Oklo Inc.

Iran has considered targeting U.S. military assets in Europe if President Donald Trump escalates the conflict, the Financial Times reported, citing two regime insiders. Potential targets include U.S. facilities in southeastern Europe and subsea fiber-optic cables near the Strait of Hormuz. The report adds another geopolitical risk for markets already sensitive to energy prices and global supply disruptions.

Oklo completed construction of its Groves One pilot isotope-production reactor in 229 days this June, with CEO Jacob DeWitte subsequently claiming Oklo would build its reactors at a 'world record speed' in the U.S. to serve the soaring energy demands of the AI boom and American manufacturing. While not the fastest in history, it marked the fastest U.S. non-military reactor build under modern environmental and Department of Energy regulations. The company's Aurora microreactor generates 1.5 MWe and can be scaled to 75 MWe per Powerhouse plant, running on metallic uranium fuel pellets in a closed loop for a decade without refueling. Oklo received a Startup Authorization from the DOE last month and achieved criticality on August 5, though it missed the DOE's July 4 target while four other microreactor developers met that deadline. Analysts expect revenue to surge from nothing in 2025 to $55 million in 2028, but with a market cap of $8.3 billion, the stock trades at 149 times 2028 sales and is expected to stay unprofitable.

Oklo, a developer of small nuclear reactors for data centers, reported its first quarterly revenue of $1.2 million and achieved criticality at its Groves Isotope Test Reactor site, marking the first reactor under the program to reach a stable fission chain reaction on private land. The company remains unprofitable, posting a year-to-date loss of $81.6 million for its second quarter, but holds approximately $3 billion in cash and marketable securities. The stock recently traded around $48 per share, down from a peak of about $193.

Oklo reported its first-ever quarterly revenue of $1.21 million for the second quarter, up from zero a year earlier, while also disclosing a net loss of about $48.5 million and operating expenses of roughly $74 million. The company ended the quarter with $3 billion in total liquidity. Separately, Oklo's Groves test reactor achieved first criticality, sustaining a controlled nuclear chain reaction for the first time. The stock rose over 14% on the news, trimming its year-to-date loss to approximately 34%.

Oklo announced a broad refresh of its executive leadership team, adding new heads across Product, Staff, Legal, Engineering, and Accounting as it moves from pilot milestones toward commercial isotope production and closer regulatory engagement. The new appointees bring experience from organizations including the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, National Grid, and Joby Aviation. The reshaped leadership group is intended to support the company’s transition from the Groves low-power test reactor to revenue-linked commercial operations. Oklo reported Q2 2026 sales of US$1.21 million and a net loss of US$48.54 million, underscoring the importance of execution over current earnings.

Oklo announced that its Groves Isotope Test Reactor in Texas achieved first criticality on August 5th, marking the first time a nuclear reactor has reached a self-sustaining fission chain reaction. This milestone makes Groves the first project in the U.S. Department of Energy's Reactor Pilot Program to reach criticality from a greenfield site on private land, and it was accomplished less than a year after construction began, which the company believes is the fastest privately funded, privately sited nuclear reactor build in history. The achievement occurred at the company's Groves Isotopes Facility, not at one of its Aurora commercial power projects, with the Aurora project at the Idaho National Laboratory still targeting a late 2027 to early 2028 operational date and the first phase of Aurora-Ohio expected in early 2030 to support Meta's data centers. Oklo shares surged more than 10% on August 7th following the update, as the rapid timeline helps de-risk the company's plan and establishes a repeatable blueprint for future facilities. The company believes Groves demonstrates that nuclear power can be deployed quickly, with timelines measured in months rather than years, when developers, suppliers, and regulators work together on an integrated approach.

Rising U.S. electricity demand driven by AI data centers is boosting interest in nuclear energy stocks, particularly NuScale Power and Oklo. Reuters reports that U.S. power consumption hit its second straight annual record high in 2025 and will rise further in 2026 and 2027, with commercial sector demand expected to outpace residential demand in 2026 for the first time on record. A Goldman Sachs Group report concludes that power is the most pressing bottleneck for AI progress, requiring an all-in approach that includes long-term nuclear solutions. NuScale Power focuses on larger, utility-scale small modular reactor deployments through partnerships with major utilities, while Oklo sells its systems directly to AI data centers for onsite power generation. The choice between the two stocks depends on whether investors believe data centers will rely on grid connections or seek direct power sources.

