Oklo (NYSE:OKLO) held its first-quarter earnings conference call on Tuesday. Below is the complete transcript from the call.
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The full earnings call is available at https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/703860425
Summary
Oklo Inc reported a net loss of $33.1 million for Q1 2026, driven by a $51.2 million operational loss, offset by $21.3 million in net interest and dividend income.
The company is advancing several strategic initiatives, including the development of its Aurora powerhouses and collaborations with major partners like Nvidia and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Future outlook remains positive with plans to continue deploying capital across power, fuel, and isotope business units, bolstered by a strong balance sheet of $2.5 billion in cash and marketable securities.
Oklo Inc is making progress with regulatory bodies, having secured the NRC’s approval for its principal design criteria and advancing its Aurora INL and Ohio projects.
Management highlighted significant strategic partnerships and regulatory advancements, positioning the company well for accelerated deployment and growth in the advanced nuclear sector.
Full Transcript
OPERATOR
Hello everyone. Thank you for joining us and welcome to Oklo Inc First Quarter 2026 Financial Results and webcast. After today’s prepared remarks, we will host a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, press Star star one again. I will now hand the conference over to Sam Doane, Senior Director of Investor Relations. Sam, please go ahead.
Sam Doane (Senior Director of Investor Relations)
Thank you operator. Good afternoon everyone and welcome to Oklo Inc’s first quarter 2026 earnings and company update call. I’m Sam Doan, Oklo Inc’s senior director of Investor Relations. Joining me today are Jake DeWitt, Okla’s co-founder and Chief Executive Officer and Craig Bellmer, our Chief Financial Officer. Today’s accompanying slide presentation is available on the Investor Relations section of our website. After my opening remarks and the forward-looking statement disclosure, Jake will walk through our business update and strategic progress and Craig will cover our financial results and closing remarks. I’d like to remind everyone that today’s discussion, including our prepared remarks and the Q and A session that follows, will include forward-looking statements. These statements reflect our current views regarding trends, assumptions, risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed today. We encourage you to review the forward-looking statements disclaimer included in our supplemental slides. Additional information on relevant risk factors can also be found in our most recent filings with the SEC. Please note that Oklo Inc assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. With that, I’ll now turn the call over to Jake.
Jake DeWitt (Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer)
Thank you Sam and thank you everyone for joining us today. Before we get into the quarter, I want to step back briefly. It has been almost exactly two years since Oklo Inc became a public company and since that time there has been incredible progress at Oklo Inc and for the industry as a whole. For Oklo Inc, the story has increasingly moved from strategy to execution. Since becoming a public company, we have built a customer pipeline across data centers, industrials, energy and government customers. We have advanced major customer relationships including SWITCH and meta. We broke ground on our first Aurora powerhouse at Idaho National Laboratory, Advanced Site Work Procurement and and Department of Energy authorization for Aurora Idaho National Laboratory and continue to make progress with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission including approval of our principal design criteria. Topical Report we also advanced Aurora, Ohio including plans with Meta for a 1.2 gigawatt power campus while continuing to expand the fuel infrastructure needed to support deployment. This includes progress on the Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility at Inl the Tennessee Advanced Fuel center and our fast spectrum plutonium criticality experiments. On the isotope side, we acquired Atomic Alchemy, built the Grove Test reactor facility in 229 days and we are developing our first isotope customer contracts for offtake from the radiochemistry laboratory and importantly, we strengthened the balance sheet to support deployment and long term growth. OKLO is no longer just preparing for deployment. We are actively building the platform to support it. The broader environment continues to move in a direction that is providing tremendous momentum and supports our strategy. We are seeing US nuclear tailwind shift from policy endorsement to execution which manifests across power markets, fuel recycling and now into space travel and exploration. The White House launched the National Initiative for American Space Nuclear Power and the Department of Energy has been directed to assess readiness for up to four space reactors within five years. That is a very strong signal that nuclear is increasingly being viewed as strategic infrastructure. Beyond the grid, beyond this planet and beyond this century, our business touches several of the world’s expanding needs. Almost every incredible thing we have done in space has been powered by isotopes and that will most likely continue to be true, which means isotope production, fuel development, compact reactors and materials testing are all relevant markets. And even before permanent space reactors are deployed, our isotope business can support space applications through radioisotope materials for systems like radioisotope thermoelectric generators which are used to provide reliable power in extreme environments. At the same time, PJM Interconnection continues to highlight the need for new firm supply, including bridging a potential 50 to 60 gigawatt capacity shortfall over the next decade and a proposed reliability backstop procurement framework that supports our view that co located and campus style deployment models can be an