Analysts shrug off Oklo’s deeper-than-expected loss
They’re giving the company — which still has zero revenue and widening losses — credit for getting crucial support and approvals from the US government.
Shares of high-flying retail favorite Oklo rose Wednesday after the developer of modular nuclear reactors reported a wider-than-expected loss Tuesday after the close.
Analysts seemed to give the company credit for making regulatory progress on its plan to develop smaller modular reactors that use different technology than traditional water-cooled nuclear power plants.
These so-called “experimental breeder reactors,” or EBRs, use liquid metal — in Oklo’s case, liquid sodium — to cool metallic fuel made of uranium alloys, rather than the traditional form of fuel used in nuclear reactors: ceramic-covered uranium pellets contained in fuel rods that are cooled with vast amounts of water, making them nearly impossible to build compactly.
The company is currently building its first product, a reactor it calls Aurora, at the US Energy Department’s primary nuclear energy research and development center, the Idaho National Laboratory. The reactor is expected to be completed sometime in late 2027 or 2028. The company broke ground on the project in September.
Analysts gave Oklo credit for hitting recent milestones, including receiving Department of Energy approval of a safety plan for the facility it will use to make the fuel for its reactor in only two weeks, under a DOE pilot program designed to speed reviews directed by Trump administration executive orders.
The approval of the safety design “marks a key milestone,” wrote analyst Jed Dorsheimer of William Blair, adding that the approval is “reinforcing its leadership in next generation nuclear fuel.”
Bank of America analyst Dimple Gosai wrote that the “rapid two-week approval of Oklo’s INL Fuel Fabrication Facility NSDA reflects strong agency backing.”
Separately, in its earnings results Oklo highlighted that it received approval for its Pluto A test reactor to pursue authorizations for building its experimental reactors through the Department of Energy without having to wait for full commercial approvals of its reactors from the Nuclear Regulatory Council.
“Oklo continues to see regulatory acceleration for its projects with the DOE authorizing an approval to construct and operate a nuclear facility creating a modern pathway to get new nuclear plants built quickly with operating facilities having an option to transition to NRC licensing and oversight for full commercial operations,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote.
While the company’s close ties to the Trump administration — the current secretary of energy is a former Oklo board member — are seen as an advantage by the market, analysts note that the money-losing, zero-revenue company remains a speculative investment.
“While we recognize the inherent risks of a pre-revenue business, we maintain our outperform rating, viewing Oklo as best-in-class and a leading beneficiary of structural growth in nuclear energy and sustained federal support,” Dorsheimer wrote.
Shortly before midday in New York, Oklo shares were up more than 420% in 2025.