A Motley Fool analysis compares Oklo and Plug Power as high-risk clean energy investments for 2026, ultimately favoring Oklo for its differentiated nuclear model despite being pre-revenue. Oklo, which designs small modular reactors, reported zero revenue and a net loss of nearly $105.7 million in fiscal 2025, while Plug Power posted revenue of nearly $709.9 million but a net loss of close to $1.6 billion. The author notes Plug Power's improving margins and target of positive EBITDA by year-end, but cites a history of shareholder value destruction, whereas Oklo's integrated reactor model is seen as more attractive for patient investors betting on advanced nuclear for AI data centers and energy security.

Nuclear energy is experiencing a global renaissance, and two stocks in particular are primed to benefit. Bank of America sees the nuclear revival creating a $10 trillion investable opportunity, driven by surging electricity demand from energy-intensive AI technologies. NuScale Power, with a $3.2 billion market capitalization, is the only company approved by U.S. regulators to build small modular reactor systems, though its projects are not expected to be completed until 2030 at the earliest. Oklo, valued at $7.7 billion, focuses on selling small modular reactors directly to big tech and data center businesses and counts OpenAI CEO Sam Altman as a major investor. Both companies are pure-play bets on the nuclear renaissance but carry financing risks and are suited for aggressive growth investors willing to stomach extra volatility.

Nuclear start-up Oklo received startup authorization from the U.S. Department of Energy for its Groves Reactor in Texas under the Reactor Pilot Program. The authorization allows Oklo to load nuclear fuel, conduct startup testing, and proceed toward first criticality. The Groves Reactor is a water-cooled test reactor for isotope production, not Oklo's primary sodium-cooled fast reactor design for power generation, but the company says the regulatory experience is fully translatable to future commercial deployments. The project moved from groundbreaking to authorization in just over 10 months, which CEO Jacob DeWitte called the fastest time from greenfield to substantial completion for a full-scale, privately funded and sited reactor in history. Oklo believes the repeatable approach will help reduce execution risk and accelerate future deployments across all its business units.

Oklo has been selected for a $200 million federal program linking advanced nuclear reactors to AI data centers, alongside Microsoft and Nvidia. The company's stock has fallen 42.8% year to date and 41.8% over 90 days, closing at $44.50, while the most followed analyst narrative points to a fair value of $80.55, implying the stock is 44.8% undervalued. Oklo, which designs small modular reactors called Aurora Powerhouses, aims to sell long-term electricity contracts rather than reactors, and has signed agreements including a 12 GW deal with Switch through 2044. It holds approximately $1.6 billion in cash and $600 million in marketable equities, and has partnerships with Nvidia and Meta, though it currently has no revenue or operating plants.

Constellation Energy shares jumped almost 5% on Wednesday as part of a broader rally in nuclear stocks. The U.S. government signed a 30-year nuclear cooperation deal with Saudi Arabia, and Bloomberg reported a new $200 million program to support domestic power plant construction aimed at meeting AI data center energy needs. While Constellation operates America's largest fleet of full-scale nuclear plants and was not named as a direct participant in either effort, investors see the company benefiting from the administration's strong push to expand nuclear power generation.

Oklo and X-Energy shares rose after a report said the advanced nuclear developers are participating in a $200 million Trump administration-backed program to speed deployment of nuclear power for AI data centers. Oklo gained about 4% and X-Energy roughly 3% on Wednesday. The initiative is expected to include Microsoft and Nvidia, aiming to streamline design, licensing, and construction of advanced reactors while lowering costs. The program reflects growing electricity demand from AI infrastructure and broader U.S. government and tech industry efforts to expand generation, with nuclear energy seen as a potential long-term power source for data centers.

