Rigetti Earnings Miss, Technical Progress Persists

Rigetti Computing (RGTI) reported revenue below expectations and a wider operating loss on March 4, 2026, while executives highlighted recent orders and upcoming system shipments as drivers of near-term revenue.

Quarterly Results and Margins

For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, Rigetti posted revenue of $1.9 million, down 17.4% from $2.3 million a year earlier and below the $2.32 million consensus. Management said quarterly revenue continues to be affected by the timing of system deliveries and government contracts.

The company recorded an operating loss of $22.6 million. GAAP net loss was $18.2 million, and non-GAAP net loss was $11.3 million, or $(0.03) per share, meeting expectations. These results reflect the gap between current commercial revenue and the costs of scaling hardware development.

Gross margin declined 900 basis points year over year to 35%, which management attributed to a shift toward government contracts. Operating expenses rose 19% to $23.2 million, including $5.6 million in stock-based compensation. The combination of lower margins and higher expenses underscores near-term pressure on profitability as Rigetti advances commercialization.

For the full year, revenue totaled $7.1 million. The company reported a GAAP net loss of $216.2 million and a non-GAAP net loss of $50.5 million. Rigetti ended 2025 with $589.8 million in cash, equivalents, and investments, up from $217 million a year earlier, and carries no debt. Management said this liquidity provides runway through the quantum-advantage timeframe.

Orders, Shipments, and Outlook

Rigetti disclosed an $8.4 million purchase order from India’s Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) for a 108-qubit on-premises system, with deployment expected in the second half of 2026. Revenue will be recognized at installation. This order represents a significant sale tied to on-site deployment and public-sector demand.

The company has about $5.7 million in Novera system sales on the books. It expects roughly half of that revenue to be recognized in the first quarter of 2026 and the remainder in the second quarter. A Japanese Novera shipment is scheduled for April 2026. Management noted that early system sales will include lower-margin dilution refrigeration. Executives said these staged shipments should drive substantial year-over-year revenue growth in the first quarter.

Looking ahead, management emphasized a 2026 strategic focus on on-premises systems for government agencies, national laboratories, and academic customers. The company prefers organic investment and will pursue acquisitions only if they accelerate its roadmap. It also expressed confidence in entering Phase B of an open-ended program tied to error-correction milestones by the end of 2026.

Technical Progress and Roadmap

Rigetti highlighted prototype performance showing 99.9% two-qubit gate fidelity at 28 nanoseconds, a metric it presented as evidence of progress toward error correction and scalability. Management cited these advances alongside disclosed orders and shipment schedules as reasons for optimism about longer-term revenue, despite quarterly sales volatility.

The near-term outlook combines timing-driven revenue recognition with technical milestones that the company says are key to its multi-year roadmap. Upcoming installations and shipments through 2026 will serve as milestones for investors and customers to assess execution against that plan.