important part of serving large loads and also underscores why we are progressing deployment of power assets in power park type like locations such as those we are developing in southern Ohio. Demand continues to build for reliable baseload power. And on the fuel side, the Department of Energy has issued requests for applications to advance privately funded used nuclear fuel recycling, while states are increasingly competing to host integrated nuclear campuses that can support clean, reliable and affordable energy at scale. Together, these developments reinforce the idea that used fuel should be viewed not as a liability, but as a strategic domestic energy resource. We are also seeing ongoing innovation at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to expand the licensing pathways available to small advanced reactors, which helps accelerate deployment. Part 57 is designed around faster, repeatable deployment of microreactors and smaller advanced reactors. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has discussed targeted licensing and deployment timelines of six to 12 months. That is a very different cadence from traditional nuclear licensing frameworks we were discussing just a few years ago. Part 57 also proposes fleet based licensing and more standardized reviews for smaller repeatable reactors, which could significantly streamline future licensing for projects with multiple same kind assets. Aligning with Oklo Inc’s repeatable deployment multiple powerhouse campus style development approach, Part 57 also appears to leverage Department of Energy and Department of War authorized operating experience to reduce duplicative Nuclear Regulatory Commission reviews. That is important because our initial deployments of Department of Energy authorized assets will generate real engineering, construction, safety and operating experience and that experience may inform and streamline future Nuclear Regulatory Commission reviews, enhancing the strategy value of those early asset deployments. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has also finalized part 53, an important modernization step because it creates a risk informed technology inclusive framework for advanced reactors. The Though the development of the proposed Part 57 may be even more directly relevant and beneficial for Oklo Inc, Nuclear Regulatory Commission modernization is moving in a direction that appears highly aligned with oklo’s targeted fleet deployment model of advanced reactors with repeatable designs. Two years ago the advanced nuclear conversation was still largely about policy support, customer interest and long term potential. Today the conversation at OKLO is increasingly about execution. We are advancing licensing pathways across three businesses, securing multiple fuel pathways, converting demand into deployable repeatable projects and deploying and operating assets to meet that demand. We believe that OKLO is well positioned to meet market demand as an integrated platform across three business units, Power fuel and Isotopes. Power as the anchor product clean, reliable, baseload power and heat delivered through our Aurora powerhouses. Fuel is the enabler. Fabrication, recycling and multiple fuel supply pathways that support deployment and isotopes that expand the platform into high value domestic market sectors that will supply products for critical uses including space, defense, industrial and most importantly healthcare. These are complementary businesses with capabilities designed to reinforce each other over time. That integration is central to how we believe OKLO can scale and we are in action building assets across all three of our business verticals as we speak. On the power side we have Aurora Idaho National Laboratory, our Aurora powerhouse at Idaho National Laboratory, Aurora, Ohio, our planned 1.2 gigawatt clean energy campus and Aurora Eielson, a co generation project planned to provide heat and power for Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska. On the fuel side we have the Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility at Idaho National Laboratory and the Advanced Fuel center in Tennessee which begins with our first phase, a used nuclear fuel recycling facility. We are also developing plans for the potential use of plutonium based fuels as a bridge fuel and in isotopes we have Groves, our radioisotope test reactor which is targeting criticality by July 4th of this year and the Idaho Radiochemistry Laboratory, which already has an Nuclear Regulatory Commission license and is working toward generating early commercial isotope revenue starting in 2026. We are actively executing across all three business units of our vertically integrated nuclear platform, building the infrastructure, fuel pathways, licensing strategies, supply chain strategies and commercial capabilities needed to deploy repeatedly. We used this slide last quarter, but it is worth revisiting briefly because it is a helpful reminder of how the pieces fit together in the conventional nuclear value chain. Mining, enrichment, power generation and long term waste storage are fragmented across different parties. Oklo Inc’s model is designed to connect fuel fabrication, power production, fuel recycling and isotope production into an integrated loop. Power creates fuel demand. Recycling supports long term supply. Recovered materials can support isotope opportunities. So this is a quick reminder, but an important one. Power, fuel and isotopes are all synergistic capabilities, not separate strategic directions. We believe OKLO is the key player in the nuclear sector advancing the strategic integrated business model. Since our last company update just eight weeks ago, we’ve continued to make progress across all three business units in power. Aurora Idaho National Laboratory has submitted the Preliminary Documented Safety Analysis or PDocumented Safety Analysis for review with the Department of Energy Advanced Procurement and Site Development and received approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for our principal design criteria Topical report. Aurora, Ohio has moved forward with PJM Interconnection Interconnection