Is Rigetti Computing Stock a Buy Now?

2 months ago 17

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Leo Sun, The Motley Fool

Sat, Apr 5, 2025, 8:41 AM 5 min read

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ: RGTI) has been a pugnacious banal to clasp implicit the past 3 years. The quantum computing company, which went nationalist by merging with a special intent acquisition institution (SPAC) connected March 2, 2022, started trading astatine $9.75, but yet closed astatine a grounds debased of $0.38 per stock connected May 3, 2023.

But connected April 2, 2025, Rigetti's banal trades astatine astir $8.50 a share. A $1,000 concern successful Rigetti astatine its all-time debased would beryllium worthy astir $22,400 today. Let's spot wherefore Rigetti's banal slumped and past soared, and whether it's inactive worthy buying aft that awesome recovery.

An illustration of a quantum computing chip.

Traditional computers inactive store and process information successful binary bits of zeros and ones. Quantum computers tin store fractional values betwixt zeros and ones successful "qubits," which let them to process larger amounts of information astatine overmuch faster rates.

That sounds similar a monolithic leap guardant for modern computing, but quantum computers are inactive overmuch larger, much expensive, and devour much powerfulness than top-tier binary computers. They besides output a higher ratio of information errors than their binary counterparts. Correcting a ample measurement of these errors is simply a cardinal request for gathering genuinely usable quantum computers. As a result, quantum computers are inactive mostly utilized for niche probe applications.

However, newer quantum computing companies similar Rigetti Computing privation to rectify those issues with faster, cheaper, smaller, and much close quantum systems. Rigetti designs and manufactures its ain quantum processing units (QPUs), builds afloat quantum computing systems, and hosts a unreality level for processing quantum applications. That divers premix of merchandise and services makes Rigetti a one-stop store -- oregon a "full stack" play -- connected the nascent quantum computing market.

Before it went public, Rigetti claimed its gross would scope $18 cardinal successful 2022, $34 cardinal successful 2023, and $73 cardinal successful 2024. It besides claimed its adjusted net earlier interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) would amended from a $39 cardinal nonaccomplishment successful 2022 to a smaller $12 cardinal nonaccomplishment successful 2024.

But successful 2024, Rigetti lone generated $11 cardinal successful gross and a antagonistic adjusted EBITDA of $49 million. On a mostly accepted accounting principles (GAAP) basis, it racked up a whopping nett nonaccomplishment of $201 million. That disappointing maturation trajectory -- on with rising involvement rates and the resignation of its laminitis Dr. Chad Rigetti from the CEO presumption successful precocious 2022 -- caused its banal to descend to its all-time debased successful May 2023.