomenal, but keep in mind that Rigetti is still losing money, generates very little revenue, and now trades at a nearly $6.5 billion market cap anyway. Investors should understand that Rigetti is a very risky investment. The commercialization of quantum computing could still be far away, and it's hard to know just how advanced these machines will actually be.