applications for Aurora. Eilson site characterization has been initiated and with Project Pluto we announced a strategic partnership project with Battelle Energy alliance and Idaho National Laboratory for an industry leading initiative to integrate AI into reactor and fuel system design in fuel. Early construction activities at A3F are underway and final design deliverables are complete. The Tennessee Fuel Recycling Facility continues through application readiness review with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and site preparation continues. We also announced a collaboration with NVIDIA in LANL to support fuel validation work for plutonium bearing fuels and in isotopes. Groves has its PDocumented Safety Analysis in review, has its Documented Safety Analysis submitted, and received a certificate of substantial completion for construction. The Idaho Radiochemistry Laboratory is also advancing our first customer contract, paving the way for potential revenue generation in 2026. Across the company, our mindset has shifted toward asset deployment which is supporting asset delivery across all three business units enabled by multiple regulatory pathways and unlocking several growing potential revenue opportunities. First, we’ll start with the fuel business updates. Fuel availability is one of the most important gating items for advanced nuclear deployment and is one of the areas where OKLO has spent years building differentiated capabilities and optionality. A3F is the Aurora fuel fabrication facility at Idaho National Laboratory which will be fabricating fuel for the Aurora Idaho National Laboratory and supporting future Aurora deployments. On the Department of Energy authorization side, A3F has received approval for its Nuclear Safety Design Agreement or NSDA and its preliminary Documented Safety Analysis or PDocumented Safety Analysis. The next milestones are approval of the Documented Safety Analysis or dsa, completion of the readiness review and startup approval on execution. Early construction activities are complete, final design deliverables are complete and the next major execution milestone is expected to be the Construction Contract Award. The Tennessee Advanced Fuel center is our first major step toward long term recycling capability. Site preparation activities continue in Tennessee. Technology development continues to mature the design and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission application readiness review continues. As of April 2026, the Department of Energy has initiated an accelerated private sector led pathway for nuclear fuel recycling, moving away from the once through cycle toward reprocessing for advanced reactors. We will continue to evaluate the right pathway as the project advances. We also announced a collaboration with NVIDIA and LANL to advance nuclear fuel validation. We see this collaboration as a potential key strategic enabler because it brings together oklo’s FAST reactor platform, NVIDIA’s AI infrastructure and Los Alamos fuel and materials expertise. The collaboration supports AI enabled modeling, digital twins and validation work for plutonium bearing fuels. It also advances fuel development for Pluto, one of our Department of Energy reactor pilot program projects. The broader significance is that AI can help accelerate nuclear development while nuclear can provide firm power for AI infrastructure. In this case, the collaboration links advanced nuclear power, AI enabled research and nuclear fuel R and D and it supports the Technical foundation for Plutonium bearing Fuel work. It is another example of how our power and fuel strategies are connected to some of the most important infrastructure needs in the market today. Moving now to power asset updates, Aurora Idaho National Laboratory remains the anchor of our power deployment strategy and we are advancing regulatory, procurement and site work in parallel. On the Department of Energy side, we have executed the other transaction agreement or OTA and received approval for the Nuclear Safety Design Agreement. The preliminary documented safety analysis is currently in review and the next milestones are approval of the documented safety analysis, completion of the readiness review and startup approval. The Department of Energy pathway allows us to continue advancing construction, procurement and system integration while the project moves through authorization. At the same time and as we have noted in previous updates, we continue to work with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in parallel as demonstrated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s approval of the principal design criteria Topical Report for the Aurora inl. This approval is important because it establishes the fundamental safety, reliability and performance requirements that can guide future reactor licensing and design activities. It also clears the path for the report to be referenced in future applications, reducing the need to re review established material. To be clear, that is the point of parallel pathing our regulatory approach. We are using the Department of Energy pathway to move the first asset forward while continuing Nuclear Regulatory Commission work that supports broader commercial licensing and future repeatability on the site. Field execution continues at Inlay, including the transition to deep foundation excavation. Long lead procurement work is advancing across major systems and supplier engagement is progressing for the reactor module and the balance of plant needs. We also announced a strategic partnership project with Battelle Energy alliance, the management and operating contractor for ionl, to use AI technologies to accelerate advanced reactor and fuel system design work. The project will apply Idaho National Laboratory’s Prometheus AI platform to support AI enabled engineering workflows, modeling, simulation and technical documentation including work related to Pluto, which is a plutonium fueled powerhouse. Together, the regulatory progress, site execution and AI enabled design work are all aimed at accelerating deployment …
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