Does Rigetti's $8.4M C-DAC Order Strengthen Its Path to Scale?

Core Insights - Rigetti Computing (RGTI) has secured an $8.4 million purchase order to deliver a 108-qubit quantum computer to C-DAC, marking a significant shift from experimental cloud access to tangible on-premises deployments [2][10] - The installation of the quantum system at C-DAC's Bengaluru data center is scheduled for the second half of 2026, enhancing Rigetti's reputation from a speculative research vendor to a key infrastructure supplier [3][10] - The order highlights confidence in Rigetti's chiplet-based architecture, which is seen as essential for scaling towards error-corrected, fault-tolerant systems, and demonstrates the company's ability to convert research partnerships into revenue-generating sales [4][10] Financial Performance - Although the $8.4 million order is not expected to materially alter Rigetti's financial profile, it reinforces a repeatable go-to-market strategy in government and defense-related markets [5][10] - Rigetti's shares have decreased by 6.3% over the last six months, while the industry has seen a decline of 20.4% [9] - The company currently has a price-to-book ratio of 13.29, which is above the industry average, and carries a Value Score of F [11] Earnings Estimates - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Rigetti's 2026 earnings suggests a significant improvement of 75.9% compared to the previous year [13] - Current estimates for Rigetti's earnings per share (EPS) for the current year and next year are -0.68 and -0.16, respectively, indicating a year-over-year growth estimate of 75.98% for the next year [14]