Nuke startup Oklo reports progress on major projects, overshadowing bigger-than-expected Q3 loss

Oklo, the nuclear power startup that’s attained a market valuation of more than $15 billion despite the fact that it has no revenues and likely won’t for years, reported Q3 results on Tuesday after the close of trading.

The retail trader favorite, which is up more than 400% in 2025, reported:

• A net loss per share of $0.20 vs. the $0.13 loss per share that Wall Street analysts expected.

• R&D expenses of $14.9 million vs. the $10.2 million predicted.

• Cash and cash equivalents of $410 million vs. $91.8 million in Q3 2024. (Growth largely reflects the proceeds from Oklo’s stock sale announced in June.)

The backward-looking financials for a company at this stage of its development aren’t nearly as important as signs of where it’s going. To that end, along with earnings, management also announced that the Department of Energy approved a design agreement for a facility in Idaho. On the conference call, cofounder and CEO Jason DeWitte added that its Atomic Alchemy pilot and prototype production reactor should be online by July 2026. Shares are soaring double digits as of 10:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday.

“We continue to believe Oklo is setting the stage for nuclear energy to become widely adopted over the next decade as the AI Revolution data center buildout is driving significant demand for new energy to power these initiatives with necessary computing power expected to grow 10x by 2030,” wrote Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, who mantained an “outperform” rating and $150 price target on the shares.

Oklo, named after the location in Gabon of the only natural example of nuclear fission ever discovered, is one of a number of nuclear energy stocks, including Nuscale and Nano Nuclear, that have romped over the last year amid widespread expectation that the data center building boom will boost demand for nuclear power along with juice from conventional energy sources.

Oklo has been the best performer of the bunch, perhaps in part because of the perception that it has the inside lane on government support due to its close relationship with the Trump administration.

The current US secretary of energy, Chris Wright, was an Oklo board member, stepping down in February. A piece scrutinizing the company published late last month in the Financial Times noted:

“Wright’s department has selected Oklo for programmes that aim to fast-track the construction of SMRs as well as nuclear fuel fabrication plants, and committed to provide it with a specialised and scarce reactor fuel.

People with knowledge of those discussions say the energy department is considering providing Oklo — named after the location in Gabon where the only natural example of nuclear fission occurred — with access to weapons-grade plutonium to make its fuel.

This relationship has helped give Oklo an edge over rivals, according to Bank of America, one reason its analysts value the business at a premium to fellow SMR developers.”