Shares of Oklo surged as much as 7.7% today following two separate developments that could expand its nuclear reactor business. The U.S. Department of Energy launched an initiative to speed reactor development for AI data centers, with Oklo reportedly joining a $200 million plan alongside major technology firms. Separately, President Trump approved a landmark 30-year agreement with Saudi Arabia that could be valued at tens of billions of dollars, allowing American companies to build a civilian nuclear program and potentially enabling uranium enrichment within the kingdom. Oklo and other U.S. nuclear firms stand to benefit, though no concrete orders have been announced and the stock remains speculative.

Oklo shares closed at $44.13 on July 21, 2026, just 11% above their 52-week low, while 24/7 Wall St. set a $97.74 price target implying 121% upside over the next 12 months with a buy recommendation and 50% confidence. The company was selected alongside X-Energy for a $200 million Trump administration program to accelerate nuclear reactors for AI data centers, with tech partners including Microsoft and NVIDIA, and the DOE approved the Documented Safety Analysis for the Groves Isotope Test Reactor in Texas. Oklo's customer pipeline sits near 14 GW, anchored by a 12 GW master agreement with Switch through 2044 and a 500 MW Equinix LOI backed by a $25 million pre-payment, with management targeting first commercial power at Idaho National Laboratory by late 2027. However, Oklo generated $0 in revenue in FY2024 on a net loss of $73.62 million, customer agreements remain largely non-binding LOIs, and short interest recently hit $1.65 billion, or 19.29% of float. The bull-case scenario reaches $169.92 by July 2027, a 285% gain, while the bear-case lands at $79.09, and the company's $7.22 billion market cap dwarfs NuScale Power's $3 billion, underscoring the steep execution premium Oklo must earn through commercial startup.

Super Micro Computer shares surged about 17% in premarket trading after the server maker reported preliminary fourth-quarter results with much stronger profitability than expected, offsetting revenue near the low end of guidance. The positive sentiment spilled over to server peers Dell Technologies and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, both up more than 4%. Pegasystems tumbled more than 14% after second-quarter adjusted earnings of 35 cents per share missed the 43-cent FactSet consensus. Nuclear reactor suppliers Oklo and X-Energy rose after a Bloomberg report that they are joining a Trump administration effort to speed nuclear power plant development for AI data centers, with X-Energy up 4% and Oklo higher by more than 3.5%. Rocket Lab gained 4% after winning a $266 million U.S. Air Force contract for 12 suborbital vehicle launches expected by the end of 2028. Cal-Maine Foods dropped more than 4.5% after reporting a surprise fiscal fourth-quarter loss of 76 cents per share versus expectations for an 8-cent profit, citing historically low inflation-adjusted egg prices. GE Vernova declined more than 7% despite beating second-quarter revenue and raising full-year guidance, with CEO Scott Strazik highlighting a $176 billion backlog. AT&T rose 3% after adjusted earnings of 65 cents per share topped the 59-cent consensus, while Philip Morris International slipped 0.5% on a weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings forecast of $2.20 to $2.25 per share, below the $2.42 estimate. CME Group added 1% after reporting second-quarter earnings and revenue above expectations and noting its best first half of a year ever.

Investment banks are highlighting nuclear energy as a key solution for surging electricity demand driven by AI data centers. Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup have all issued bullish reports on nuclear power, with Citigroup particularly excited about small modular reactors, or SMRs. Two stocks seen as direct plays on SMR adoption are NuScale Power and Oklo, both of which have market caps under $10 billion after a steep correction. Oklo, which counts OpenAI CEO Sam Altman as an early investor, has a 14 GW pipeline of big tech and data center clients but has yet to receive regulatory approval or commercialize a design. NuScale has regulatory approval for a 6 GW project with the Tennessee Valley Authority but has not yet signed a binding power purchase agreement. Bank of America values the global nuclear opportunity at $10 trillion over the next couple of decades, though SMRs are expected to play only a minority role.

