Rigetti Computing Tripled Its Revenue Last Quarter. Has It Become a Safer Stock to Buy?

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ: RGTI) is a promising young company that's working to become a big player in the quantum computing market. If it proves to be the real deal, the upside could be mammoth, given the need for faster and more efficient computing due to artificial intelligence. There's seemingly never enough compute power, and Rigetti and other quantum companies look to be part of the solution.

It could still be a long way before that becomes a reality, but the good news is Rigetti has been generating some revenue already. And in its most recent quarterly earnings report, its top line tripled, and it posted a profit. Is this a sign the business is becoming a safer growth investment, despite the stock's 25% decline this year?

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Rigetti's revenue soars, but it's nowhere near enough to cover its expenses

During the first three months of 2026, Rigetti's revenue totaled $4.4 million, which was a mammoth increase from the $1.5 million in revenue it generated in the same period last year. However, the challenge with quantum computing is that revenue can be lumpy, and demand isn't yet very consistent. And so while the surge is impressive for Rigetti, it may not necessarily be the beginning of a strong trend. In 2025, the company's revenue declined by around 34%.

And while the company did post a profit of $33 million this past quarter, that wouldn't have been the case without a roughly $54 million revaluation of its derivative warrant liabilities. The company's operating loss was just under $26 million, with Rigetti's selling, general, and administrative expenses of $7.4 million easily eclipsing its top line, let alone its much larger research and development costs of $20 million.

Quantum computing is still in its extremely early innings

Even if you're OK with the risk that comes with Rigetti and other quantum computing stocks, you need to brace yourself with the reality that this isn't your typical long-term play. It could be an extremely long time before Rigetti or any other stock solidifies itself as a top stock in this arena. Consider that the entire global quantum computing market was worth just $1.4 billion in 2024, based on estimates from analysts at Grand View Research. And while the industry is growing, those analysts believe it'll be worth around just $4.2 billion by the end of the decade.

There's a ton of risk when investing in a company that's at such an early stage of its growth. It may succeed, it might not survive, or perhaps it gets absorbed within another business along the way. This is why quantum computing stocks are highly risky investments, and while they may be showing progress today, it's still an extremely long road ahead. With a market cap of more than $5 billion, Rigetti's stock is already extremely overpriced, given all the uncertainty ahead.

David Jagielski, CPA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.