Exhibit 99.1

RUBICON TECHNOLOGY, INC. REPORTS THIRD QUARTER

2011 RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Bensenville, Ill – November 8, 2011— Rubicon Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:RBCN), a leading provider of sapphire substrates and products to the LED, RFIC, Semiconductor, and Optical industries, today reported financial results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2011.

Third Quarter 2011 Financial Highlights

The Company reported third quarter revenue of $33.6 million, which was at the high end of previously provided estimates due to strong sales of its six inch polished wafers which totaled $24.9 million in the quarter, a 79 percent sequential increase. Gross margins in the third quarter were 48%, which was the top of management’s previously provided guidance. Net income for the quarter totaled $8.2 million, resulting in diluted earnings per share of $0.35, driven by a favorable product mix and higher than anticipated pricing on two through four inch cores sales.

Raja Parvez, President and CEO of Rubicon Technologies, commented, “Although overall substrate demand from the LED market declined in the third quarter, major LED chip manufacturers continue to focus on migrating to larger diameter substrates in order to gain efficiencies. As a result, we had strong growth in revenue from our six inch polished wafers which helped to compensate for reduced orders of two through four inch sapphire cores.”

The Company ended the third quarter with $72.6 million in cash and short-term investments and no debt. In the third quarter, the Company repurchased approximately 425,000 shares of its common stock at an average price of $12.90 per share. At the end of the third quarter, the company had $19.5 million authorized for future repurchases of its common stock under the current program.

Fourth Quarter 2011 Guidance

Commenting on the outlook for the fourth quarter of 2011, Mr. Parvez said, “Previously, we had anticipated improved demand for sapphire products by the end of the third quarter. However, we now expect to see continued softness in the LED market at least through the fourth quarter. Although inventory levels at our customers are in decline, there continues to be excess inventory throughout the supply chain limiting our visibility on future orders for two through four inch sapphire cores. As a result, we expect prices for those products will decline further in the fourth quarter. Additionally, the prolonged weakness in the LED market could also impact six inch polished wafer volumes and pricing making projecting fourth quarter results particularly challenging. As a result of these challenging market conditions, we expect revenue in the fourth quarter to be between $20 and $23 million, gross margins in the low to mid-thirty percent range, and diluted EPS to be in the range of $0.07 to $0.10.”

Conference Call Details

Rubicon will host a conference call at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on November 8, 2011 to review the highlights of the third quarter 2011 results and the fourth quarter 2011 outlook. The conference call will be available to the public through a live audio web broadcast via the Internet. Log on through the Investor Relations section of Rubicon’s website at http://www.rubicon-es2.com/index.html. An audio replay of the call will be available approximately two hours after the conclusion of the call. The audio replay will remain

available until 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on November 16, 2011, and can be accessed by dialing (888) 286-8010 or (617) 801-6888 (international). Callers should reference conference ID 47103993. The webcast will be archived on the Company’s website.

About Rubicon Technology, Inc.

Rubicon Technology, Inc. is an advanced electronic materials provider that is engaged in developing, manufacturing and selling monocrystalline sapphire and other crystalline products for light-emitting diodes (LEDs), radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), blue laser diodes, optoelectronics and other optical applications. The Company applies its proprietary crystal growth technology to produce very high-quality sapphire in a form that allows for volume production of various sizes and orientations of substrates and windows. Rubicon is a vertically-integrated manufacturer with capabilities in crystal growth, high precision core drilling, wafer slicing, surface lapping, large-diameter polishing and wafer cleaning processes, which the Company employs to convert the bulk crystal into products with the quality and precision specified by its customers. The Company is actively developing larger diameter products to support next-generation LED, RFIC and optical window applications.

Further information is available at http://www.rubicon-es2.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain of the statements in this release, particularly those preceded by, followed by or including the words “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “should,” “estimates,” or similar expressions, or those relating to or anticipating financial results for periods beyond the end of the third quarter of 2011, constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. For those statements, the company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry,

management’s beliefs and certain assumptions made by us. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the statements. These risks and uncertainties include managing the expansion of our manufacturing capacity, market acceptance of LED lighting, our ability to adapt to future changes in the LED industry, our successful development and market acceptance of RFIC and other new products, changes in the average selling prices of sapphire products, dependence on key customers, potential disruptions in our supply of electricity, changes in our product mix, our ability to protect our intellectual property rights, the competitive environment, the availability and cost of raw materials, the cost of compliance with environmental standards, the ability to make effective acquisitions and successfully integrate newly acquired businesses into existing operations and other risks and uncertainties described in the company’s most recent Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For these reasons, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the company’s forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement that the company makes speaks only as of the date of such statement, and the company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Comparisons of results for current and any prior periods are not intended to express any future trends or indications of future performance, unless expressed as such, and should only be viewed as historical data.

Rubicon Technology, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(in thousands)

Rubicon Technology, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (unaudited)

(in thousands except share and per share amounts)

Rubicon Technology, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (unaudited)

(in thousands)

CONTACT:

William Weissman

Chief Financial Officer

847-457-3610