Key Highlights

  • Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) shares fell about 7% to 9% in after-hours trading on November 10, 2026, after third-quarter results.
  • Revenue fell 27.5% to USD 1.4 million from USD 1.9 million a year earlier, well short of the USD 3.5 million that analysts expected.
  • The adjusted loss of USD 0.06 per share matched forecasts, and the company holds about USD 497.1 million of cash and investments with no debt.
  • Rigetti expects 2026 Revenue of about USD 20 million, assuming a customer accepts its C-DAC system in the fourth quarter.

A Small Number With a Big Gap

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) builds superconducting quantum computers and sells access to them through the cloud as well as through system sales to research institutions and governments. Its revenue is small and lumpy, because a single system delivery can swing a quarter. That is what happened in the third quarter of 2026. Revenue fell 27.5% to USD 1.4 million, against forecasts of USD 3.5 million, as expected system revenue did not land in the period. Over nine months, revenue was up about 110% to USD 10.9 million, so the miss is more about timing than a collapse in demand, but in a market that values quantum stocks on momentum and milestones, a 60% shortfall against the forecast was enough to send the shares down. The adjusted loss of USD 0.06 per share matched expectations, and the GAAP loss of USD 0.08 per share was narrowed by a USD 25.3 million non-cash gain on Warrant liabilities. Gross Margin was about 61%.

Technology Progress and Funding

On the technical side, Rigetti reported that its 108-qubit Cepheus-1 system reached 99.5% median two-qubit gate fidelity, the accuracy target the company had set. Fidelity matters because errors compound quickly as quantum computers scale, and higher accuracy brings useful applications closer. The Balance Sheet remains strong: cash and investments totalled about USD 497.1 million with no debt. In September, Rigetti signed an agreement with the US Department of Commerce for up to USD 100 million of funding under the CHIPS Act, which gives the department a minority stake. For 2026, management expects revenue of about USD 20 million, but that depends on customer acceptance of its system for C-DAC, India's advanced computing centre, in the fourth quarter. That condition makes the fourth quarter unusually important. If the acceptance slips, full-year revenue would fall well short of the target, which is why investors are likely to treat any update on the C-DAC system as a major event for the stock.

Sector Mood and What to Watch

Quantum computing shares have been among the most volatile in the market this year, rising sharply on technical announcements and government support and falling hard on results that remind investors how early commercial revenue still is. D-Wave and Quantum Computing Inc also reported on November 10, and their shares came under pressure as well. Rigetti's main risks are timing and execution. A delay in the C-DAC acceptance would push revenue into 2027, and competition from larger technology companies with their own quantum programmes remains intense. The company also needs to show that government-backed programmes can turn into repeat commercial Demand rather than one-off research purchases. Cash burn is manageable given the balance sheet, but investors will watch whether system sales become more regular. For Rigetti (NASDAQ:RGTI), the fourth-quarter system acceptance and progress toward larger qubit counts at high fidelity are the key markers.

Where Things Stand

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) fell about 9% after hours on November 10, 2026 after third-quarter revenue of USD 1.4 million missed a USD 3.5 million forecast. The adjusted loss matched expectations, its Cepheus-1 system hit 99.5% two-qubit fidelity and cash stands near USD 497.1 million. The 2026 revenue goal of about USD 20 million depends on a fourth-quarter system acceptance, making that milestone the key near-term test.