Oklo aims to use the nearly 100,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel accumulated in the U.S. over six decades as fuel for its Aurora fast reactors. Conventional light-water reactors extract less than 5% of the total energy potential from enriched uranium, leaving substantial energy in used fuel that Oklo's design can utilize. The company is investing nearly $1.7 billion to build a nuclear fuel recycling facility in Tennessee, with construction expected to start in 2027 and recycled fuel production projected for the 2030s. Oklo's initial reactors will use fresh HALEU fuel, but its long-term vision includes recycling spent fuel to expand domestic supplies and reduce high-level waste by 90% compared to conventional reactors. The company's anchor project is a 75-MWe reactor at Idaho National Laboratory targeting 2028 operations, and it has a deal with Meta Platforms for a 1.2-GW clean energy campus in Ohio slated to begin delivering power in 2030.

Oklo, an advanced nuclear company designing micro reactors, is attempting to bring clean, continuous power directly to data centers and other remote sites, potentially solving a massive electricity demand problem. Data center power consumption is estimated to double from 2025 levels to more than 945 terawatt-hours by 2030, with AI representing about two-fifths of that total, while grid connections can take years. Oklo's Aurora powerhouse is a factory-built, modular micro reactor that can be transported to customer sites and run for a decade or longer without refueling. The company, which went public in May 2024 with backing from OpenAI's Sam Altman, has since partnered with Meta Platforms, Nvidia, and Vertiv. Despite a market capitalization of about $8 billion, Oklo has almost no revenue and still lacks regulatory approval, making the stock highly volatile and suitable only for risk-tolerant investors.

Oklo Inc. announced the acquisition of Creative Engineers, a chemical process engineering firm with specialized expertise in sodium and alkali-metal systems. The deal integrates CEI's capabilities in component development, fabrication, and applied research and development into Oklo's team to directly support its sodium-cooled Aurora powerhouse technology. CEI, founded in 1996, has decades of experience with liquid-metal systems and has served as a technical partner to Oklo for several years. The acquisition adds a free cash flow positive business to Oklo's operations while allowing the company to internalize critical engineering and testing functions. CEI intends to continue its longstanding service relationships across the broader nuclear sector while focusing its primary efforts on advancing the commercialization of Oklo's advanced nuclear energy solutions.

Nuclear power has become a strategically vital energy sector, driven by AI electricity demand and a push to quadruple U.S. nuclear capacity to 400 GWe by 2050. Constellation Energy, the largest U.S. private power producer with a 55 GW fleet, has locked in power-purchase agreements with Microsoft, Meta, and CyrusOne, and trades at $243 against a $360.24 Wall Street target. Cameco, the world's largest publicly traded uranium miner, beat Q1 estimates by 38%, holds 230 million pounds under long-term contracts, and partners with Brookfield on at least $80 billion in AP1000 reactor deployments. Oklo, the only small modular reactor developer with both a site use permit and secured fuel, has roughly 14 GW in customer agreements anchored by a 12 GW deal with Switch, though it remains pre-revenue with a $73.6 million net loss in fiscal 2024.

Standard Nuclear Inc., a maker of fuel for nuclear reactors, is seeking to raise as much as $383 million in a US initial public offering. The Oak Ridge, Tennessee-based company plans to market 18.25 million shares for $18 to $21 each, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. At the top of that range, Standard Nuclear would have a market value of about $3.5 billion. The firm designs and makes Triso fuel, poppyseed-sized uranium kernels that burn hotter and longer than conventional fuel, and has agreed to collaborate with Oklo Inc. on nuclear fuel recycling. The offering is being led by Bank of America Corp. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., and the company expects to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol STDN.

Oklo has received approval for the Documented Safety Analysis of its Groves Isotope Test Reactor from the U.S. Department of Energy, moving the Texas-based project into the final pre-startup phase. The approval completes the reactor's safety documentation and follows an earlier preliminary safety analysis, with Oklo now targeting first criticality in July 2026. Groves is the first advanced reactor project to secure DSA approval while located on privately owned land and relying entirely on commercially sourced fuel, equipment, and systems supplied by the private sector. The facility is also expected to strengthen domestic production of critical isotopes used in cancer treatment, advanced manufacturing, and national security, reducing reliance on imports and aging facilities. The milestone comes shortly after Oklo announced its acquisition of Creative Engineers Inc., further bolstering its technical capabilities in advanced nuclear technology.

