Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ: RGTI) reported second-quarter 2026 results that point to a meaningful shift in how the quantum computing market is developing commercially.
Government-backed programs and research institutions remain significant sources of demand, but management noted a clear uptick in commercial organizations purchasing on-premises quantum systems.
Rigetti confirmed that its first two 9-qubit systems delivered in 2026 went to commercial customers, who acquired the hardware primarily for research and experimentation rather than production workloads.
This marks a notable departure from conditions just one or two years ago, when commercial demand for quantum hardware was largely absent from the market.
Management attributed a significant portion of first-half sales growth specifically to commercial organizations purchasing on-premises systems, underscoring the trend’s financial impact.
The broader customer pipeline now spans commercial enterprises, universities and governments, giving Rigetti multiple channels through which to deploy future systems.
The company also reported additional Novera demand from national laboratories and universities, including the University of Saskatchewan and a research arm of a large Japanese conglomerate.
An $8.4 million C-DAC order for a 108-qubit system remains on track for revenue recognition in the fourth quarter, adding near-term visibility to the company’s financial outlook.
A collaboration with HPE and the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center is expected to place a full 9-qubit Rigetti system into a high-performance computing environment in 2027, potentially demonstrating how superconducting quantum systems can complement conventional CPUs and GPUs.
That deployment could represent a meaningful step toward hybrid quantum-classical computing, moving Rigetti beyond standalone quantum operations into more integrated computing architectures.
On the valuation front, Rigetti trades at a price-to-book ratio of 11.69, above the industry average, and carries a Value Score of F according to Zacks Investment Research.
Shares of RGTI have declined 15.1% year-to-date, underperforming the broader industry, which has fallen just 1.1% over the same period.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Rigetti’s 2026 earnings implies a 71.9% improvement from the prior year, reflecting analyst expectations for continued financial progress.
Rigetti currently holds a Zacks Rank of 3, which corresponds to a Hold rating under that research firm’s classification system.
Among sector peers, D-Wave Quantum (NYSE: QBTS) posted $3.1 million in second-quarter 2026 revenues, essentially flat year over year, though commercial enterprises now account for 62.4% of revenues, up from 45.1% a year earlier.
D-Wave’s QCaaS subscription revenues jumped 50% year over year to $1.9 million, while professional services revenues grew more than 18% to approximately $900,000.
IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) recently completed its acquisition of SkyWater Technology, creating a U.S.-based quantum foundry and strengthening the company’s control over semiconductor manufacturing, advanced packaging and supply-chain capabilities.
That transaction is expected to accelerate IonQ’s fault-tolerant quantum computing roadmap while supporting secure, end-to-end development across quantum computing, networking, sensing and security technologies.
