Key Takeaways
- Q1 2026 revenue reached $4.4 million for Rigetti, representing a threefold increase year-over-year and exceeding the $4.09 million consensus estimate.
- Loss per share of -$0.04 matched Wall Street projections.
- The company’s 108-qubit Cepheus-1-108Q system went live in April, now accessible through Amazon Braket and Microsoft Azure Quantum platforms.
- Operating losses expanded to $26 million, with R&D expenses approaching $20 million.
- A $100 million UK facility investment was revealed, targeting deployment of a 1,000-qubit quantum system in three to four years.
Rigetti Computing (RGTI) delivered better-than-expected Q1 2026 results, yet shares retreated approximately 1.85% during after-hours trading. This followed a strong 8.3% advance in regular market hours, which concluded at $18.59.
The company generated $4.4 million in quarterly revenue, marking a 193% jump from the $1.5 million recorded in Q1 2025. This performance exceeded analyst projections ranging between $4.09 million and $4.13 million. The adjusted per-share loss remained steady at -$0.04, aligning with market consensus.
Shares had already experienced upward momentum heading into the earnings release, buoyed by sector-wide enthusiasm for quantum computing stocks. Competitors IonQ (IONQ) and D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) registered gains of 15.5% and 6.5% respectively during the same trading session.
https://twitter.com/earnings_guy/status/2053929588481480601?s=20
The subdued after-hours response came as little shock to market watchers. The quarterly report contained few unexpected developments.
Revenue expansion stemmed primarily from Novera QPU shipments alongside government-funded contracts. Gross profit margins showed modest improvement, climbing to 31% from the prior year’s 30%.
Cepheus-1-108Q System Goes Live
The most significant product development was April’s official rollout of Rigetti’s Cepheus-1-108Q platform. The system is now operational across Amazon Braket, Microsoft Azure Quantum, and Rigetti’s proprietary cloud infrastructure.
This deployment arrived later than initially anticipated. The company had adjusted its timeline in January to accommodate additional technical refinements prior to public availability.
CEO Subodh Kulkarni indicated that the platform should achieve a median two-qubit gate fidelity of 99.5% by year-end, representing a critical performance metric for quantum computation accuracy.
Operational expenditures climbed 23.5% year-over-year to $27.3 million. The operating deficit grew to $26 million compared to $22 million in the corresponding quarter last year. Research and development activities consumed nearly $20 million of that total.
Rigetti concluded Q1 with $5.69 million in cash and marketable securities, representing 87% of total assets. The balance sheet remains free of debt obligations.
UK Facility to House 1,000-Qubit System
The most consequential long-range announcement involves Rigetti’s $100 million commitment to UK operations, designed to establish a quantum computing facility within a three-to-four-year timeframe.
The planned system will incorporate over 1,000 physical qubits — representing more than a ninefold expansion compared to the current Cepheus architecture.
Rigetti’s initial roadmap had called for achieving 1,000-qubit capability by 2024 or 2025. Supply chain disruptions and engineering challenges necessitated revised timelines.
The company has since recalibrated its strategic priorities. Instead of pursuing qubit count milestones exclusively, Rigetti now emphasizes performance metrics before scaling operations.
Kulkarni articulated this philosophy during the prior earnings discussion: “Our focus remains reaching true commercially meaningful quantum advantage, not headline milestones.”
Wall Street analysts forecast approximately 220% full-year 2026 revenue growth, though the company isn’t expected to achieve profitability during the current fiscal year.
Non-GAAP net losses showed marginal improvement, declining to $14.7 million from $15.3 million in Q1 2025, representing modest progress in the right direction.
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