Rigetti Falls 5% After CEO Admits Quantum Can’t Yet Prove ROI; IonQ Sinks 8%, D-Wave Slides 5%

Quantum computing stocks are extending their slide after one of the sector’s own chief executives admitted that the technology can’t yet beat classical computers on cost. Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) stock is at $10.57 in Thursday’s afternoon trading, down 5%. That decline adds to pressure from the company’s Q3 2026 results, reported on November 10.

Quarterly revenue at Rigetti came in at $1.41 million, missing the $3.52 million consensus estimate and falling 27.5% year over year (YoY). Company management kept its full-year 2026 revenue outlook at approximately $20 million, a figure that depends on customer acceptance of the C-DAC system in Q4 2026. Operating losses at Rigetti widened to $33.19 million from $20.55 million a year earlier.

Rigetti CEO Concedes Quantum Can’t Yet Prove a Return

On the November 10 earnings call, Rigetti CEO Subodh Kulkarni said quantum computing is “still very much in the R&D phase.” He then addressed return on investment (ROI) directly: “None of us are at a point where we can demonstrate ROI with quantum computing over classical computing.” Kulkarni added that data center managers are unlikely to make significant commercial investments until quantum can show that return over classical systems.

Rigetti’s chief executive estimated the company is “roughly about three years from that point,” tied to a target of 1,000 physical qubits at 99.9% fidelity or higher. Near-term sales at Rigetti may stay modest because current buyers are mostly national labs, universities and research teams. Such a timeline extends well past the horizon many growth-stock buyers tend to accept.

Macro data is the second weight on Rigetti alongside Kulkarni’s remark. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on November 10 showed October prices up 0.4%, above the 0.3% that economists expected. Inflation that hot pushed the 10-year Treasury yield toward 5%, and higher yields weigh hardest on companies like Rigetti whose earnings sit years away.

What the Peer Group Says About Rigetti

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ | IONQ Price Prediction) stock is at $31.36, down 8%. That’s the steepest drop among the three featured quantum names, even though IonQ reported Q3 revenue of $173.8 million, up 336% YoY. A slide that sharp at the group’s revenue leader points to rates and risk appetite as the bigger forces at work.

Meanwhile, D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS) stock is at $10.16, down 5%. Sales at D-Wave grew 20.7% YoY in Q3, though the company’s quarterly bookings fell 19%. Gross margin at D-Wave slipped to 52.9% from 71.4% as lower-margin professional services made up more of the mix.

Quantum Computing Inc. (NASDAQ:QUBT) is another pure-play in the group. QUBT stock is down 5% to $5.86. Rigetti, IonQ and D-Wave are all moving in the same direction, which fits a sector-wide repricing more closely than any single company’s results.

How Rigetti’s Business Model Stands Apart

Rigetti builds superconducting, chiplet-based machines and sells them on premises to national labs and universities, while offering access through its own cloud service. IonQ runs a wider platform covering trapped-ion computers, networking, sensing, security software and a chip foundry. The range gives IonQ several revenue streams outside quantum computing itself. At its Accelerated Quantum Research Center, NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) plans to install an IonQ Superion 256 system.

D-Wave sells annealing systems that customers already run in production and is developing gate-model machines alongside them. Deliveries of a small number of systems drive Rigetti’s sales, which keeps the company’s quarterly revenue uneven and research-driven. Quantum Computing Inc. builds photonic quantum systems that run at room temperature, paired with chip-packaging operations.

Rigetti’s Road to Proving Quantum Pays Off

Rigetti now needs the C-DAC system to win customer acceptance in Q4, a result that would support the company’s full-year outlook. On the bullish side, Rigetti ended Q3 with $497.1 million in cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale investments and no debt. A definitive $100 million agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce could also speed up Rigetti’s hardware road map.

The bears can point to a widening operating loss and a CEO who expects commercial sales to stay limited until quantum advantage arrives at Rigetti. Higher Treasury yields could keep pressure on every quantum name, and that includes the companies with the biggest revenue bases. Investors should be cautious with RGTI and other quantum-computing stocks as they can move quickly in either direction.

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