Investors with $1,000 and a long time horizon might consider speculative stocks Oklo and Plug Power for their explosive growth potential. Oklo develops microreactors for modular nuclear plants, with its Aurora system capable of scaling up to 75 MWe per Powerhouse plant, and plans to deploy its first reactors in 2027, targeting power-hungry data centers. Plug Power is a leading hydrogen fuel cell developer, with over 74,000 systems deployed by end of 2025, and is building six green hydrogen facilities for the U.S. Department of Energy while recently securing a 275 MW electrolyzer contract for a Quebec project. From 2026 to 2023, the global green hydrogen market could expand at a 30.2% CAGR, according to Grand View Research. Analysts expect Oklo's revenue to jump from $1 million in 2026 to $55 million in 2028, while Plug's revenue is projected to grow at an 18% CAGR to $1.16 billion by 2028.

U.S. stock futures pointed lower on Wednesday as investors awaited remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh and monitored peace talks between the United States and Iran. Shutterstock shares plunged 28% after Getty Images abandoned its planned merger, citing unacceptable regulatory conditions from the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority. Intuitive Machines climbed 7.4% after NASA awarded it a contract worth up to $148.3 million to deliver a Nova-C lunar lander by 2028, the company's sixth task order under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. Grindr surged 7.6% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the LGBTQ+ dating platform to Overweight and raised its price target to $18, citing strong user engagement. Klarna Group gained 6% after a Swedish court awarded its subsidiary PriceRunner approximately $1.97 billion in antitrust damages against Alphabet's Google. Oklo advanced 4.8% after the U.S. Department of Energy approved the Documented Safety Analysis for the Groves Isotope Test Reactor, moving it into final pre-startup review ahead of a July 2026 startup. ServiceNow rose 4% after Guggenheim upgraded the enterprise software company to Buy, citing durable recurring revenue growth. Nike fell nearly 4% after forecasting continued sales declines in the first half of fiscal 2027, overshadowing better-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue. Alcoa slipped 4.7% after agreeing to acquire South32's bauxite, alumina and aluminum assets for $4.1 billion.

The U.S. Department of Energy has approved the Documented Safety Analysis for Oklo's Groves Isotope Test Reactor in Texas, advancing the project toward operational authorization. The approval follows the earlier Preliminary Documented Safety Analysis and moves the facility into the final pre-startup review phase, with readiness review and startup approval remaining before fuel loading and first criticality, which Oklo targets for July 2026. Oklo co-founder and CEO Jacob DeWitte said Groves is the first advanced reactor project on privately owned land with wholly commercially sourced fuel, equipment, and systems to receive DSA approval, calling it a blueprint for accelerating advanced reactor deployment under the DOE Reactor Pilot Program. The facility supports Oklo's isotope business and aims to strengthen the domestic supply chain for critical isotopes used in medicine, industry, and national security.

Oklo could become one of the most important infrastructure companies of the artificial intelligence era within five years, driven by its Aurora powerhouse designed to meet the enormous dispatchable electricity needs of AI data centers. The company plans to be fully commercially operational by late 2027 or early 2028, though its success depends on securing licensing from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Oklo has already secured more than 15 gigawatts under contract, including a signed deal with Meta Platforms, and holds over $2 billion in cash with a relatively reasonable burn rate. Analysts estimate the stock could trade over $100 per share in five years, roughly double its current price.

Centrus Energy shares have fallen about 63% from their all-time high of $464.25 in October 2025, creating a potential buying opportunity for long-term investors. The company is the only U.S.-licensed producer of high-assay, low-enriched uranium, or HALEU, which is essential for next-generation nuclear reactors and has a market opportunity that could reach $8 billion annually by 2035. Centrus reported mixed first-quarter results with GAAP earnings per share of $0.45 missing estimates, but non-GAAP adjusted earnings per share of $1.05 beat consensus, and management raised full-year revenue guidance to between $450 million and $500 million. The company holds a $3.9 billion order backlog extending through 2040 and operates under a Department of Energy HALEU contract worth up to $900 million, de-risking its expansion. On June 19, Centrus signed an agreement to supply HALEU to Oklo for up to five Aurora powerhouses in Southern Ohio, with deliveries starting in 2029.